Green Christmas: Keep kids busy with holiday upcycling projects

The countdown is officially on. The kids are living on adrenaline and holiday goodies, waiting impatiently for school to wrap up and their two-week-long stretch of holidays to begin.

You may be just as eager for the festivities to begin — but also a little stressed and anxious as you wonder how you're going to keep the kids from turning into candy-cane fueled Tasmanian devils for the next two weeks.

The secret is to pre-load the bookmarks on your computer with projects galore. That way, when the kids are about to start using the family's inflatable Santa as a trampoline, you can distract them with one of these fabulous family projects. Holiday success tip: Bookmark them now for the good of both your inflatable Santa and your seasonal sanity.

Turn old gloves mittens, oven mitts, or hockey socks into finger or hand puppets. If you've already suffered some winter wear casualties this year (a few lost mittens; a few gloves that have sprung holes) you can put the cast-offs to good use: turn the fingers from an old pair of winter gloves (or an old pair of rubber gloves) into finger puppets or turn whole mittens or gloves into hand puppets. This is a great way to upcycle oven mitts, hockey socks (tie a knot in one end) and other knit items from around the house.

Turn some of your holiday packaging leftovers into upcycled egg carton books. If you've been using up dozens of eggs while whipping up cookies for the annual cookie exchange, you've no doubt got egg cartons galore. And if you're the reason my local grocery store was sold out of Rice Krispies this week, you've no doubt got a mountain of boxboard, too. All you need to make this fabulous egg carton book are these two basic holiday ingredients — egg cartons and boxboard — and some strong thread. You can cover the decorated side of the cereal box with contact paper or construction paper, if you wish, or leave it as is, for a fun pop culture effect. If your cookbook is going to be a collection of your favorite holiday baking recipes, you might want to leave it as is.

Set off a chain reaction. The great thing about checking out inspiring designs like this one and these ones is that they can really inspire you and your kids to take a second look at items that you might once have treated as trash.

Just a few important footnotes before you set your kids up in the Land of Upcycling.

• Don't forget to factor in safety and the age of your child. What's age-appropriate for a 12-year-old to use as fodder for collage or assemblage art might be downright hazardous for a preschooler. (Consider such factors as choking hazards and the safety of toys, art materials and household products in general.)
• Establish some ground rules about what is and isn't fair game for upcycling. After all, it would be a bit of a shock to find your wedding photo or graduation diploma sliced-and-diced into something edgy and avant garde. 
• Take the creative plunge yourself. Here's the really great thing about upcycling: There's no right or wrong way to turn old things into something new. So abandon your fears about art and creativity, ye perfectionistic types, and take joy in the sheer pleasure of making things. It's a fun and relaxing way to spend time with your kids or to unwind on your own at the end of a stressful day. Go ahead. Take the creative plunge. You'll be glad you did.

And once you've tackled some of those fabulous projects, show us your stuff. Upload photos of your projects to Flickr or describe your projects in the comments section below (if trying to find your digital camera in all the holiday clutter is too much to deal with right now). I'd love to hear from you.

Have fun — and have a fabulous holiday with your family.