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Construction Paper Wall Hanging for the Holidays
Easy Kids' Craft Banner Great for Any Holiday
Gather the family for this inexpensive, wall-hanging, construction-paper craft that works for every holiday and children of all ages.
   
Parents looking for easy holiday crafts for kids can customize this wall-hanging banner to meet their needs. It can use recycled objects and paper to match a color scheme. This paper craft also can be split up over several days to fit a handwriting or alphabet lesson.

Planning a Holiday Craft Banner
The first step for this construction-paper craft is to choose the message. For Thanksgiving, try “Give Thanks.” The old standards of “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah” or “Happy Kwanza” work well, too. Don’t limit this craft to winter holidays, it can work for Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween and other holidays as well.

Gather construction paper that works with the holiday’s color theme. Collect white glue, glue stick, scissors and some yarn, string or raffia. Have the children gather items to glue down to the paper for each letter. Ideas that work well include: buttons, small sticks, Popsicle sticks, acorns, pine straw, yarn and pasta. Found and recycled objects work just as well as craft supplies. It’s best to have some things that work for straight letters and some that work for curved letters.

Cutting the Construction Paper Craft
This step depends on how many letters the message has and how much wall space is available. You may choose to break the message into two rows or make the letters smaller. The rest of the process will be the same no matter what you decide.

For a full size banner, cut each piece of construction paper in half vertically. For a smaller banner turn the paper horizontally and cut into three pieces. Then have an adult or child cut one end of the paper into a V shape. Fold the paper at least 2 inches down from the straight side. This is the part that will hang over the string to keep the letters from falling off so be generous. Leave a bigger space for the letter.

How to Make a Wall-Hanging Banner
Lay papers across a table to decide which order to put the colors. Decide which material will work best on top of each paper. For example, dark pine cones on black paper did not work well for the pictured Thanksgiving project. Try alternating the colors of paper and the type of material to spell the letter until you like the look.

The adult can choose to pencil the letter on each piece of paper or let the child write the letter in glue. Be generous with the glue. For heavy objects like buttons, the paper should dry for a day or two. Place the papers on top of a clothes dryer to speed-dry the project. When the project is all dry it is time to assemble the project.

Now take your yarn or string and measure how much you need to hang your letters. Lay out the project and the string. Be sure to leave enough to tie the ends to push pins or nails tacked into the top of your doorway. Have the child glue the flap on each letter over the string using the glue stick. Leave a space so the letter can move a little. This will allow you to space the letters evenly once you are finished. Allow the glue stick to dry completely.

Display the Holiday Paper Craft
With the finished craft all assembled, tie each end to a push pin or nail in the top of the doorway or in the wall. If you are using two rows, hang the longer row first to make it easier to center the short row. Space the letters evenly and you are finished unless you want to dress it up a bit more by tying some raffia between the letters or between the words. Display the banner during the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Thanksgiving, Easter, Fourth of July or Halloween season, then fold and store for next year.

Kids who love crafts will enjoy this paper wall-hanging banner. This paper craft allows children to cut, collect, glue and display their project for all to see. Try it for more than one holiday. For more crafts kids love, read Rainy Day Activities and Crafts Kids Love.