Idea #2: Great for kids of all ages. Messy but really fun, and these last forever!

Materials: Easily available at the local craft shop (Michael's Hobby Lobby, etc...) part of the fun is going to the craft store to get the materials. By October there are endless choices for a multitude of projects.  Styrofoam shapes --- bells, balls of varying sizes, cones, rings etc.  Pipecleaners in holiday colors: Red, Green, Yellow for Christmas or Blue, white, silver for Chanukah Small, artificial evergreen branches, pinecones, miniature holly berries, shiny baubles, ribbons, miniature "presents" etc... It is also fun to go out and gather the natural materials from along road sides or even in the back yard. If you choose to use natural materials, it is good to spray them with lacquer first to preserve them longer. Glitter glue in a variety of colors. If you prefer use white school glue and loose glitter --- even messier, but better coverage.  Hot glue gun (parental supervision important for this) Paperplates to put each child's selected materials on so no one is grabbing someone else's items.

Lay out the styrofoam shapes, pipecleaners, glitter glue and decorative baubles in the center of the table. Gather the kids around, allow them to choose their materials and be there to help with the hot glue gun. Whatever shape the child chooses, and how the baubles and glitter glue are applied is limited only each child's imagination.

Hot glue the odd shaped and heavier items to the styrofoam for a more secure hold. If using an item that can be poked into the styrofoam, put a bit of hot glue on the end that you will poke into the styrofoam, and it will hold much better.

Smaller Bells and balls can be made into tree ornaments by poking the pipecleaners into the tops of the shapes and curling the end to hang from the tree. Cones of varying sizes can be made into a table centerpiece or mantle decoration Christmas Tree Forest, or individually as ornaments to hang on the tree. Rings can be made into wreaths for the door, for above the mantle, or to hang on the tree, depending on the size of the ring itself.

TIP: If you are using school glue and loose glitter, spread the glue, or drizzle the glue onto the shape (but not on the bottom unless you can hang it from a pipecleaner to dry) and hold it over a paperplate of glitter. Sprinkle the glitter generously over the wet glue. Place on foil, waxed paper or plastic wrap to dry.

Idea #3: Great for really little kids:

Materials: Brown paper, colorful construction paper, or even plain white paper. Cotton balls,  A stapler, child-safe scissors Crayons, or markers.

Ahead of time, draw gingerbread men shapes on the paper with a marker.(Make a pattern to trace and make sure each child gets two to cut out) Help the children to cut out the gingerbread shapes.

Have the children draw faces and decorate the shapes with the crayons or markers. Then put a handful of cotton balls between the two cut-out shapes and help the children to staple them together.

Write the child's name and age or the year of creation on the back. This decoration is so lightweight, it can just "sit" on the tree.

How can kids make holiday puppets from Arthur’s puppet?

An easy way to make holiday puppets is to use red, green or white socks,or blue and silver socks for Chanukah, along with multi-colored buttons buttons and yarn. Making them into holiday puppets is simple when you use holiday colored yarn (red, green, gold, silver, blue) and use artificial evergreen branches, pinecones, miniature holly berries, shiny baubles, ribbons etc... to place on the puppets as decorations.   A Santa puppet could wear a small felt hat made by cutting a circle of felt and slitting the radius and then overlapping the cut edges until it makes a cone. Glue with hot glue or sew together. Glue on cotton balls at the tip of the hat and around the base where it attaches to the puppet. Use white yarn to make his beard and mustache.  A Reindeer puppet could have brown felt antlers --- make these by cutting three layers of brown felt in the shape of antlers and gluing them together so they are stiff. Sew to the head of the reindeer sock puppet. Use a large red button for a Rudolph nose on the reindeer.

What are one or two ways to involve young children in safe decorating?

Observant, one-on-one parental supervision makes holiday decorating safe for younger children. Let the little ones help you and let them do the simpler parts of the project and you do the harder part. Always use child-safe scissors for cutting projects.

When baking Christmas or Chanukah cookies, allow the children to use the plastic cookie cutters to make the cookies, you do the parts involving the oven, and then let the child do the decorating with frosting and candies.