The holidays are here, and we all know that energetic young children need to be kept occupied, lest they fly off their handles and get up to no good. Having them do DIY projects are a great way to keep them occupied, and you might get some time to bond with them. We’ve found a good number of DIY projects that will add some colour to both you and your child’s day!
#1 Rainbow Bubble Snake
Difficulty: 3
Mess level: 6 – 8 (to be enjoyed outdoors)
Material needed: Dish soap, water, plastic water bottle, socks, rubberband/ duct tape, food colouring (optional, for maximum fun and mess)
Rainbow bubble that you can create it on your own! Picture: pixabay
This is a simple, but a messy project that’s best done outdoors. Start by cutting the bottom of the water bottle off. Next, slide the sock over the bottom of the bottle. Next, pour some dish soap into a shallow container with a little bit of water, then dip the sock covered bubble blower into the solution. Once your kids start blowing into the bubble blower, they’ll get a bubble snake.
While you do this fun activity, it might be useful to talk to your child about recycling, as this project makes use of old plastic bottles and old socks.
#2 Lava Lamp
Difficulty: 3
Mess level: 5
Materials needed: Cooking oil, water, clear plastic bottle, food colouring, Alka Seltzer ( a kind of effervescent antacid for the relief of minor aches, pains, heartburn, stomachache, indigestion, acid reflux and hangovers) or any kind of fizzing tablet.
This easy science project will teach your kids about different liquid densities and give them a fun end goal to work towards.
Fill the bottle up about 1/4th (1 quarter) with water. Pour the vegetable oil in the bottle until is almost full. Then, add a few drops of your favourite food colouring. The colour should sink through the oil. Now’s the moment to break your Alka Seltzer tablet in half and drop part of it into the bottle. You’ll see the colour blobs bubbling around.
The food colouring will sink through the oil as it has a higher density than oil. When the fizzing tablet is added to the mixture, it dissolves and produces air bubbles. The air bubbles with then cause the food colouring to rise, resulting in a ‘bubbling’ effect.
#3 DIY Overhead Cloud Lamp
Difficulty: 4
Mess level: 3
Materials needed: Cotton batting, white paper lanterns (or you could use the mid-autumn festival lanterns that tend to only get used once a year), flameless candles or a similar, hot glue gun.
While it might be dangerous for kids to handle the glue gun, they can still help by fluffing the cotton batting to make them cloud-like. Stary by pulling and arranging the cotton batting until starts to look fluffy, light, and like a cloud. After that, hot glue the batting to the outside of the paper lantern in several places. Now, all you have to do is to light the lantern up, and you have a beautiful DIY cloud lamp.
Once everything is assembled, your kids will have their cute DIY night light to keep them company while they sleep.
See more: DIY Christmas Decorations to spruce your home up
#4 Glitter Slime
Difficulty: 3
Mess level: 5
Materials needed: Baking soda, glitter glue, contact lens solution.
Slime fun with your kids. Picture: pixabay
This is a fast and easy project to keep your kids entertained. It’s simple enough that all they need to do is to mix everything together to create a completely new toy. All you need to do is make sure that they work within their boundaries, or you will see glitter all around the house.
See more: How to remove slime from your carpet at home
#5 Rainbow in a Jar
Difficulty: 6
Mess level: 8
Materials needed: Coloured chalks, salt, clear jars (preferably glass) and paper.
Create a rainbow in a jar.
These rainbow jars will make great gifts or home display. They are fun to make and pretty to look at. This is easy for kids, and it’ll keep them occupied for a long period of time. They have to first pour a small amount of salt, and then use coloured chalk to give the salt their preferred colour. After they’re done, carefully pour the salt into the jars.
We recommend keeping a vacuum cleaner handy, as well as large pieces of cloth to clean things up.
#6 Magic Snow
Difficulty: 2
Mess level: 9
Materials needed: Baking Soda, cold water, vinegar, squirt bottles and a large bin/ container (Suggestion: use an inflated pool).
It’s not going to snow in Singapore, so this project might be worth the time and energy. This project is simple: All you need to do is combine the materials together into super soft and pliable snow. The clean up is going to be a hassle, but we think all will be forgotten when you see your kids smile and have fun.
#7 Snow globe
Difficulty: 5
Mess level: 6
Materials needed: Small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, hot glue gun or super glue, distilled water, liquid glycerin or light corn syrup, fake snow or glitter, small figurines or toys.
This can be challenging to make, which means more peace for you when they’re deep into this project. First, glue the figurine or toy to the inside of the glass jar’s lid. Then, add distilled water into the jar and stir the glycerine and glitter in. Once done, place the lid onto the bottle, and you have a DIY snow globe.
These snow globes make great Christmas presents. Get your kids to create these little bottles of joy and gift them to their friends.
