Christmas Mice with Candy Cane Tails
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Felt and glue are two of the best things to have on hand during Christmas time with your kids. I can’t even begin to count how many different ornaments and crafts we made up as kids to hang on our tree or give to friends using mostly those two simple supplies. It’s so important to let kids make gifts for friends because it really teaches them that the best gifts, the ones they should get excited about, come from the heart
These little mice are a great place to start with your kids. I know its difficult to find red and green felt this time of year so don’t worry about those colors, just think outside of the box. Why not make them in your favorite colors or school colors even? Think of your sports fan and how much they would enjoy a gift from your child in their favorite team colors!
Either way you go, you’ll have fun and your kid will be proud at the results. I’m including a template you can print off to trace onto your felt to make this a breeze. There ya go, excuses are gone and its time to get crafting with your younguns!
This is a fun little craft for kids and adults alike.
You’ll need: felt, little pom poms, googly eyes, scissors, glue, and the little template I’m using.
I am using Tacky glue but a glue gun and even good old school glue would work.
You really should print off the template if only to see what happens when you draw two shapes on a piece of paper, hand them to a mechanical engineer, and say “Can you make me a template of this in a pdf file so I can upload it to the website?”
~blinks~
Methinks he gets a bit technical!
(You can also click on that photo up there to print it and it will pop right up on your screen)
Cut out the mouse body and ear templates and trace them onto your felt. I like to use two different colors for ears and body but there isn’t a rule that says you have to!
Here is my little army of mice just waiting to be made.
All of my photos are a little off tint here because I did this tutorial indoors at night and because I haven’t a clue how to work photoshop or any other fancy schmancy program. And I’m cool with that…
Then cut two little slits for the ears to go through.
I have these marked on the template to give you an idea of where to put them and about how big they need to be.
Then you just slip the ears through the holes of the mouse.
Doing this creates a little pocket on the back that the candy cane slides through.
Then glue on little googly eyes and a pom pom nose to each one.
Katy Rose has been having fun gluing three eyes and two noses to some of hers. Let your kids have fun and create three eyed mice if they want!
It’s quicker if you just set up an assembly line, dotting little bits of glue for eyes and noses as you go along and then placing them.
Here are the little mice babies as they dry
Then turn all the little guys over and insert a little candy cane in the pocket the ears made.
They make cute little set! Don’t forget to make some in your school colors!
You can hang them on the tree or use them as little favors.
These are great little gifts for your kids to make for their teachers and friends.
Print the template for making the mice by clicking here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It isn’t the size of the gift that matters,
but the size of the heart that gives it.
~Quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman
My husband was deployed and we were junior enlisted so money was tight.. My son and I made a cupon book and we tried to send homemade cookies. They arrived all in pieces and he was able to call and tell us he loved his ice cream topping and coupon book. We have now been married 17 Years and before he deployed last week an he gave me back my coupon book with some updates. Best Christmas gift considering he is gone for 9 months.
I love doing crafts, and especially receiving them. One year my niece and her 3 yr. old son moved in with me. We were crammed into a studio apt. with 2 dogs, a cat, and 2 visiting dogs! It was a great year even with all the chaos. And I must mention she was a first time mom with many “worries”! One morning after she left for work, I fell back asleep while Austin helped himself to a leftover and cold, Krystal! He drank some coke that was there, and when I woke up, proudly told me he had fixed his own breakfast! I was actually scared to tell her as I KNEW she was not going to be happy! (I thought it was histerical) It just so happened we had snapped a couple of pictures the night before, and for that Christmas I received the most special homemade gift ever.
It was a colage frame with, as you can guess, the pics of him eating Krystals. Another was of him & I sleeping with the dogs all around us, and others just a precious to me. He is now a teenager, and actually had no side effects from the really bad breakfast!
Made 3 kinds of hand dipped chocolates, peanut clusters, chocolate-peppermint bark and candied pecans as gifts for our friends.
I started making home made Vanilla Extract a few months ago. I’m giving some away in cute little Ball jars!
My favorite homemade gift was from a dear friend. I was going across the USA for a whole summer to work at a church and she made me a booklet with a notecard for everyday with bible verses, thoughts, and quotes to keep me motivated. This whole thing was decorated so nicely and I know she spent hours and hours making this! It was a special gift that I will always cherish and helped me get through some tough times during my journey that summer! Thank you Michelle!
Christy, thanks so much for sharing the Candy Cane Mouse. I will send this on to my family & friends who have children still at home. I want to share a recipe with you and the Southern Plate Family. I don’t remember where I originally got this recipe from but it is a keeper and since you are so “thrifty” I think you will enjoy it. Especially when you start making those 7 cakes.
Professional Pan Release (like Baker’s Joy)
1/2 cup oil (can use, canola, corn or vegetable
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Mix all ingredients togher beating until mixture has increased in volume slightly and resembles marshmallow cream. Place in container with a lid and store. May be kept in a cool place on your counter or if weather is hot, store in refrigerator.
The mixture tends to separate slightly upon sitting in your cupboard or refrigerator so mix before using. Brush pans using a pastry brush or a clean paper towel.
Sarah Jones: How long will it last? If it hardens, can it be brought back in the microwave?
Those are so cute! I wish had little ones in the house to make them with.
I always make tons of cookies each Christmas and share them with family and friends.
This year… I’m making throws out of Christmas print fleece. Who wouldn’t want to curl up on a chilly night with a nice warm blanket and a cup of cocoa?
Merry Christmas!