CHRISTMAS CRAFTS AND STOCKING FILLERS

Shongweni Market: Durban

150 stalls, with local ar ts and craf ts, ar tisan produce and much more, open ever y Saturday from 07h00 to 13h00 and the last Sunday of the month from 08h00 – 13h00.

I Hear t Market

Durban’s popular ar tisanal market, held on the lawns outside the arches of Moses Mabhida Stadium, extends its trading days in December, transforming into the ultimate Christmas market. First three Saturdays in December from 09h00 – 14h00

Cape Town

Bay Harbour Market: Hout Bay

Offering ar ts and craf ts, décor, fashion and jeweller y and some amazing foods with live music. They are open on Friday night from 17h00 – 21h00 and on Saturdays from 09h30 – 16h00.

Slow Market: Stellenbosch

Slow Food Market -Slow Food –Slow Wine – Slow Design – Ever y Saturday from 09h00 – 16h00 and Sundays from 09h00 –14h00, come rain or shine. We are indoors in the Willowbridge shopping centre in Tyger valley. This is an urban market with small local producers selling ar tisan foods, street foods and local design.

Por t Elizabeth

Beach Front Traders: Por t Elizabeth

Crowds tend to flock to the coastline over December and Por t Elizabeth has ensured there is a Christmas market to meet the growing retail need. Visitors can combine a fun beach day out. Daily during Christmas season, 8am to late af ternoon

There are literally hundreds of markets that operate year-round throughout South Africa, but some only operate over the festive season. Some are there to raise funds for charity or for a specific cause, others are just operating to boost sales in a specific region. Keep an eye on your local press and take some time to visit these markets, buying local boosts the economy and it’s a fun outing for the whole family. �

C h r i s t m a s C r a f t s a n d S t o c k i n g F i l l e r s

Stocking fillers are a staple for all those that like to hang a stocking up at Christmas. Stocking fillers are not supposed to be costly, just small trinkets, toys or additions that help fill up the stocking; like a hosiery lucky packet!

Some ideas for stocking fillers:

Sweets, chocolates, stationer y, jeweller y, make-up, cards; anything that is small enough to fit in a stocking.

Christmas ar ts and craf ts

Stock up on some ar t and craf t supplies at your favourite craf t shop at the star t of the season so that you and your children can while away spare time making craf ts for the festive season that can be used for years to come.

Christmas baubles

You can buy different sized polystyrene balls, picture hooks, and coloured string to make baubles of ever y colour. Before applying paint to the ball, you need to ensure that the paint will stick. Use acr ylic paint or paint with glue and dip the ball in glitter or sequins. Apply varnish af ter and press the picture hook in with a blob of glue to ensure it stays put. Thread the string through and voila! A bauble ready for the tree.

DIY advent calendar

Using a muffin tray, picture hook, glue, wall hook, cardboard, glitter, beads, sticky tape and pens or paints. Cut circles out that will cover all the holes in the muffin tin. These can be decorated with snowflakes, Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer or glitter or drawings, really, your imagination is the limit. Fasten each circle over each hollow in the baking pans with a loop of sticky tape. You can wrap the outside of the pan in wrapping paper and circle it in tinsel. At the

back of the tin, glue on the picture hook so that the calendar can be hung. Fill the days of the tin with small toys or sweets and let the fun begin.

Drawing pin bauble

Using a polystyrene ball, press drawing pins into the entire sur face to create a metallic bauble. You can buy different coloured pins and create designs on the bauble or just keep in silver or gold depending on your colour scheme.

Etch a design on a glass or mug

This is a ver y simple but effective craf t idea. You need stencils that will fit on the glass or ceramic item, a paint brush, etching cream and of course the mug or glass or vase, whatever it is that you want to decorate. Stick the stencil firmly in place, apply the cream and wait a few minutes before rinsing off. It is an inexpensive and beautiful way to decorate glassware for the Christmas table or for gif ts. It works on ceramic too, so a special mug is a must!

Pine Cone Garlands

Collect pine cones, there should be a fair few on the ground now. You can dr y them in a low oven with the oven door slightly open for a few hours. Spray these with spray paint and add glitter. Space them along string about 40cm apar t and create a garland that you can string throughout a room or around a Christmas tree or banisters.

If you are going to hang them outside, remember to spray them with a good varnish to weatherproof them. You can inter twine these with tinsel and fair y lights for an extra festive sparkly effect.

Jars of Joy

Decorate jars either with string, glitter, paint or even etch them, add string and a festive label and fill the jar with sweets, fudge or cookies to give as gif ts or for your Christmas table.

This is a favourite for kids to par ticipate in as there is something yummy in it for them.

String Christmas Trees

You need some kind of a cone shaped form covered in plastic wrap, crochet thread, Mod Podge, and a foam applicator brush. You can get beads or glitter or sequins to add flash and flair to the finished tree. Cover the cone with cling wrap, make a slip-knot and secure this over the tip of the cone. Then wind the string around the cone, stopping periodically to dab the applied string with Mod Podge. Apply the string in a random fashion, as dense or sparse as you like. Remember to wind a fair amount at the base so that the tree has a base to stand on. Do a final dab with Mod Podge and allow the tree to dr y overnight. Take the tree off the cone – this may take a bit of finesse, and then you can apply decorations. These look great on a Christmas table or on a mantlepiece. This may also be an ideal gif t for teachers at the end of the year. Just be careful of younger children and glass jars; maybe opt for plastic or do the project outside on the grass where breakage is less likely.

Just going to a craf t store or ar t store at this time of year is sure to get your creative juices flowing.

You will see a thousand things that will spark your creativity and get you buying up a storm.

If you think you need a bit of inspiration, you can always look on Pinterest or simply Google ar t and craf t festive ideas, and you will be inundated with creations that you can then tweak to make suit or own décor or better suited to the children’s ages that will be doing the craf ts.

This is a fabulous way to get creative, spend time together and create memories and keepsakes that will last for years to come.�

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT