Make a Christmas house with cardboard rubbings
Try a broad crayon rubbing over corrugated cardboard, then use the patterned paper for a house. Test the texture first and arrange the roof before gluing.
Start with one texture test
A crayon rubbing can give the walls of a paper Christmas house a striped pattern. The raised ridges sit under the paper; your child moves the side of a wax crayon over them. Once you have a clear patch, you can cut it into one broad house wall.
Use thin plain paper, a wax crayon with some wrapper removed, clean corrugated cardboard, coloured paper, a larger backing sheet, scissors and a glue stick. An adult can prepare a broad piece with the ridged layer exposed. Choose cardboard without staples, loose sharp pieces or food residue.
Hold the paper still and rub sideways
Lay the cardboard flat on the table, ridges facing up, and cover it with the thin paper. Hold one corner so neither layer slips. Rest the long side of the crayon on the paper and move it gently across the ridges.
Begin with a small test patch. Lift the paper to see whether a pattern has appeared, then put it back if you want a larger area. There is no need to press hard: if the paper tears or keeps sliding, stop and adjust the layers.
If the texture remains faint, try a darker crayon or a thinner sheet. You can also draw broad stripes directly on paper and use them for the house. The finished picture does not depend on producing a perfect rubbing.
Turn the pattern into a wall
Make the patterned area wide enough for a simple wall rectangle. Draw its outline and cut it out, with adult help when needed. Let your child choose whether the stripes run up and down, from side to side or on a slant.
Cut a triangle from contrasting paper for the roof. Place both pieces on the backing sheet before attaching them. The roof should reach across the wall's top; overlap it slightly so a gap does not appear between them.
Leave space below for a path and around the house for one Christmas detail. Move the loose pieces until the house fits comfortably inside the sheet.
Attach the house and add one detail
Glue the plain back of the wall to the backing, then attach the roof in its chosen position. Draw a door and windows with a darker crayon. If they are hard to see over the pattern, keep them simple rather than covering the whole wall again.
Add a small drawn wreath beside the door or a tree next to the house. Let the glue set flat before picking up the picture. Keep the cardboard for another rubbing, or finish with this one house.
