Did you all remember to celebrate Krampusnacht on December 5th?
“Krampus Night,” that time in Eastern European cultures (and now many other places around the world) held the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas.
Krampus, who is everywhere now, is that big half man/half goat being with horns, fangs, and hooves. He wears longs chains and carries a big bundle of twigs to swat those bad kids with. Of course, if you’re really bad, Krampus will scoop you in a basket and drag you to Hell! Wow, not much wiggle room between happy presents and eternal damnation, but hey, it’s the holiday season!
The Krampus traditions have spread everywhere, including in the United States, because people love spooky things. Just like ghost stories in the winter, Krampus appeals to the more “punk rock” side of all of us who might need a break from the sparkle and cheer. That’s my theory, at least.
I remember in school doing little easy paper-based crafts for different holiday celebrations around the world, but I don’t remember ever getting to make a cool Krampus craft.
To remedy this, here’s an easy kids school craft worthy Krampus Tree to make a home with you kids.
First, make a small paper cone with cardstock. You can also use a small Styrofoam cone tree form if you have one, but if you don’t want to purchase any special base, making one is easy. I’m making one only about 4″ or 5″ high, so not much material is needed.
Now, take your own little “Krampus Walk” and find a few straight sticks. Glue them around the cone, so the cone looks like bonfire bundle ready to go. Tie some brown yarn or craft straw around the top, so it looks like the base of a rustic broom.
The decorations are very easy. You’ll need a little cheap chain (like one from an old necklace), some red ribbon, and silver craft beads or jingle bells. Starting from the top, glue the small chain around the tree like a garland. You can drape it a little, so it looks like it is hanging. Now, do the same with the small red ribbon.
Now, there aren’t too many images of Krampus with pretty sleigh bells on him, but the tree needs a little color. Using little bells or silver beads, turn the ribbon into little string of sleigh bells.
Finally, we need a way to catch those naughty kids. Make a paper basket. Using brown construction paper, cut a few little strips, and weave them together to make little brown basket.
Once the basket is done, it needs filling. Glue a small black pom-pom inside the basket, and few pair of little googly eyes on it. Now, you’ve filled you basket with naughty kids.
Glue the finished basket to the side of the tree, and there’s a little Krampus tree, ready to display. You can add a little star, holly leaf, or other adornment to the top of the tree if you want, or just leave it bare.
I’m sure all you good big and little kids would never get a visit from Krampus this year, but in case you do, he will be thrilled to find a little tree just for him.
