For our family gift, I guide my students in creating these collage winter scenes. Since there are a variety of religions represented in my classroom, I wanted to find something that wasn’t focused on Christmas. Even families that don’t celebrate any holidays can appreciate this craft. We start with making the blue watercolor background on white cardstock. As they dry, students use overlapping tissue paper squares (glue stick) on a large trapezoid shape of white construction paper that we later cut into the three trees. Torn and crumbled brown butcher paper makes the textured trunks. A small and mini doily cut in half make the snowy hills. And we finish off the collage with Q-tip dots of white tempera paint for the snowflakes. I prefer the kids use a glue stick rather than goopy glue on the construction. After a night under some heavy dictionaries, I frame each one ($1 each at The Dollar Tree). The students use a silver Sharpie marker to sign and date their works of art on the black cardboard frame backing. (Parents will want to remember the year and grade when looking at it in years to come.) The kids also wrap the gifts and create cards before taking them home the week before winter break. Colorful. Creative. Cute.