Santa's Workshop in a Box - Made by You!

A box is not exactly an impressive Christmas decoration, but by the time you finish with it, it will be. The box size isn't all that important and the project itself is easy enough to accomplish. The box, though, should be very sturdy. By adding a few craft supplies to the box you'll end up with a magnificent Christmas decoration for a table top or mantle.

Painting the box will help to completely cover the box, then add fabric or paper, to create the look of a house or workshop. You can achieve this by cutting images from magazines, or creating your own from assorted scraps of paper.

Take a saltine box, for example. Turn it on its side, paint it, then use decoupage adhesive to affix the house or shop cutout onto the box. It's only necessary to add the paper or cloth to the front side of the box, but you can go further and cover the entire box. Cut out Christmas village scenes, individual houses, a large picture of a toy store, or something similar.

Glue the storefront to the front of the box, then use pictures of log cabins, siding, or other images, to complete the sides and top embellishments, if desired. You can make your own by cutting shapes and strips of colored paper to form a gingerbread house, a snow-covered row of homes, or a shop of some sort.

Cut several rectangles out of the front of the box. These will become the windows by which others can peer into the box to see the Christmas scene. The scene can be whatever you wish, from a Santa's workshop scene to an icy pond scene - complete with snow-covered trees.

Set the scene inside the box by using miniatures from a craft store, or by cutting pictures to glue to the inside back of the box. When cutting and gluing pictures to the inside, you can then add miniatures, set them in front of the glued-on pictures, to give it more of a 3-D effect.

Small picture frames can be used as window frames for the box. Remove the backing of the frame and glue glass and frame to the box. Or, use a piece of clear acetate, or a piece of clear plastic, to cover the rectangular cutouts. Paper window framing can be cut and glued to the openings.