Waiting for the parties

These miniature button trees are easy for preschoolers and older children and only take a few minutes to make, plus they have the added benefit of including room for a little mathematical learning and fine motor skill development.

For each tree ornament you will need:

• One thin pipe cleaner
• A small thread-able bead or bell
• A series of buttons in your chosen colours that get progressively smaller

To make:

1. Sort your buttons from largest to smallest.
2. Fold the pipe cleaner in half to find the midway point.
3. Thread the bell (or bead) onto the pipecleaner until it sits at the midway point.
4. Starting with the largest button, thread each end of the pipe cleaner through opposite holes on the button (this will be the trickiest part for young children but Immy only took a few tries to manage it). Push the button so that it sits on top of the bell. Repeat for each button, working from largest to smallest to create the miniature tree shape.
5. Once all of your buttons are in place, twist the remaining ends of the pipe cleaner together and fashion into a hook shape to hang in the branches of your tree Oh, and you might like to use a permanent marker to record the year they were made on the underside of the biggest button.