Christmas tree pinecones

Sometimes it's good to have a handy repertoire of craft projects up your sleeve for those days when the kids come home with pockets full of foraged treasure.

Here we put plain pine cones to good use in a festive make, transforming them into glittering Christmas trees. And there are just three simple steps, too, so it can be quickly done in a morning or afternoon awhen you have the time.

Make lots and give them as gifts or turn them into your very own pine cone forest. Children will love using it as a backdrop for all their animal toys or plastic soldiers.

Age group: There's not much that can go wrong here so you can make these with children from around five years old. We think even older children would love this craft and it's an easy activity to do with a group if you're expecting lots of friends and family this holiday season. Gather everyone together, leave bowls of glue and glitter on the table and let everyone do their own. Just don't blame us for the mess!

You will need

• Pine cones
• Green paint
• Paint brush
• Green glitter
• Air drying clay
• Coloured beads
• Gold and silver wooden stars
• Glue

Step1 Paint the pine cones with green paint and sprinkle some green glitter all over, then leave to dry.

Step 2 Roll a small ball of air drying clay and flatten slightly. Press a pine cone into the clay, then repeat with the other pine cones.

Step 3 Glue some coloured beads to the pine cone trees, and add a star to the top of each. Leave to dry.

Have you made these or anything similar with your little ones these holidays? We'd love to see. Comment in the section below with your top tips for keeping the kids busy on cold, indoor days or post a picture to our Facebook page, here.

Craft: Victoria Eggs