Homemade Santa plate

It's that time of year again! When the big guy in red makes his debut what better way to say welcome than his very own personal plate of goodies.

Capture the magic of Christmas and start a new tradition with this fabulous personalised treat plate for Father Christmas and his noble stead - Rudolph (though, we're pretty sure Prancer, Dancer, Dasher, Vixen, Cupid, Blitzen, Comet, Donner would want their own one too!)

Why not start a new Christmas tradition?

This easy-to-do craft is a great way to get 7-9 year olds involved and even more excited about Christmas than they already are, it's not all about lists!

All you need is a white plate you don't mind losing to the arts and a collection of felt pens - you can choose any colour you like but red and green are the best and most festive colours - like the uniform of Christmas.

You will need

• Stencils
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• Scissors
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• White dinner plate
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• Fine nib marker pens
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• Free Christmas stencil templates
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  How to make your personalised Santa plate

  1.Download, print and cut out the stencils. Or you can freehand draw them.
  2. Place the stencils in the middle of the plate, and draw around each with a coloured marker pen. Remove the stencils, then go around each shape with a dashed black line - as if you're going to cut out and keep.
  3. Write a greeting at the top and bottom of the plate, even include the name of your children to really personalise it, then add some red and green dots around the empty sides.
  4. If you're feeling really festive add some flamboyant glitter as a final flourish!
  Craft: Suzie Attaway Best places to buy: Coupe Dinner Plate, £2; Metal Mistletoe Decoration, £1.50, both Wilko (0845 608 0807 wilko.com). Sharpie Assorted Colour Permanent Markers, £12 for 12, Hobbycraft (0330 026 1400 hobbycraft.co.uk). Jingle Bells Garland, £11.95, Dotcomgiftshop (020 8746 2473 dotcomgiftshop.com).