The Festive Fivers competition is back!

My boys made these for everyone last christmas, and they worked brilliantly!

First collect up all those odd socks that have 'lost' their partners (free!) And grab a needle , some scissors, and thread.
Pick up your sock with the toe pointing down and the heel towards you.
The toe will become your animals bottom , the heel will be the face and the leg part some ears.
Snip off across the toe to make a hole.
Then flatten out the leg part across the width. You are going to cut a long thin 'u'shape from the middle so you get two rectangles on each side.
When you have done this turn sock inside out and sew around the top and inside edges to create two ears.
Turn the right way out.
Now stuff the ears-this can be done by cutting up old tights,using cotton wool balls, or buying a bag of stuffing.
Then stuff the face and about half way down the body.
It will go in and out a bit- this is great as it looks more like an animal.
Then get a little plastic bag and fill either with rice or sand. Put it against a door to make sure it is heavy enough to keep the door open.
Then seal the bag, removing any air.
Stuff your bag into the bottom of your bunny. Squeeze him a bit to get a nice shape.
Then sew up the hole at the bottom- go from one side across to the other and pull it tight. You don't have to be a brilliant sew-er as long as you pull it tight it works-my 5 year old did this fine.

Then draw on a face with eyes , nose , whiskers and mouth on the heel part.

If you want (and can sew well enough) you can sew the face.

You may like to add a cotton wool ball tail, or a ribbon collar. If you have those fancy girls socks with the frills round the top, they look great round your animals neck.

Once you get the idea you can experiment with lots of other animals- trainer socks make great cats-just sew across the top and the ears magically appear!
My boys made trains, hippos, whales, crocodiles-all sorts , with some old socks, and a bit of imagination. Most of it is stuff I had lying around so cost nothing. The only thing I bought was the stuffing, which is approx £3 a bag, and makes about 8. They looked really cute, they were useful, and could be made by a 5 year old.
I have seen some craft kits about selling you one of these for about £20 but you really don't need a kit-d.i.y.!
Brilliant!

• Name of present:Play-Doh
• Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade
• Total cost: Up to £5 but ingredients will make several batches.
• Details (where it's from, how to make it etc):

Play-Doh is really expensive in the shops and the cheap versions just aren't the same but this really is as close as it gets! With cookie cutter sets in the pound shops it's easy to add the accessories to your homemade Play-Doh.
Recipe
2 cups flour (approx 256 Grams)
2 cups warm water (250ml)
1 cup salt (approx 273 Grams based on table salt, Sea salt can be used)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional but advised for improved elasticity)

food colouring (best are the pastes now available at most supermarkets buy blue/red/yellow and you can make any colour)
scented oils if you want to make your play-doh smell


Mix all of the ingredients together in a saucepan, and stir over a low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.

When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the centre, remove the pan from the heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if your play-doh is still sticky, you simply need to cook it longer!
Keep stirring and cooking until the dough is dry and feels like play-doh.
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or silicone mat, and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for colouring.

Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food colouring in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the play-doh, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. You could use gloves or plastic wrap at this stage to keep your hands clean- only the concentrated dye will colour your skin, so as soon as it's worked in bare hands are fine.

Work the dye through, adding more as necessary to achieve your chosen colour.
Ta Dah!
Keep in an airtight container to prevent it going dry but if it does just make some more Best part it is entirely safe if accidentally eaten, although very salty!

• A link to the offer if it's online (where possible): N/A
  

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