Las Posadas Crown Craft: Latino Heritage Craft

Las Posadas is a nine day celebration starting on December 16th and ending on Christmas Eve.  Meaning lodging in Spanish, Las Posadas celebrate the origins of Christmas and remains a culturally significant holiday for many Latinos today. Included in celebrations of Las Posadas is imagery of the three kings. Simple and festive activities like this Crown Craft make for a great opportunity to work on fine motor skills, primary and secondary colors and passing on a heritage of culturally relevant holiday traditions. It doesn’t have to be gorgeous – in fact, your little one’s skills won’t be as fine tuned at yours – as the true beauty of heritage crafts comes from knowing you are exposing your child to a culture rich in tradition and meaning.

To Make The Three Kings Crown Craft, You’ll Need:

1 Empty Cereal Box, unfolded

Pen

Scissors

Paint

Hot Glue Gun

Ribbons, Gems, Foil (anything shiny you have around the house)

A royal head in which to place your crown

Begin by dissembling the cereal box to expose the inside, lengthwise. Using a pen or marker, draw a continuous line of two alternating sized triangles on the top half of the box (as shown above). Flip box over and repeat the pattern. Draw a line down the center. Ask your little one to trace over your patterned line.

Cut the center line to create two strips, and continue cutting your triangle pattern. Young children should be supervised while using scissors, but this is a great opportunity to practice those fine motor skills! The simple triangular pattern is easy for kids who can make straight cuts, but still challenging enough for those who’ve advanced beyond Scissors 101.

Paint your crown pattern a royal shade of yellow. Using foil, store bought gems, pipe cleaner, ribbon or whatever you have laying around the house, let your little prince or princess decorate their crown as desired by adhering elements with hot glue. Measure your royalty’s head to ensure the accurate place to cut the crown patter. Secure both ends with hot glue (a stapler would work, too).Relish in their joy of playing pretend while telling them story of Los Tres Reyes.

Vanessa is a Latina mom raising bicultural and biracial children. She aspires to live a bilingual life and documents her family’s legacy and positive parenting values through crafts, food culture and love letters at De Su Mama: Building a Legacy to Multiracial Children.