Can you turn trash into treasure for the holidays?

You may recognize this cute character: Olaf, from the film Frozen. In this post, Olaf will help you turn trash into treasure!

Olaf is really good at reducing, reusing, and recycling. Check out how he reused his nose on his snow angel!
He really loves the holidays and is interested in many different holiday traditions. One holiday tradition that many people have is to hang wreaths on their doors. Check out the wreaths in this film clip and try to figure out what they used to make their wreaths.

Did you know that you can make your own wreath with found items? Think about some recycled or repurposed things you have around the house or outside that you can use to make your own holiday wreath. When you reuse items to make something else, it is called "upcycling."  Create your own upcycled wreath. ​Once you have created your wreath, you can take a photo and share it with family and friends. You can even create a DIY post or video about your wreath!

Now, watch the longer version of That Time of Year  and take note of the different traditions.

What holiday traditions did you learn about? Now think about your holiday traditions. What are some of your holiday traditions? Do you use special decorations? What are your family's favorite foods and recipes? Do you have favorite songs? Do you watch any movies together during the holidays? 
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You can make your own holiday traditions song to sing with Olaf! Here are the lyrics to the first part of the song. Replace the bolded paragraph with your own traditions:
Happy, merry, holly, jolly season's greetings here
I'm wondering what your family does at that time of year
Love and joy and peace on Earth and tidings of good cheer
Do you have tradition things
For that time of year
Well, we hang up boughs of evergreen on every single doorway
Bake a giant cookie in the wavy shape of Norway
Go from door to door to door while singing with our choir
Hang up all your giant socks above an open fire
(That sounds safe)
So happy, merry yuletide carols, faithful friends are dear
Thanks for sharing what you do
At that time of year

Create some new holiday decorations from upcycled items. Then, fill in the lyrics to the song, describing your own new upcycled holiday decorations!

For more holiday fun with Frozen, check out some of the activities from the Frozen workshop we held for teachers!