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The New Christmas 'Cool' for Kids

There is huge enthusiasm in the USA for arts and crafts activities such as scrapbooking. This enthusiasm is now spreading to the UK, according to Esselte, one of the world's leading producers of stationery and arts & crafts materials.

The Christmas holidays are a great opportunity for parents to enjoy creative activities such as scrapbooking with their kids, spending quality time together away from television screens or video games.

According to Art Therapist and member of the British Association of Art Therapists Jo Rostron, spending too much time playing computer games and watching television can slow children's' development. In contrast, arts & crafts play an important role in childhood development, and they are great fun, too!That's good news for parents!

Stationery giant Esselte has put a new level of creativity into family play with a range of creative products set to challenge computer games and TV sets in the popularity race.Top tips for simple and fun activities that parents can enjoy with their kids during the Christmas holidays include:

1. Christmas Sticker making - ideal for creating memorable and personal Christmas cards, gift items or decorative gift wrap for special friends or family. Use a 'Xyron 510 Multi-finisher' for the perfect finish to your customised greetings cards.

2. Make the most of holiday homework - Christmas projects may not be everyone's idea of fun, but with Xyron Create-A-StickerT 150, kids will actually enjoy holiday art projects. Fun and easy to use, it turns clip art, punches, mini photos, scrapbooking letters and numbers or almost anything into a sticker in seconds.

3. The Creative Station - Create something really special with all those holiday snaps!You can't go wrong with the Xyron Model 900. It not only allows you to create stickers, magnets, and labels, but it can laminate pictures up to 9" wide, too!

Jo Rostron comments: "Research has shown that we literally 'make sense’ of all our experiences before we are able to learn about them and understand them fully. Kids who are active, and therefore engaged with the senses of touch, sight and hearing, for example, will have more opportunities to learn and develop than those occupied in more sedentary activities."

Creating things from scratch with mum and dad is not only hugely enjoyable for kids, but it can also have an enormously positive influence on their imagination. Jo Rostron continues: "By encouraging children to get involved in doing and making things around the house, parents will develop their child's natural curiosity and establish real world expectations of roles and responsibilities."

Mike Patterson, Esselte UK Marketing Director comments: "Crafts have always had a timeless appeal.Whether you're young or old, creating something special for someone special is an enriching and satisfying activity."

"Kids are also naturally adventurous," Patterson concludes."And Xyron-brand creative tools from Esselte are the perfect diversions for adventurous spirits; allowing their creative streak to take hold and keeping them out of mischief.What's more, by sharing fun, craft based activities with their parents kids will not only enjoy themselves immensely, but they'll also be growing in other important ways too."

Esselte scrapbooking products are available in the UK at Hobbycraft stores.

In the US Xyron products can be found at Amazon.com

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