DIY Rudolph vs Reindeer Tic Tac Toe Game
For my eldest daughter’s very first Christmas, 14 years ago, she received the classic storybook Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sitting down to read the story of Rudolph became a beautiful part of our holiday traditions.
Every November, I pull out our Christmas books. Rudolph is one of the first books my girls reach for. So, when we had the opportunity to create a fun craft or activity based on the book, we were super excited.
What can forget how sad Rudolph was when the other reindeers wouldn’t let him play the reindeer games? All he wanted to do was play with the other reindeers. Well, we created a Rudolph tic tac toe game so that Rudolph and his shiny red nose can happily play with or against all his reindeer friends.
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There are two popular storybook versions of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this classic tale of Rudolph based on the song and also one that features the characters from Toyland. Whichever one you choose to read with your children this DIY Rudolph and Reindeer Tic Tac Toe Game will be a success with the kids.
Materials for your DIY Rudolph vs Reindeer Tic Tac Toe Game
8 rocks – if you can’t find pebbles of a suitable size you can buy a bag of white pebbles on Amazon that would provide enough for this and other DIY Tic Tac Toe Games you may wish to try and you wouldn’t need to paint them.
white craft paint only needed if your pebbles are coloured
red thread and needle
How to Make your DIY Christmas Tic Tac Toe Game
- Head outside and gather up 8 similarly sized rocks to paint.
- Make sure the rocks are clean and then paint the rocks with white craft paint – we used acrylic paint.
- You may need 2 coats of paint to get the coverage you want.
- The next step is drawing reindeers on the rocks. Start with an oval head.
- Next, draw on the antlers
- Finish with the big red nose on 4 of the rocks for team Rudolph and a black nose for the other 4 reindeers.
- Don’t forget to draw on eyes. My daughter had a lot of fun drawing the reindeer faces.
- When the paint and markers are totally dry, paint a few coats of craft sealer (Modge Podge) on the rocks, to protect the faces.
- Now that the reindeer are made, it’s time to make the game board. We chose red and green felt, you can choose whichever colours you like.
- The red sheet of felt (approximately 8 ½” x 11”) is the base.
- Cut four, ¼” x 8 ½” strips of the green felt.
- Trim 1” off the length of two of the strips.
- Grab the fabric glue and assemble the board.
- Glue the long strips first and then the shorter strips across the long strips.
- Let the board dry completely.
- Finally, make the storage pocket on the back of the board.
- Cut about 3” off the length of the second piece of red felt.
- Place the shorter piece of felt onto the back of the game board piece.
- Use a simple blanket stitch around the edge of secure the pieces together. You now have a pocket to store the reindeer rocks in.
When everything is dry it is time to play.
This game can be pulled out and played with for many years to come. A classic storybook, combined with a classic game that kids love. Finally, Rudolph gets to play a reindeer game.
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Jen at Kitchen Counter Chronicles
Jen Farr is a writer and stay-at-home mom with 2 adventurous tween-aged daughters. Jen shares everything that lands on their kitchen counter on her blog, Kitchen Counter Chronicles.
While there you'll discover how Jen is navigating her way through parenting tweens in our hectic, digital times.