“What are you working on?” she asked, spotting Lily’s project on the table.

“It’s a funky Christmas sweater,” Lily explained. “Every year, my family makes these sweaters and has a competition at our Christmas dinner. I’m hoping to win this year!”

“What are you putting on yours?”

“A Christmas tree, of course,” Lily said, holding up the tree print. “I made it myself.”

“That looks really neat. And I like the star,” Daniela said, grinning.

Lily placed the tree print down on the sweater and pressed it on. She centred it to look just right. Once she was happy with it, she held it up for Daniela to see.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“That sweater sure looks cute. If it doesn’t win first place, it should definitely win best in show.”

“I think I might have a flair for this designing thing,” Lily said. “Maybe I should try making some more of my own designs.”

“Definitely,” Daniela agreed. “You’ve got a stylist’s eye.”

“Thanks!”

Lily struck a pose by the fireplace. She was runway ready with her do-it-yourself design.

Want to make a Christmas Tree sweater like Lily’s?

Print out the design below, cut it out, and put it on a sweater.

Lily has volunteered to be a stage hand, an important behind-the-scenes job that involves making sure the show runs smoothly.

“Everything seems to be going perfectly,” she said, checking off each item on her To Do list.

“Lily!” Daniela cried, rushing backstage in her fancy costume.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked.

“We don’t have a star anymore!” Daniela explained worriedly.

“What! How did that happen?”

“The actor isn’t feeling well. She had too many cookies before the show. She can’t go on stage.”

“What are we going to do?”

Lily looked at her list, checking to see if they could rearrange any roles to get another actor to play the star.

“Oh no,” Lily said, getting frustrated.

“What is it?”

“There isn’t a backup for the star. And no one else is free to fill in for the star.”

“Then there’s only one option,” Daniela said as she brought the star over.

“What would that be?” Lily asked.

“If there’s no one else to play the role, it has to be you, Lily.”

“Me?” Lily said, not sounding enthusiastic about the idea. “But I get stage fright. That’s why I didn’t volunteer to be an actor.”

“The show must go on!” Daniela reminded her. “And I know you can do it. I believe in you.”

“Well… okay.”

Lily picked up the star and walked on the stage.

 
In the spotlight, Lily froze, unsure what to say.

She took a deep breath and counted to three. This was her time to shine… literally.

“The star shone bright in the sky,” she said, reciting the lines, “to guide travelers on this special night.”

Want to make your own Christmas Star?

Print out the design below, cut it out, put a hole through the top, tie a string through the hole, and hang up the decoration.

“Whoa!” Lily said as she stepped on the ice. “Be careful, Daniela. It’s been a while since we’ve been skating. We’ve got to get our balance.”

“It’s fine, Lily,” Daniela replied. “We’ve got this.”

Daniela skated out onto the ice. She glided along the smooth surface, weaving her skates in and out as she went along.

“This is so much fun!” she said cheerfully.

“I love this pond!” Lily said as she skated by. “It’s so great to skate on–”

CRASH!

“Lily!” Daniela called as she fell on the ice.

“I’m coming!” Lily called to her friend as she quickly skated across the pond to help Daniela. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she replied. “I just need a hand up.”

“Do you need any ice?” Lily asked. “We have plenty of it here.”

Daniela laughed at the joke.

“Thanks, Lily,” Daniela said as her friend skated over.

Lily held out her hand and Daniela reached for it. “No problem. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Not exactly the graceful skater I was hoping to be,” Daniela said as she got to her feet.

Never one to give up, Daniela continued skating that afternoon with Lily.

“See, Daniela? You’ve got it now.”

“This is so much fun. We should go skating again some time.”

Daniela didn’t give up on skating after she fell down. She got up and started skating again.

Print out the puzzle below, cut it out, and put it together.

Remember: keep trying and you’re sure to figure it out!

Daniela and Lily are looking through their Christmas scrapbook.

They have made it their holiday tradition to put together photos to remember each Christmas.

They have got lots of photos of their busy Christmas this year!

“Look at this one!” Daniela said, pointing to the photo. “Wasn’t that a great time, Lily?”

“It sure was. We had so much fun on that snow day!”

“We should add more photos.”

“Like what, Daniela?”

“Let’s add this one,” Daniela said, posting the photo into the scrapbook.

“That looks perfect,” Lily said. “We should add more photos to fill up our scrapbook.”

“We should. We still have so much more to do this holiday season.”

“Let’s put the scrapbook on the mantle for display,” Daniela suggested.

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “So all of our friends can see it when they come over.”

Want to make a Christmas Scrapbook with Lily and Daniela?

Print out the design below, cut it out, and fold the pages together.

Use the blank pages to add your own holiday photos!

The girls are celebrating the holidays on the shortest day of the year–December 21st. That’s the day when the sun is out the least. After the 21st, the days get longer.

Lily is putting out the gingerbread house that she worked really hard on. She hopes their friends really enjoy it. If it tastes as good as it looks, it should be awesome!

Daniela is putting the star on their Christmas tree in the front hall. This tree is decked out in colourful Christmas lights. They make the party festive, and they help brighten up the night on the shortest day of the year.

“When do you think they’ll be here?” Daniela asked Lily.

“They should be here soon. The party is almost ready to start,” Lily replied.

“I’ll put this lantern here by the front door,” Lily said, as she hung the lantern. “This will help brighten today’s early nightfall.”

“Why did you pick the star lantern?” Daniela asked.

“Because of all the stars out tonight,” Lily said. She gestured to the window, where the girls could see it was night out with lots of stars in the sky.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

“They’re here!” Daniela said happily.

She went to the door and opened it for their friends.

“We’re so glad you could make it!”

“Priya and Sophie!” Lily called to them as they came inside. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Lily and Daniela!”

“What have you two been up to lately?” Daniela asked.

“So many things,” Priya said.

“We’ll have to tell you all about them,” Sophie said.

The girls celebrated the holidays that evening. They enjoyed the holiday snacks, sang Christmas carol karaoke, and took lots of funny pictures with the props Lily and Daniela made.

“That was so much fun!” Sophie said as she slipped her coat on. “We’ll definitely have to get together again sometime.”

“Totally!” Lily agreed.

“Maybe New Year’s?” Daniela suggested.

“We’ll see,” Priya said, heading for the door. “Bye, Lily! Bye, Daniela!”

Sophie followed Priya out the door. “Bye, girls!”

“BYE!” Lily and Daniela called after them.

Want to make a lantern like the one Lily and Daniela have?

Print out the design below, cut it out, and tape it together.

“These cookies look delicious! I wish I could have one,” Daniela said, admiring the cookies Lily brought out.

They all looked so festive and tasty, but they had to save them for the party.

“I can’t wait for the party either,” Lily said. “But as tasty are these cookies are, I’m super excited to see all the fun photos our friends take at the photo booth.”

Lily and Daniela had set up a photo station for their friends to take pictures at, complete with some festive props to make the photos extra festive.

“Will you take my photo, Lily?” Daniela asked, holding up the reindeer antlers prop.

“Sure! I’ve got the camera right here!”

“Say cheese!” Lily said, getting ready to to take the photo.

Daniela smiled for the camera, holding the antlers in front of her head.

“Does that look good?” she asked.

CLICK! went the camera.

“Looks great, Daniela!” Lily said.

“Let’s take a photo together,” Daniela suggested.

Lily grabbed the Santa hat prop and joined Daniela by the tree. “The camera’s timer should go off in ten seconds. Are you ready?”

“Sure am!”

“Then say party.”

“PARTY!” the girls cheered.

CLICK!

Want to make your own photo props?

Print out the antlers and Santa hat below, cut them out, and then tape or glue them to straws.

Lily and Daniela had a big surprise when they woke up this morning: another Snow Day!

“Daniela! Look!” Lily called to her friend from the window. “It’s snowed!”

“Awesome! What should we do today in the snow?” Daniela asked.

“Let’s get ready to go outside and decide on the way.”

Daniela and Lily are getting their snow clothes on.

“I’m wearing my poofy coat,” Lily said, pulling her furry hood up over her head.

“I’m wearing my warm boots,” Daniela said, slipping her boot on.

“So what should we do when we’re outside?”

“Do you still have that sled?” Lily asked.

Daniela brought out the sled her grandfather gave her last Christmas.

“Here it is!” she said, pulling out the wooden sled by its red cord.

“Then we should go sledding!” Lily cheered.

Daniela and Lily climbed onto the sled.

“Are you hanging on, Lily?”

“Yep. Have you got the cord to steer us?”

“I do. Are you ready to go?”

“Let’s go.”

“Weeeeeeeeeeeee!” the girls cheered as they flew down the hill on their sled.

“Ha ha ha!” Daniela laughed as they got to the bottom. “That was fun.”

Help Lily and Daniela get down the hill in the maze below.

Daniela and Lily are wrapping up Christmas presents today. They’re putting on ribbons and bows to make the gifts look extra special.

Daniela is wrapping up a red candle for her mom. It smells like Christmas, a mix of home baking and pine trees, so the holiday season will last long past Christmas day.

Lily is wrapping up an ice cream cone purse. It’s a perfect combination of her favourite things: it’s cute, it’s practical, and it looks delicious! Her friend will love this purse.

Next up are the gingerbread men Lily made for her grandmother.

“Those look awesome, Lily.”

“I know. Grandmother will be so proud. I used her recipe, you know.”

“But we’re out of boxes after wrapping all of those other gifts,” Daniela told her.

“What will we put the cookies in then?”

“I’ve got an idea!”

Daniela pulled out some cardboard and paper, then got to work.

“Let’s make one!” she suggested.

“Great idea, Daniela!”

Yay! The box fits all of the gingerbread men.

“It looks so pretty!” Lilly said.

“That’s because we make a great team,” Daniela said.

Want to make your own homemade gift box?

Print out the design below, cut it out, glue it together, and put a gift inside.

Lily is mixing up batter for cupcakes. She’s making all kinds of different flavours, including vanilla, lemon, and her favourite chocolate.

Daniela is in charge of decorating. She’s got the frosting and candies all ready.

“How is the mixing going?” Daniela asked.

“Good! It’s just about ready to go into the oven,” Lily said, giving the batter another mix with the mixer.

“Yay! I just decorated the first batch and they look delicious!” Daniela said, holding up a tray of cupcakes. “They look good enough to eat right away.”

“They do,” Lily agreed. “But we have to wait until our friends come over. Treats are so much better when you can share them with friends.”

“You’re right, Lily. Is there anything else we should bake?”

“There is something special we could use more of in our Christmas baking,” Lily said.

“What’s that?”

“I’ll keep baking and show you.”

Daniela and Lily kept baking, making more and more wonderful treats.

Lily finally showed Daniela her surprise baking.

“Gingerbread!” Lily said, gesturing to the gingerbread men and gingerbread house she prepared.

“It looks great, Lily! Our friends will love it.”

“I’m sure they’ll want to eat the whole thing,” Lily said, noticing how tasty the gingerbread house looked.

“It’s too bad something so pretty is going to be eaten. If only there was a way a gingerbread house could last past the holidays…”

Want a gingerbread house you can enjoy all year long? Try Daniela and Lily’s paper gingerbread house!

Print out the design below, cut it out, fold along the lines, and tape it together for your very own paper gingerbread house. For the best result, attach the paper to cardboard for a sturdier house.

Lily put a snowman on her card. Daniela wrote a special message in hers.

Ta-Da!

Want to make your own miniature Christmas cards?

Print out the cards below, cut them out, and fold on the lines.