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Making a paper doll chain is a perfect activity for dads and children on a sleepy afternoon. It is simple and does not require either time or money. Most importantly, it will be an exercise in creativity that the children will surely enjoy.

Things you will need:

Some cardboard or hard paper
A pair of scissors
Pen, crayons, markers, and Diamond Stars pencils
Glue
Colorful paper or 1930's baseball cards scraps, buttons, beads, ribbons, sequins, and stickers to decorate the dolls

Steps to make the doll chain:

Cut out a broad strip of the cardboard or paper. This could be about 10 cm high and as long as you want to make your doll chain.

Fold about 6 cm of one end of the strip. At the point where the folded end overlaps, fold the strip again, but in the other direction. Go on making similar, alternating folds, so that the entire strip is folded into accordion style panels.

Hold the folded panels bunched up tightly, Green Lantern the top panel facing you. Help your children to draw the outline of a doll on this top panel, with the hands and legs spread out so that these extend to the panel borders.

Carefully cut around the doll, taking care to retain the folds where the hands and legs touch the borders.

Now unfold the strip to see your chain of dolls, joined by their hands and legs.

Let your children decorate the dolls using the crayons, markers, color pencils, pieces of fabric, beads, ribbons, etc.

You can even help your kids cut out little shapes from fabric scraps that they can use to create colorful dresses for the dolls.

You can use this chain to decorate the walls of your living room. You could even stick it around a lampshade, hang it as a mobile, or use it to decorate your child's door.

Hand-made crafts are an instant hit when it comes to gifts-they not only are beautiful but also appreciated more because of the effort put into creating them. Introduce Valentine's Day craft ideas in your family and convert your home into an activity center.

Paul Banas is a founder of GreatDad.com. He writes articles on crafts and Donkey Kong camping with Kids, traveling with kids, skiing and kids and many more topics related to dads.

Girls seem Ghost Rider be naturally attracted to arts and crafts, but boys All-Star Comics sometimes a different matter. If you're running a summer camp, holding a crafts party or just want to get Tetris sons involved in a neat project, you may be scratching your head when it comes to craft ideas. Fortunately, there are several categories of crafts that attract boys of all ages.

Nature Crafts

Nature crafts are a good choice for boys. This allows them to go out into the wilderness and gather the materials.

A great nature craft idea is "Forest Friends." These crafts are easy to make and will allow the boys to work off some of that excess energy. Take them to the park and ask them to gather leaves, twigs and pinecones.

When you return back home from the park, let the boys decorate their finds with googly eyes and puff balls. Use Gorilla Glue or another multi-purpose glue that will adhere to the natural surfaces. Make faces on the leaves and pinecones, and then attach the twigs for bodies. You can make limbs from construction paper and the boys will have nature-inspired puppets to play with for the rest of the day.

Character Crafts

Boys like creating crafts that help them pretend they are their favorite heroes and characters. Pirates are very popular these days, so any pirate-related crafts will be well received. You can provide the supplies to make a construction paper or sewn felt eye patches, depending on the age of the boys.

Every pirate needs a parrot, so there's another simple craft idea. Use old toilet paper tubes, feathers and markers so each boy can have a personal parrot sidekick. Boys will also enjoy making treasure chests from old shoeboxes and treasure maps to find their loot from paper bags and markers.

Science Crafts.

If you have an older group of boys to entertain with crafts, don't underestimate the power of science-themed crafts. These crafts are part science experiment, part craft. One example of a science themed craft is invisible writing. For this craft, you'll need a laxative tablet, one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, cotton Littlechap and ammonia.

Crush the tablet into a container and then add the alcohol. Have the boys use paintbrushes to create their secret messages. As the ink dries, it will disappear. To see the message, simple have them rub the pieces of paper with cotton balls soaked in ammonia. It's not the most pleasant smelling craft, but it sure is a lot of fun!

As long as you keep boys active and engaged, they'll have as much fun with crafts as girls do. Although they aren't patient enough for beaded lanyards, they have activities and interests that can engage them just as much. So before you assume that boys and crafts just don't mix, try some of these ideas.

Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com, where she shares coupons for discount art supplies and discount craft supplies.