On Thursday 23rd April it is St George’s Day. A day to celebrate England, Englishness and a legendary knight who reportedly slayed a dragon. Celebrating England means promoting what’s great about the country now and not necessarily harking back to a bygone age. For me, England is about tolerance, acceptance and opportunity. The country also has a rich history of creativity. Therefore the most patriotic thing you can do this St G’s Day is get the family around the kitchen table for some arts and crafts. Get the supplies in from a company such as Artifolk and try some of the following activities.
Bunting
This is the decoration that most people will rely on this 23rd April. But why not try something different from the standard Red Cross pattern? By all means include the St George’s cross in the line of flags but you could also include others designs celebrating your England – roast dinners? Canal boats? London buses?
Knight Costume
This is a great one for the kids. Activity Village has some superb knight craft ideas. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of tin foil in the kitchen!
Shield
You can also make a great knight’s shield for the costume or on a similar theme you could make your family’s coat of arms. If such a thing does not exist you can create your own depicting the things that your family love. You can also use the opportunity to look into your family history and perhaps start a family tree.
Dragons
There’s lots of fun you can have with the dragon element of the St George legend. You could make wooden spoon dragons. All you need for this is green paint, yellow, orange and red card for flames, green glitters, PVA glue and googly eyes.
English Roses
Tissue paper roses are easily made and can make appropriate decorations for this time of year. Simply roll up the red tissue paper into the shape of a rose and attach with sticky tape onto a green pipe cleaner.
London Landmarks
Make your own miniature model of the capital with recycled cardboard boxes and other household items. Start off with a replica river Thames and then build landmarks such as the London Eye, the House of Parliament and the Gherkin around it.
Things You Love About England
Get your kids to simply draw pictures of things they love about this country. Some suggestions from me would be Thomas the Tank Engine, HP Sauce and Football.
People feel uneasy about flying the flag on St Georges Day. This is understandable but it is important to remember that people from all over the world are welcomed to England by the majority of the population and make their new home a great place to live for everyone. That’s something to be proud about.
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