With Christmas around the corner I couldn't wait to make a charamico with my son! A charamico is a traditional Dominican Christmas tree. In essence, it's a dry branch that you paint white, and decorate. I was inspired to make one from the book A Kid's Guide to Latino History: More than 50 Activities (A Kid's Guide series). They have so many activities, recipes, and crafts you can make by country.
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Making traditional charamicos is very popular in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is a tropical island located in the Caribbean; hence the lack of snow, and pine trees! Therefore, the Dominican Christmas tree is in fact a dry tree branch that is painted in white, and decorated with ornaments, ribbons, balls, and lights. It is said that they are painted in white to resemble "snow" since it never does snow in the tropics. They can be seen in many homes, and often sold on the streets.
You can make your own charamico during this Christmas! Like we did! You just need the following:
- Dry tree branches
- White spray paint
- Colorful pom poms
- Hot-glue gun
The fun part was really looking for a branch that had various branches sticking out, and that wasn't too big or too small! We collected some in the park, and I spray painted them white.
Once dry, look for a glass jar and fill with sand. Stick your dry branch in it. This will be the base of the charamico. Then put dabs of hot glue in different sections of the branch, and have your child help you by gluing the pom poms. Little one had fun picking out the colorful pompoms he wanted to use.
Once you've finished gluing the pom poms, hang the beautiful ornaments you make with your child and display it in your home.
¡Feliz Navidad!