Last Christmas we made lots of special treats for our favourite people whilst we were at holiday club. My favourite of these were our very own gonks made from socks!
They were all so cute and make a great decoration that can last for years at Christmastime.
Steeped in centuries old tradition, gonks are said to protect homes throughout the Winter solstice and festive season. Called Tomte in Swedish, Nisse in Norway and Denmark and Tonttu in Finnish, gonks usually have short, squat bodies, pointy hats that cover their eyes, together with cute bulbous noses and long white beards.
So here is how to make your own!
You will need:
A plain coloured sock
Scissors
Elastic band
Felt
Unfinished natural half wooden beads
Stuffing
Rice/lentils
Fake fur
Hot glue gun
Firstly, take a sock and cut it off just above the ankle.
Fill a third of the sock with rice or lentils to give it some balance when placed on a flat surface.
Fill three quarters of the remaining sock with stuffing to shape your gonks body. Tie the top with an elastic band.
Next take your fur and your felt and cut them into large triangles to fit completely around your sock. The fur needs to be almost the whole length and width of the sock and the felt can be however long you want your gonks hat to be.
Glue the felt triangle edges together to make a cone shape.
Glue the beard onto the sock a few centimetres from the top, and then glue the hat on top so that the meet completely.
Glue your ‘nose’ half bead into the middle of the beard where you think his nose should be.
And now you’re done! You can make one gonk, or a whole family of them to decorate your house for Christmas! They also make great presents!
Happy Christmas!
