Hi, I’m Emma, mum to three boys and part of Team Babipur. I work both in-house at Babipur Towers and from home, where I do photography for the website and look after our Babipur Facebook group outside office hours. I’ve been part of the Babipur team since 2018, and as my family has grown, so has the flexibility in how I work, which has been a real positive.

Crafting usually happens around the kitchen table between meals, school bags, and everyday interruptions, with saved cardboard, ribbons kept “just in case”, and materials reused again and again. Living and working in North Wales, Welsh language and culture are part of our everyday lives. Welsh is our first language at home, and Santes Dwynwen is a lovely tradition to explore with children in a simple, hands-on way.

Who Was Santes Dwynwen?

A child-friendly introduction to a Welsh tradition.

Santes Dwynwen is known as the Welsh saint of love. Her story comes from Welsh legend rather than formal sainthood and is thought to date back to the fifth century. She is associated with Llanddwyn, a small tidal island off the coast of Ynys Mon (Anglesey) in North Wales.

According to the legend, Dwynwen chose a life of peace and devotion after heartbreak, dedicating herself to helping others with matters of love. Over time, she became linked with compassion, care and emotional understanding.

Santes Dwynwen’s Day is celebrated on 25 January, and is often described as the Welsh equivalent of Valentine’s Day.

Learning Through Craft and Play

Why making matters

Children learn best when their hands are busy and their ideas are taken seriously. Crafting creates space for language, storytelling and cultural understanding to emerge naturally, without needing formal lessons or explanations.

These activities are well suited to:

• Home learning and family crafting
  

• Early years settings and classrooms

• Childcare environments exploring seasonal or cultural themes
  

They are open-ended, adaptable for different ages, and focus on process rather than outcome. There is no “right” way to make them.

Finger-Painted Love Trees

A sensory art activity inspired by Santes Dwynwen

This is a simple, process-led activity that works particularly well with younger children.

We began by painting a basic tree shape onto paper. Once dry, the children used their fingers to add hearts as leaves, dipping directly into Ökonorm finger paint. Some trees became full and colourful, others stayed minimal, and some took unexpected directions entirely.

Finger painting supports:

• Fine motor development
  

• Sensory exploration
  

• Emotional expression
  
  

As children paint, conversations often flow naturally. Words like cariad (love) are easily introduced and repeated while hands are busy.

Ökonorm finger paints work beautifully for this kind of activity. They have a smooth texture, rich colour and are easy for children to use independently, making them well suited to early years settings and home use alike.

These paintings can be:

• Left as artworks
  

• Turned into cards
  

• Displayed as part of a seasonal wall
  
  

The focus is always on the experience rather than the finished piece.

Cardboard Pictures with Clay Hearts, Flowers and Love Spoons

A keepsake craft inspired by Welsh tradition.

Cardboard makes an excellent base for children’s artwork and encourages reuse of everyday materials. For this activity, we used pieces cut from old packaging and built designs using Ökonorm modelling clay.

Children rolled, pressed and shaped hearts, flowers, patterns and letters. Some chose to form words like cariad, while others repeated shapes or focused on texture and symmetry.

This activity supports:

• Hand strength and coordination
  

• Spatial awareness
  

• Symbolic thinking

Welsh Love Spoons

Cardboard Heart Wands

A craft that leads naturally into imaginative play

This activity begins as a making project and quickly becomes part of play.

We cut simple heart shapes from cardboard and attached them to sticks collected outdoors. The children decorated them using Babipur paper tape and ribbons, wrapping the tape around the joins to secure everything firmly.

Paper tape is particularly good for this kind of craft because:

• It’s strong and flexible
  

• Children can tear it by hand
  

• It becomes part of the design, not just a practical tool

Once finished, the wands were immediately absorbed into play. They became magic wands, storytelling props and fairytale accessories, woven into imaginative games inspired by books and familiar stories.

This kind of craft supports:

• Open-ended play
  

• Movement and storytelling
  

• Creative confidence
  
  

It’s also a reminder that not all crafts need to be kept. Some are made to be used, played with and eventually taken apart again.

Why We Craft This Way at Babipur

At Babipur, we believe that play, learning and culture are deeply connected. Crafting doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive to be meaningful. When children are given thoughtful materials and the freedom to explore, learning happens naturally.

These Santes Dwynwen craft ideas offer ways to explore:

• Love and kindness
  

• Welsh language and tradition
  

• Creativity and imagination
  
  

Whether you’re a parent crafting at home, an educator planning seasonal activities, or a childcare setting looking for meaningful resources, these activities are designed to be flexible, inclusive and rooted in real life.

They reflect our way of doing things at Babipur. Thoughtful materials, open-ended play, and learning that grows from lived experience

Santes Dwynwen Print Outs

Sometimes it’s lovely to slow things down and let children enjoy simple, mindful creativity, printables are perfect for that. They give kids the freedom to focus on decorating, colouring, and making something their own.

Click here to download our free Santes Dwynwen colouring sheets and cards.