FARMINGTON — One day in early December, kids from age 2 to 16 gathered to make special Christmas gifts for family.

The kids, members of the Root & Bloom Homeschool Co-op who were meeting at the Farmington Baptist Church Hall, were excited for the hands-on opportunity, and eager to show off their work.

In one classroom, preteens and teenagers banged small nails into an oval slab of wood in the shape of an evergreen tree, with the outline of a tree stand at the bottom and a star on top.

They were given a quick lesson on how to make the tree before they got started.

Each of the children participating in this project wrapped green yarn around the nails in a zig zag fashion to create different patterns to fill out the tree. They then took brown yarn and wrapped around the nails at the bottom to make the stand, and wrapped yellow string around the shape of a star on top.

Aaron Parlin, 13, of Wilton, said he plans to give his gift to one of his family members, he just hadn’t decided on which one.

Nearby, Ariana Waversak, 13, of Temple, sat on the floor. She liked hammering in the nails as she weaved the green yarn around them.

Alanna Simoneau, 13, of Farmington, was happy to make a tree because she was giving it to a special family member.

“I think they might like it,” she said.

Alli Spiotta, 12, and her sister, Michaela Spiotta, 15, of Mount Vernon, sat on the floor next to each other with their trees already done. Alli said she liked wrapping the yarn around the nails. Michaela said she liked doing the tree design.

“It was something different. It was challenging. Lots of new skills. I liked the colors: the brown, green and yellow,” Audrey Couture, 14, of Jay said.

In another room in the kitchen area, kids wore plastic gloves and stuck their hands in a large, bowl of a gray, soupy mixture and took a handful and squeezed out the liquid.

They were making paper-mache bowls out of egg cartons that had soaked all night.

Avy Gordon, 8, of Farmington and Industry, said she thought she would make two bowls for her family but maybe one would be for her.

Stepping into the dining room area, Bri Oliver, 9, of New Sharon, was making goat’s milk soap in the shapes of honey bees and honeycombs.

“I never made soap before,” she said. “I like mixing it.”

Once she was done stirring, the molds were carried over to place in the refrigerator to harden.

She and others in the group were getting help from some of the parent volunteers.

Jase Couture, 11, of Jay, said he made soap in the shape of gingerbread men. He knew who he was going to give it to in his family but it is a surprise. He chose peppermint oil for the fragrance.

Carsen Sirois, 9, of Temple, was making soap in Christmas tree molds. He chose to use essential oils mint and lavender, orange and mint to make them smell good.

“My Gram and my Grammy love lavender,” Carsen said.

In a classroom down the hall, Lucian Creznic, 11, of Farmington, and Jonathan Lang, 12, of Jay, were busy making homemade bath salts. The chose to use Epsom salt and pink Himalayan salt in their mixture. Others took turns mixing and stirring it. They added colloidal oat powder, dried flowers including rose petals, lavender, and calendula, and some essential oils.

The children smelled the essential oils before they made the choices of what to add in, and how much of it to use, depending on what type of aroma they were going for.

In another classroom, children ages 2 to 4 were making Christmas tree ornaments out of green or white pipe cleaners and different colored plastic beads.

Adelaide Laverty, 4, of Hartford, said, “I need more yellow.”

Gordon and Ana Spiotta, 8, of Mount Vernon, were busy making goat’s milk soap in a mold. They chose lemongrass as the scent for the special gifts.

Shelby, a young girl, was busy at a table in the front of the hall. She drew a Christmas tree and was making a picture and adding some stickers to it. She said it was going to go in the bag on the counter to be given to a child who wouldn’t get anything for Christmas.