Remember this post from January? In it I talk about de-commercializing Christmas. Well, Derrick and I have finalized our plans. The catch is I'm going to need some help from you more clever and crafty types to hook me up with some great ideas.
First let me give you our reasons for changing the way we do Christmas. As a married couple we've found that we both dislike, and are therefore pretty bad at, shopping for other people. Derrick hates shopping altogether, and I am terrible at guessing what other people might like. We are also busy people. With me juggling school and a baby and Derrick juggling classes, work, and a commute, we would put off Christmas shopping until the last minute. When that last minute arrived, we'd bite the bullet, call a babysitter and spend a stressful evening navigating a busy mall to make guesses as to what our beloved family members might like. After this last Christmas, I decided this method had lost whatever appeal it ever had (was it ever appealing?).
Don't get me wrong. I love family. I love Christmas. I love making family members happy. But couldn't it all just be a bit more meaningful for them and for us?
Our plan, therefore, looks a little something like this:
We plan ahead.
Instead of buying "stuff", I decide on a project for each person or couple that we can work on together as a family, particularly with Lissie's help (Christmas fiasco babysitters need not apply-I want her to be involved and have fun too).
This project can be a craft, display, something useful, or just some way for our family members to remember us (and Lissie, in particular) by throughout the year. My only other rule be that it is something they can actually unwrap on Christmas day.
I would especially love for these projects to indicate that Lissie was involved in the process.
So, my crafty readers, what say you? Any thoughts or ideas to help a sister? I'll be starting a Pinterest account, perhaps you could share ideas with me on there?
6 comments:
You inspired me and I've found a lot, so bear with me as I explain them.
1) Photo frame - http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/06/give-me-a-p-o-p-frame-project.html - this would be a good one to do with cousins (if not, she could just do all of them). She could decorate the letters or the matting.
2) Apothecary Jars - http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/08/mason-jar-candy-jars-tutorial.html - this would be cute for her to decorate with paint.
3) Message board- http://www.betterlifebags.com/2010/05/decorate-kitchen-part-3.html - She could decorate the frame (you could probably just but a big photo frame at DI or something).
4) Mini photo album - http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2010/10/inkling-mini-photo-album.html - OR this homemade flip book - http://www.betterlifebags.com/2010/04/homemade-photo-flip-book.html - you could fill it with pictures of her and she could do some artwork, or just decorate the outside with fabric markers or something.
I LOVE pinterest. You could just search for something more specific on that. Good luck!
Oh, and I forgot this one - http://www.livingwithpunks.com/2011/06/sys-whimsical-key-chains.html - a homemade key chain. Once again she could fabric pens for this.
first of all, when you get a pinterest account, add me as a friend! I'm kristinannc, or kristin.nielson@gmail.com
second of all, here are some ideas for you!
1) Homemade Bird Feeders - http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2011/08/bird-feeders.html (I haven't tried this, but I bet she could help put the mixture into the shapes)
2) Homemade Foot Soak -http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2010/04/handmade-foot-soak-how-to-she-sosae.html (You could put her footprint on the label)
3) Love Rocks - http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/02/love_rocks_valentine_gifts.html (She could help you find rocks. You could do a bunch of these, and put them in the Apothecary Jars that Kerry Jane found!)
4) Coasters - http://craftychicmommy.blogspot.com/2010/01/tile-coasters.html (She could help pick paper, maybe glue? this one might be a bit more difficult to have her help with)
i should go find some links, but abstract art is always fun (and actually becoming VERRRY trendy at the moment!) Michael's Crafts sells white canvas boards for a relatively cheap price. it might be fun to buy some of those, some acrylic paint and let her go at it. i know i personally would LOVE that gift. i'll keep thinking about it. i love this idea-- because i TOTALLY agree with you. christmas to me is NOT about gifts and especially about stressing ABOUT the gifts, and... i am also really terrible at buying others gifts. great idea- i think i might borrow it! :)
-emily marchant
Hey, it looks like the top part of your blog/blog post is cut off? I've noticed that Blogger has been having some problems, and has screwed up mine too. This might only be a problem via firefox too. Just thought I'd let you know.
As for your post: I totally agree about Christmas presents! I HATE shopping for people. I too am terrible at knowing what to buy, and it's such a tedious and impersonal thing to me. I usually just end up getting everyone gift cards, which typically people kinda like, but I don't like how boring and impersonal it is. SO with all those words, what I meant was that I really like your idea. Maybe i'll come up with stuff too. I also HIGHLY recommend and approve Pinterest for these types of things. You will find SO much stuff on there that will get your creative juices going. I've already found something on there that I really want to make for Jess for birthday or Christmas, and that is really saying a lot. Speaking of saying a lot, I'm now going to end this comment.
I so feel you---we don't need more stuff (and I definitely don't need to spend more money on more stuff)! Made from the heart is where it's at. I did a little bit of the "make your own" stuff last christmas, and it was a big hit. Alas, I didn't take many pictures, but here are some of the things I came up with, and some of the things I'm planning for this year:
Framed abstract art. I let Ava go to town on a few separate occasions with sheets of card stock and different mediums (paint and big brushes; creamy crayons--which are really cool because they're broad and mark a big area of color and they smear easily, which she loved; markers with glitter and glue (I helped with the glue); and finger paints. Then I cut out around the picture so that it became only colored, and viola! Abstract art (minus the messy edges) was born. I bought a bunch of cheap frames from hobby lobby, mounted the pictures on contrasting-colored sheets of cardstock, and shipped them. This picture and the picture after it is an example of one of Ava's paintings that I turned into a card. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100295513710051&set=a.10100295492412731.2890000.10011362&type=1&theater
Photo bags:
I found a bunch of these at a yardsale for $5 each http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/store/products/Two%27s-Company-Ribbons-Photo-Bag.html. I filled them with different pictures (I love facebook for sharing and "borrowing" pictures), and ended up with some great (inexpensive) gifts. The ones on this site are kind of expensive, but you could search around. My sister uses hers as a library bag and always gets comments.
Felted soaps:
http://zachaboard.blogspot.com/2009/08/cleanest-craft-in-world.html I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks awesome and pretty easy to do, even with little hands. This lady's blog is so cool and always gives me inspiration for fun things to do.
Thanks so much for starting this topic, I'm grateful to hear other people's ideas as well! What is your pintrest account name, I want to follow you there to see what you come up with as well :)
Happy crafting!
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