Tis the season for Lauren to go crazy, fa-la-la-la-la , la-la-la-LA! Crazy with CRAFTING!!!!
(Oh God, that was kind of a nerdy opener).
Ok, I just wanted to share two quick projects that you might also find fun during holidays.
The first is this WONDERFUL idea for a "Night Before Christmas Box" that I came across on Pinterest last month. HERE is a link to the original post.
I wanted to start a new Christmas Eve tradition. Something that Noah and Jon and I could do together and the box just fit the bill. Let me back up a few hours though. Here is the plan that I've come up with for Christmas Eve. First, in the afternoon I'm going to make and decorate sugar cookies with Noah. I've been collecting different sprinkles for the past month of so, and I think we're finally all set! After baking and decorating, we're going to make a Christmas tree pizza! I found this idea from the blog: Delia Creates. Find the information HERE!
(Photo from Delia Creates.)
After the cookies are made and the pizza tree dinner is eaten, Noah will be able to open up his Christmas Eve box! Here's what I did - First I found a large box that held a pair of boots, and wrapped both the top and bottom in wrapping paper so that I could reuse use it each year. Then I added some embellishment to the top with craft paper, some glitter and a little tag and string. It was a lot of fun to make! The box might not be perfect, but neither am I, so if everything that you make turns out lopsided like it always does for me, just go with it. :)
Over the past few weeks I've gathered everything needed for the perfect Christmas Eve. A new pair of soft, warm feetie pajamas. (This is the last year that Noah will fit into Carter's pajamas with the zip and the feet. I HAVE To have one last hurrah! I just hope these penguin feeties don't turn out like that scene from The Christmas Story, where Ralphie received a pair of pink bunny pajamas)!
In addition to the new P.J.'s , I put inside a cute stuffed animal, and everything that you need for a movie night! You can even use things that you already own, like the Polar Express DVD that we haven't seen in a year, and one of our candy canes. I found the new Snoopy Christmas video for just $5 at Target, put some corn kernels for homemade popcorn in a bag, and added some "special occasion" hot chocolate packets to drink together. Since taking these photos, I've also included a small bag of Twizzlers for movie watching, because hey! It's a party!!!
Here's what the box looked like, full and ready to be closed up.
As time goes on, and Noah grows, I'll change the contents up. Maybe a small gift instead of a stuffed animal, and different DVDS as he gets older.
And how will we end the night? A surprise car ride in pajamas, with fleece blankets, to go around and look at all the lights and the BEAUTIFUL luminaries that line many of the streets around here. It's all so peaceful and still and gorgeous. I want Noah to know the magic of this night, just like I did when I was his age.
The second bit of DIY is just a mini-project. Noah's class was pooling together to purchase teacher gifts. We joined in, but just wanted to also give a little token of our thanks. I spoke about THIS project last week, the one where you take a white tote and turn it into a gift bag that looks like a sheet of lined paper. I made one for each of our homeroom teachers. It's a lot of fun to make, try it!
Most everyone enjoys coffee and cookies, so we decided to roast our own coffee and put it little decorated ball jars. Can you just smell these warm beans!? YUM! I can across a a sweet, little multi-pack of some very special Joe's O's cookies from Trader Joe's. The package says: "An assortment of past Joe's O's cookies with several chocolates and drizzles and sprinkles." Doesn't that sound good!?
And then everything was neatly tucked into the bag. I included a card thanking our teachers for all of their help and caring so far this year. We're very appreciative and love them a lot!
And on a totally unrelated note. (As usual.) Here are some cute, puffy mourning doves.
And a squirrel!
AND...... the hawk is back! When I first saw him, I was hoping it was a snowy owl, but as I got closer I realized it's hawk. I'm also happy to see him too.
Until next time, stay warm and watch out for hawks!
xoxoxoxo,
Lauren :)
2 comments:
You're adorable. The end.
You have no idea how great of an idea the Christmas Eve box is. I mean were still in October but time fly's by and I've been trying to figure out how I was going to have him open his night before Xmas gift. And reusing and old video is awesome. Because it's not like he watches Christmas movies all day they are put up. Cheap and amazing.
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