For the past few days I have been channeling my inner Martha Stewart.
My seven year old granddaughter decided to make Christmas cards for the residents of the Memory Care home her mom works at. I am in charge of making snowflakes and stapling one into each card.
I think even Martha Stewart would approve of these. Each one is a surprise as I unfold the paper to reveal what pattern the tiny cuts have made.
She is designing each one of these Christmas cards individually, so each one has her unique stamp of creativity, just like the snowflakes. Each time she gets a break from her online classes, she is at the kitchen table colouring and designing furiously.
I love the fact that she came up with this awesome idea. I saw similar stories on the news recently. In this pandemic gripped holiday season, it is heartwarming to see our children thinking of making others happy.
That’s it for my break, I’ve got to get back to work….four down, lots to go!
To steal a line from that famous carol, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my home. With the pandemic sucking most of the fun out of 2020, many are decorating for Christmas earlier than usual this year. Me too, as soon as remembrance day was over, I hauled out my decorations.
Outside Decorations
It helped too that the weather outside was not so frightening, so hubby was coerced into putting up the outdoor lights. This becomes trickier each season as the trees we adorn with multicoloured lights get bigger and bigger. This blue spruce was purchased more than thirty years ago, as a dwarf variety, supposed to achieve a height of five feet at maturity. Currently it sits at around 15 feet, no dwarf for sure, but hopefully as mature as it’s going to get. It sure does look pretty though when all lit up, even from way down the street. So my neighbours tell me.
Moving Inside
Moving inside, our artificial (due to hubby’s allergies) Christmas tree is up in our front window with more lights twinkling on it. My almost four year old grandson helped me add the ornaments, three per branch in many instances. It’s the thought that counts, right? I wonder if he will notice that I could not resist moving them around a bit to fill in some needier spots…
Last year, during a Florida vacation, I purchased these four beautiful Harvey Lewis ornaments, embellished with Swarovski crystals, one for each grandchild I had at the time…
This season I tried to order another “J” for our newest family member, the grandson that was lucky enough to be born at the beginning of the pandemic. Unfortunately, it seems lots of J babies were born this year as that letter is now unavailable. I will keep trying, my fingers are crossed hoping more will become available soon. As my sister in Texasis a little closer to Florida than I am in Ottawa, I have her looking for me within the USA.
My oldest granddaughter helped me unpack decorations from their designated buckets (yes, all labelled with the room they go in) and add them to the holiday decor, during her breaks from her online school lessons. Some decorations are very old (the bulbs in a vase on the dining room table belonged to my hubby’s grandmother!), some brand new, most somewhere in between. Many were handcrafted, like the wooden snowman-like guy at the bottom that my middle son made in grade two. He is now pushing twenty-nine years old. The point is that all have special meaning to us. Another example is the fibre-optic tree that was rescued from my Dad’s crawlspace just before his house sold after his passing…
I had to remove and relocate the (fake) poinsettia plants I had inside my fireplace, as my granddaughter was very concerned they might deter Santa…
A beautiful, real poinsettia, received from a friend, looks awesome on my kitchen table. The white blooms pop against the colourful tablecloth…
Holiday Crafts Make Awesome Christmas Decorations
Both of my granddaughters love crafts. I knew I held onto my craft bucket (for many years) for a reason, or two. We made snowflakes,a la Martha Stewart, ensuring every one is unique, just as nature intended…
My younger, almost 3 year old granddaughter helped me make loops of red and green paper to decorate the doorways.
I’m sure when she sees the snowflakes crafted by her older cousin, I will have a few more to add to my windows. I won’t tell her that I am counting on it. I also saw a neat (and kid friendly) craft on the Marilyn show I know she will love. A Christmas tree made of a paper cone and plastic spoons,decorated with glitter sounds right up her alley.
New Decorations for 2020
Shopping on Amazon recently for ideas on crafty decoration kits I could purchase to make with my granddaughters, I saw these really cute, very 2020, customizable Christmas tree ornaments. Spoiler alert to any family members reading this, I ordered some for each of our families!
customizable for your family!
Supporting our local shops, I purchased a few items from Wood N Delights & The Country Cottage out of Frankville, Ontario. Lots to choose from, visit their site for yourself for more ideas…
I settled on some stocking stuffers and a little something to add to my Christmas decorating. I am in love with the sweet cardinal-inspired salt and pepper shakers, now on my dining room table…
Where are you in your decorating this year? Have you started early or are you still waiting to get motivated?
