Um hello, late December ... what the heck are you doing here? No, seriously: When did it become T-minus five days until C-Day?? I wish I could say that the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of Champagne and twinkle lights, but lately I've been packing more boxes with masking tape than wrapping them in silver and gold. I've never been a Paltrow* with my Christmas lists--there's enjoyment in the challenge that comes from a little procrastination, I find. But I'm pretty good about decking the halls pretty soon after Thanksgiving. Only this year it took even longer than usual for the holly-jolly to kick in. Did I go into our basement and unpack our boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations? Ho-ho-ho, heck no. Instead I went to Whole Foods for a Charlie Brown tree, followed by Michaels for some crafty goodness, and then signed Cecile up for an afternoon of good old-fashioned child labor. (Hey, after her show with Santa, it was the least she could do.)
First: a little salt-dough. This was so incredibly simple. Mix 1 cup of flour with a half cup of salt and a half cup of water. Make whatever ornament you like, then bake it for two hours at 250 degrees for two hours. Some people get super into their salt ornaments, using rolling pins and cookie cutters and paints. Me? I made a circle, pat it flat, then pressed Cecile's hand into it. Voila! And unto us a star was made. (You'll see.)
Next, more Christmasy doodads made from Cecile's handprint. At Michaels, I scooped up some simple navy glass ornaments; red, white, green, and black acrylic paints; ribbon; and some basic brushes. Follow the series of photos and you'll get a pretty good gist of what happened next ...
<<insert nap time here.>>
^^tah tah!^^
A little hand snowman family! How's that for a day of nervous energy and holiday spirit? Not too shabby, if you ask me. Our little tree gives our rental just enough holiday flavor without making me break into hives with the thought of packing Christmas back into boxes in under two weeks. And now Cecile has all her holiday shopping taken care of (spoiler alert, grandparents!). At least that makes one of us.
I actually quite like our little Christmas tree. Jon likes it too, and not just because it's the first year our tree hasn't scratched paint off the ceiling (oops). Maybe next year in our new house (!) we'll give Cecile a little tree all her own. After two years of ornament crafts, she is gaining quite a collection, after all. We'll see ... ;) In the meantime, happy last weekend before Christmas! (Please wish me luck with farrrrrr too much last-minute shopping.)
^^Bahahaha! Sorry, Bogie. I couldn't resist.^^
*Not a knock on Paltrow. I love her and am inspired by her Paltrowness.
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