Christmas Part Deux: Getting in the Spirit (not Spirits, that's next week)

Raise your hand if your holiday calendar gets crazier by the minute and some how increases exponentially each year. That was a trick and you fell for it- you can't raise your hand as you are most likely too busy juggling all of your side projects. I know the feeling. This week I made a good old fashioned "to do" list (on a fancy app on my smart phone.... the old fashioned way). I went out shopping intending to tick off the items on my list, but inexplicably the list kept multiplying and became much longer by the end of the night. The point is, the craziness of my holiday schedule is a beast of my own making. Do I have to find the right sized gift to save my wallet and still not leave anyone out on my kids' sketchy list of 25 school staffers that they "see every day?" Should I put a personal touch on my Christmas cards by attaching an end of year family news letter to send hand addressed to 50 people? Do I really need to rummage through my craft cupboard for new inspiration every year to stay on budget and still have the kids participate in gifting? The simple answer is no. But some of the things that add to the chaos of it are part of what make the season so cheery for me and mine- in fact, these are some of the things that make it a season at all.  So here are some of the crafty projects the goon squad and I have enjoyed in recent years and the sound track I torture them with as we paint, glue, hammer and cry.

Decorations

It's hard to get in the holiday mindset without the right environment. This is where I get super old school. The tree goes up the weekend after Thanksgiving and stays up until the weekend after New Years. Every tree needs frosting- you might be one of those people who like a traditional, schemed or themed tree.... and there is nothing wrong with that. Some of those looks can be very elegant.

There are a variety of colors, both tree and ornament to do something new every year. To my way of thinking, though, this seems very cookie-cutter and Better Homes & Gardens. I come from the hodge-podge school of tree decorating. Nothing matches, no mass produced box sets, sticky kid finger prints on everything. The goons and I have been collecting a few ornaments a year since they were but a gleam in my eye. We now have a few hundred. Combine that with the 200 family ornaments from my own childhood I just "inherited" from my father (who no longer wants to store them), and the only color we don't see on the tree anymore is green. From the ones collected on our world travels, the Harry Potter characters I hand painted, the Christmas armadillo found in a country store, Henrietta the tree chicken, the art glass from my mother, my daughter's Christmas pickles or my son's blown glass Batman, this tree has a multitude of personality... or multiple personalities.

 

We also  recently acquired my childhood Santa collection from my father... and with not much surface space decided to create a Game of Thrones Night's Watch diorama. A new tradition in the making. It's great having the throwback decorations, but we've found a way to enjoy them while making them our own.



"Taking the [red]."

When I was a kid, we got Steinbach nutcrackers on a trip to Germany- mine was a chimney  sweep. I bought one for each of us as I had my own family at Target of all places. Steinbachs may be mass produced now, but they still have charm and nostalgia. And it just isn't Christmas without our knitted personalized stockings hanging with care... 



 

 

Crafts







One of our favorite Christmas ( or anytime) project

Who doesn't love gnomes? This time of year they prefer to be called elves, fyi. So simple to make- felt, wooden pegs and glue. If you really want to get fancy googly eyes, buttons, beards and razzle dazzle... but gnomes are a simple folk. These little guys are great for ornaments, little Christmas towns, home made gift sets, stocking stuffers- their charm never wears off.

 

 

Refrigerator Jewels

These are super easy and cute gifts the goon squad made and gave out last year. We spray painted old jar lids we saved up and applied self adhesive magnets to the backs. The kids decorated the front with bright and colorful jewels, but there are a ton of other things like seashells, sequins, buttons, glow-in-the-dark stars, etc. that would work for this project. Et viola- Refrigerator Jewels!

Face prints are creepy, but pretty much every other kind of print is keepsake material.

 There is a treasure trove of online inspiration for every kind of print craft under the sun. In my humble opinion, these kinds of crafts are only really cute up to  a certain age- no one wants a card with your ten year old's foot print on it. Age two is probably a good age to stop wiggling those adorable little tooties in paint- but hand prints and finger prints have a much longer shelf life.

 

                                                                                 

Buttons are something we haven't worked with much, but like the finger/foot/hand prints, they have so many creative applications and aren't just for kids. Buttons have the hallmarks of a great holiday craft: fancy or whimsical, available in mass quantities, fun, appropriate for all ages and easy to replicate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                              Music

The  debate: Christmas music-  yay or nay? You may be a heartless, Scrooge of a bah- humbug and detest the songs that make the Season bright, or you may be a festive-holic, waiting all year for that minute, three weeks before Thanksgiving, when the dulcet tones hit the airwaves again- the earlier the better, you say. Or you may be like me- festive and joyous for one month a year, throwing in whole-heartedly until the week after New Year’s. One thing I feel is woefully missing from my monthly festivities is Adult Christmas caroling- and by that I mean Bridget Jones style drunken belting out and butchering of the best holiday songs in a crowded dive bar with a circle of your equally drunk and fearless friends. It’s only  once a year- tis the season not to judge.

I don't particularly find Justin Beiber to be super festive, but that is just my taste. There is probably some teenager reading this list thinking "Who is Frank Sinatra?"  There is however, a lot of interesting new Christmas music worth taking a listen to. Obviously everyone’s list is going to be different, but one of the benefits to having parents with a large age gap is the broad range of music I was subjected- I mean, exposed- to. These would be the top 20 songs on my Christmas Karaoke wish list/Festive Playlist.

Pop Christmas

 Mariah Carey- All I Want for Christmas is You

Darlene Love- Christmas (Baby Please come Home)

Wham or Taylor Swift- Last Christmas

 

John Lennon- Happy Christmas

Leann Rhymes- All I want For Christmas- completely different song than Mariah Carey

Adam Sandler- The Chanukah Song- including updated versions

Sarah McLachlan- River (pretty much any song on her holiday album)

Classic Christmas

 

Bing Crosby- Do You Hear What I Wear?

Transsiberian Orchestra- Carol of the Bells

Andy Williams- O Holy Night

Manheim Steamroller- pretty much anything

 Golden Christmas Oldies

 

Nat King Cole- The Christmas Song

 

Frank Sinatra- Christmas Waltz  (best song of Christmas). She & Him also have a great rendition

The Carpenters- I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Nat King Cole- O Tannenbaum

Perry Como- Home for the Holidays

Songs the inner Child in me still giggles at:

 Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

 We Three Kings

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

Dominic the Donkey

It may be masochistic and nutty to try to DIY the holidays, but also cathartic and slightly productive- made more enjoyable accompanied by the right tunes.