What To Do With All Those Relatives....

Got a crowded house this Christmas? Wondering how to keep all those relatives busy and out of trouble? Try this this idea, which you may remember from this blog entry during last year's Christmas season.

Cut some strips of paper ...construction paper, scrapbook paper, any colors will do.... Set out some pens, pencils, crayons (take your pick). Prompt them with these two phrases:

"It's just not Christmas until...."

and

"You know it's really Christmas when...."

Tell them to finish those sentences, writing whatever they come up with on the strips of paper. (They can also list favorite Christmas memories, favorite presents, etc.) Then take all the strips of paper and paper chain. Hang it where everyone can read it ...then stand back and enjoy the flood of memories and laughter that will follow!

Here are a few that I came up with that first year:


A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV

Steve & Eydie on the radio

Red & Green wrapped Hershey's Kisses

Aunt Becky's Christmas Toffee


I tried this one year and it's been a tradition with us every since. Oh, we don't always make an actual paper chain, but not a Christmas goes by with out us taking note of things we could add to one. It keeps us counting our blessings instead of bogged down in all the Holiday Hoopla. I hope it does the same for your family!

If you haven't read it yet, you should go back and read the whole story.

Here's a picture of my original "Christmas Memory Chain":

Custom Christmas Buttons

I've already told you about my Christmas buttons, but I neglected to mention that I can easily customize these buttons for you.

Give me a list of all your gift recipients and I'll make buttons for each of them. You can even have them as re-usable tags, when I add a ribbon (like I've done for my Pocket Mirror Christmas Ornaments). Just loop the ribbon around the bows and ribbons on your packages to let them know who the gift is for, then re-use them year after year. Leave me a comment here or send me a convo on Etsy.com and I'll fix you right up!

A Mirror On Your Christmas Tree

I came up with a fun thing to do with my pocket mirrors this Christmas...hang them on your Christmas tree! Here's the front and back of one that's my original design:





I've saved a few special, one of a kind, images I'm recycling from vintage magazines published around Christmas and they'll be perfect for these. Here' my first two:





I have more vintage Christmas ones still to come, as well as something special for collectors of vintage cameras or guitars, or for you favorite computer geek (because I like those things, too). Here's one I made with a picture I took of the Miranda G 35mm slr I got years ago from my dad (I blogged about this camera rehere):



I'll be happy to make you some custom pocket mirror ornaments to hang on your tree. I can make you one that says Merry Christmas to someone special or use your photo to make one. Just leave me a comment here or a convo on Etsy and I'll fix you right up!