One thing I’d like to bring back in our own family is the celebration of the many other days that were once associated with Christmas and are now rarely even mentioned. I’d like to add Advent (Dec. 1), St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6), St. Lucia’s Day (Dec. 13), Twelfth Night (January 6), and Candlemas (February 2). This seems so much better to me than trying to cram all of Christmas into one or two days. Christmas is not one day, but a season. Making the holidays a series of smaller celebrations and de-emphasizing the shopping and the self-indulgence helps children enjoy all the many moments of the season. It helps soothe parents’ jangled nerves, because it takes much of the pressure off “the big day.” Gift-giving can even be spread out, offering small handmade tokens rather than an orgy of shopping and spending. Here’s a project for Advent.
Project: Personal Advent Calendars
Level: Easy Age: 5 and up Materials needed: Colored posterboard, gold foil, scissors, a sharp pencil, utility knife, drawing paper, ribbon, clip-type clothespins Having a calendar for each child means there’s no fighting over who gets to open the windows on these lovely calendars. Make an extra one for yourself. Here are a few other old crafting traditions that are back in style:
Cigar boxes are back, and not just the cardboard kind, either. There are neat wooden boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Check with your local tobacconist and see if he’ll save the empty boxes for you. Cover them with fabric or decorative paper and decorate. Give as a jewelry or treasure box or an extra-special gift box. Another great recycled gift is giving a yard-sale frame new life. Repaint or refinish it and have a glass company cut a mirror to size. Ask them to drill two holes through the mirror and use screws and a rubber washer to hold it or use clips to hold the mirror in the frame.
Of course, we could go on forever, but these projects should get you started. What’s nice is that they don’t have to just be for Christmas. Make these gifts year-round with your children and you’ll always have something on hand to give away.
