Christmas Crafting

School was done for the 'year' at 1:00 yesterday.  I scooted out the door not much after 1:00, after saying good-bye and Merry Christmas to some wonderful co-workers.  Then it was time for Christmas to get into FULL swing in our home.  Sometimes I just need to get past one big project before I can fully move into another.  School was done, and I could move on. 

I had lots on the agenda for yesterday.  I had laundry to fold, a house to clean, and some fun, fun projects that I wanted to do with the kids....We were excited!

First up:

Reindeer Food!

I had already done this with my kids at school, hence the cute little labels for each ingredient.  It made it fun though, and Eliott was all about reading the directions, and could totally count and scoop on his own.  For the Gusto Take-Off Grain we used corn and oats.

I think we had about 8 ingredients that went into our Food.  All things that are safe and good for animals.  You can use pretty much whatever you have in your kitchen at the time.  Magic Flying Feed was flour.

We lined all of the ingredients up around the outside edge of the table.  Eli and Adi just walked around on chairs to fill up their jars.  Once they got the hang of it, I just stood back and smiled.  They were loving this little project.  Just like I hoped they would!

There are these cute little tags that go along with it.  You fold them in half, and on the back is a cute little poem that tells you what to do.  If you are interested in the tags- let me know, and I can send them to you!

This is the back of the tag.  Works well to fold over a bag and staple, or for us, we just punched a hole, put string through it, and tied it around the tops of our jars.

Here is the Gusto Flying Grain.  It would be really cool if there was snow on the ground, because then the kids would get up the next morning and see the footprints of all the little animals that would come to eat their treat!  Since there is no snow, we will just have to point out the fact that I'm sure most of this food will be gone when we wake up the next morning.  The critters will be all about the corn and oats!

Adi took her job seriously, and was dressed appropriately for the occasion!- No, I did not plan that:)

Eliott was very sure to read the directions and count out exactly what the 'recipe' said.

Our Rooftop Parking Pasta was crushed up Ramen Noodles.  The Cheerios in the jar are labeled Circling the Earth.  The Oat and Altitude Meal in the background is dry oatmeal.

We also had Reindeer Breath Freshener- (cinnamon), and Santa's Sparkle- (glitter).  The glitter is what Santa sees from up in the sky.  This is how he knows where to stop.

It was so nice to be home with the kids, and looking forward to a long break with them.  We had so much fun together.  I love these moments!

Sleigh Ride Sweetener was sugar.

We put ours together in small jars, and put a cute piece of fabric on the top, and tied the tags on with a cute piece of string.  We made a couple for our cousins we will see on Christmas Eve.  The kids are very excited to sprinkle it out in our yard...They wanted to try it already last night!

 

Next up:  Ornaments.

I had a couple last-minute projects to make that we will give as gifts.  Each year I do a set of ornaments, and give them to a few special people on our list- (sorry if any of you are reading).  This year I thought we'd try to make our own instead of buying them.  They turned out really cute, and I'm already thinking of how I could do this again for next year.  We started with the plain, clear glass balls.

A lovely lady at work brought me in some old church music Hymnals.  I was super excited, because they were even a little yellowed.  This is exactly the look I was going for!  I shredded them up, and we put the shreds in each of the ornaments.

The kids had fun helping with this, even though it was a little tedious.

Eli was proud of his finished product!

We also put a couple pinches of snow glitter, just to give them a little sparkle.  I learned it was best to not fill them too full....I liked the look a little better when we didn't put as much 'stuffing' in.

It looks beautiful hanging on our tree - Success!  So there it is.  Our projects are complete.  A few errands to run today, and we are ready for a Christmas movie and popcorn downstairs tonight.  Tomorrow morning we are up and running with the first of many Christmas celebrations with family and friends, and we can hardly wait!!!!!  Merry Christmas from our home!