Tuesday, December 5, 2023
It’s D•E•C•E•M•B•E•R!
This time of year is filled with so many memory making moments
with its flurry of activities and gatherings!
We’re just doing our best to take it in, breathe and savor it all!
Yes, the Christmas season is the time of year
to gather with family and friends and it’s the perfect time to build new family traditions!
Today Laurie shares a long standing family tradition that has brought
two families closer together during the last 27 years….
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been carrying on this family tradition for so many years!
Then we look back at all the photos taken during these yearly gatherings
and we are reminded of how our tradition and our families have grown!
I’m excited to share this special tradition with you all!
When our children were little (ages 2 and 4)
we were invited by some good friends who had children the same ages
to go Christmas tree hunting and then
to make some simple ornaments for the trees.
We made these plans for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
We went to breakfast at McDonald’s first then went to find our Christmas trees
before spending the afternoon painting those old wooden ornaments
while munching on snacks.
Our Littles were so excited to hang their ornaments on the family trees that year
so we decided that our families would repeat the activity the following year.
And, thus, our annual tradition began…
Christmas Craft Day!
That was 27 years ago!
Our two families just enjoyed our 26th year of crafting last week!
(We did not gather in 2020 due to Covid. 😞)
Since that first Christmas Craft Day,
we have gained 4 new spouses
(in our kids' wedding vows, they had to promise to honor Christmas Craft Day)
and our two oldest girls now have 1 and 2 of their own Littles
that have joined In the fun!
When Laura and Laurie were younger
and taught Sunday School and planned the yearly Advent celebration at church,
Laura would often hear Laurie talk about this fun tradition…
It sounded AMAZING and definitely one worth duplicating!!!
Read on as Laurie shares her suggestions for setting up your own
Christmas Craft Day!
Tip #1 - We chose a set day each year to be sure we always kept it free. The Saturday after Thanksgiving worked well. Kids were home from college and even as some of them moved out of state, they were generally home for Thanksgiving weekend!
Tip #2 - Set a routine! We always started our day going to McDonald’s for breakfast. Then we'd head to the Christmas tree farm to shop around and take photos.
By afternoon we were sitting around the table crafting and munching on our “snacky lunch”.
Later in the day, we’d order pizza for dinner and eat it while watching a family holiday movie on the VCR then on DVD and, in recent years, a streaming channel! Oh how times have changed!
While there would always be a mess to clean up from our day of fun, we just let it be and enjoyed our time together! The mess could easily be cleaned up the following day!
Tip #3 - We were flexible! We eventually stopped going to McDonald’s and we’d have a potluck brunch instead. And, as the kids grew and our friends switched to an artificial tree, we'd take in the year's newly released Christmas movie before heading home to get going on our crafts for the day!
Tip #4 - Our crafts grew with our kids! They started very simply and have increased with difficulty. It’s okay to use craft kits as well! Some of our best crafts came from Michael’s!
Tip #5 - As soon as the kids were old enough, the moms stopped planning the crafts and our kids took over! The texts will start flying in October as they start searching Pinterest for the year’s crafts to come!
Tip #6 - The whole family gathers - dads included! Sometimes they might do their own Christmas decorating or sneak off to watch some football but we all love having them there and no one would have it any other way!
Tip #7 - Every year we write the year and the names of the crafts completed on our annual crafting tablecloth… with samples of each included, of course!
Tip #8 - We take lots of pictures each year! We all love looking back at them and often relive past years!. The conversations and laughter usually start with “remember…..” And as a final tip... don’t forget to date your crafts every year!
To get you going, you’ll find two simple suggestions for Christmas Craft Day fun for three different age groups below! Plan as many activities as you think will hold your Littles’ attention and abilities. The other mom and I generally planned about 2 projects, for a total of four crafts each year. Now we have four Middles who each plan one. You can also judge the number of crafts based on the difficulty of each, too!.
Christmas Crafts for Young Littles!
(4 years old and under)
🎄Christmas Trees!
Dip pom poms in glue or use stickers to decorate a paper or fun foam tree!
🎄Wrapping Paper!
Use rubber stamps to stamp all over big sections of paper (or even use rolls of kraft paper). Use your decorated paper to wrap your gifts this year!
Christmas Crafts for Middle Littles!
(elementary age)
🎄Craft Kits!
This is a good age to check out craft kits. Littles this age enjoy figuring out step-by- step directions and, as an added bonus, most of the supplies needed are included in each kit!
🎄Sequin Ornaments!
Take a styrofoam ball and stick sequins all over it, holding them on with stick pins.
Christmas Crafts for Older Littles!
(Middle School +)
🎄Paper Folding!
Just search YouTube for “Christmas Origami”. There are lots of videos for all different ages, like the Christmas Star one we’re sharing below.. Many have step by step instructions, too! The only supply you’ll really need is colorful copy paper cut into squares
(NOTE: Construction paper is typically too heavy for successful paper folding.) Here’s a link if you’d like to purchase origami paper, cut to order!
🎄Yarn Trees!
Take a styrofoam cone and cover it with glue. Wrap the yarn around it… you may want to glue and wrap in sectionsthis - it will take patience! Then decorate with sequins, pom poms, gems, etc… and, of course, top it off with a star!
We hope these suggestions give you some ideas for getting started… and don’t forget that you can always check out Pinterest or simply google “Christmas craft ideas for (age level)” and you’ll have plenty of ideas to choose from!
The annual Christmas Craft Day is a beloved holiday tradition for Laurie and family!
Are you ready to make it one of your holiday traditions, too?
Can’t you just hear your Littles…
“Hurry, hurry! It’s Christmas Craft Day!!”
Young Families -
Reach out to your group of friends
and create a new tradition together!
Grands -
What a wonderful tradition to start with your own Littles!
You could make it a day for your whole family to enjoy together
OR
you can carve out a few hours of time
to enjoy the Christmas season with your Littles
OR
invite another Grand friend and start the tradition together with all your Littles!
Traditions ground our children and help them stay solid and connected
in our busy and sometimes upside down world!
Then…
and Now!
Grateful for it ALL!
😍
Wishing you and your family and friends a day filled with
warm memories, lots of laughter, good food and fun crafts!
Do you have a favorite family tradition that you look forward to year after year?
We’d LOVE to hear all about it!
’Please feel free to comment at the bottom of this post
or you can always email us directly at ourgrandlives@gmail.com.
We share new ideas regularly so be sure to stop by when you can!
We’ll be back next week with our thoughts on gift giving with
The Gift of Time!
Look for us to share our suggestions for memorable and lasting gift ideas
as well as updated versions of our popular Stocking Stuffer lists, too!
Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!
❤️ Thanks so much for stopping by! ❤️
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Busy Monday from A Pinch of Joy
Home Matters from Southern Sunflowers
Crazy Little Love Birds Link Up from Crazy Little Love Birds
Sweat Tea & Friends from Grace Filled Moments
You're the Star from Eclectic Red Barn
Thank you for featuring this post on your sites!
❤ We love our blogging community! ❤
We are delighted to join these link up parties and blog hops this week:
I so enjoyed hearing about your Christmas craft tradition. I appreciate seeing your photos, what a beautiful family.
Thanks bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month.
I love this as a family tradition! Great post!-- I'll be featuring your post over at The Crazy Little Love Birds link party this Friday. We hope you can join us again soon. 😊
-Stephanie
https://crazylittlelovebirds.blogspot.com/
What a fun and memorable yearly family tradition! I'll be featuring y'all at this week's #HomeMattersParty. Thanks for sharing! Allyson @ Southern Sunflowers
Debra | GmasPhoto.website wrote: So much fun. The fun never ends! Wonderful memories for sure. Thank you for sharing at Gma’sPhoto ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #11.
Take care and best wishes.
What a lot of fun. We have a Christmas tradition in that we do baking annually and its so much fun and we love it and then the get to share the treats at the end. Thank you for sharing your links with us at #290 SSPS Linky. See you again next week