This winter, I was determined to get in the holiday spirit. The past few years, I haven’t felt much like decorating. Making Christmas magic is a lot of work, after all. I started listening to old holiday music the beginning of this month, and finding crafts I could do to get into the mood. Well, one thing led to another, and now Christmas has exploded in my house. Much to the joy of the three being I live with.
My craft list was long, but so far, I’ve managed to complete nearly all of what I set out to do. I started with making wrapping paper chains. I learned that the trick to a really nice paper chain is folding the wrapping paper over so it shows on both sides. This was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed doing it. I had to cut strips of paper, fold them in half, and tape them on both sides. If any of you decide to try this, get a stapler. For the love of God.
The plan for these chains was to create a chandieler on my living room ceiling. I still have two more chains to make and hang, but for right now it still looks pretty cool. I also found a video showing me how to make paper stars, so I will be adding those as well.
You can see in the picture with my tree a portion of the chain chandelier. It started out like this though:
I also began creating a cardboard gingerbread village to go above my kitchen cabinets. That’s still not finished, but my darling has been helping me decorate them so it will be completed shortly. The trick to making it look like real icing is white puff paint in a bottle with a super fine tip for the details. Here’s some of the little houses I created:
The next thing I did was create metal tinsel. I was really going for a warm, vintage Christmas vibe this year. I bought flat silver jewelry wire, cut it with my pliers, them loaded one end into my drill and held the other end with the pliers while I let the drill twist them. This was fun and fast. They spread the light from the tree beautifully. I really recommend trying this more sustainable way of tinseling the tree.
After all of my crafts, I got a few decorations and a live tree. It’s my first live tree since I was a child, and I’m enjoying it a lot. So are my furry children. They stay under the tree the whole night. I wish I could ask them what they were thinking. They do try to drink the tree water, though. Always fun with cats in the house around the holidays.
My one cat, Milkshake, was walking by the tree the other night and saw himself in an ornament. He proceeded to sit down and stare at himself in this ornament for at least three minutes. It was adorable.
Even if the cats destroy the tree, I think all of this will have been worth it, if only for the fact that after a hard year we get to enjoy the warmth and joy that Christmas brings. I do have to admire the women in my life for creating Christmas magic all throughout my life. It’s hard work! So thank you to everyone who works hard to create joy for their families. I don’t think we truly understand the work it takes until we take up the mantel ourselves.
Until next time, Happy Holidays! What are you guys doing for Christmas this year?