Days until Christmas: 22
Yesterday the girls opened a square envelope filled with “paint with water” ornaments. I got these from Michaels and I don’t recommend them. The paint just gets pushed around the paper and doesn’t quite stick. It sure deflates the excitement of a “magic paint” gift. After a few tries I gave in and told the girls they could color it with markers. It’s the thought that counts, right?
Days until Christmas: 21
After mass, the girls cut down a hexagon box and in it was a chocolate coin. I remember having a REAL coin like this (not gold, though). I think I still have it somewhere. I love the weight of the real thing—it felt like a dollar… not like the Sacagewea coins today.
This hexagon box was quite a task to put together with all the folding and scoring. It felt a bit wonky at first, but when the lid is closed it feels quite sturdy.
PATTERNS!
The square envelope is pretty straightforward. It makes a 3×3 square. You can do something fancy with the flap if you have a specialty punch. I’ve only provided a letter-size pattern since a half-scrapbook size would waste a lot of paper (see how frugal I am?).
Download Square Envelope Pattern
The hexagon is a little more complicated. There’s some specific gluing involved and you have to make sure you make a slit for the tab before you fold it all together. I’ve provided both a letter- and half-scrapbook- size pattern.
Christmas Tree
Here’s our tree. Not much has changed from the past years. I still keep the traditional gold and red colors in there. We have a few fun elements in there – I always add an ornament or two to commemorate the year. There’s robots, hot air balloons, cupcakes, tchotchkes from past cruises/travels, and homemade ornaments. I’ve always debated over a real vs. fake pre-lit tree. Fake is the way to go right now. I miss the pine smell, but with dry winters and pets, I think a real tree would not be ideal for us.
This train was given to my oldest for her baptism from a lady who always gave me the weirdest gifts growing up— seriously… florescent MC hammer pants, boys clothes that are too big/small, old lady clothes when I was a teenager (and too many more to count). She is a very thoughtful and kind person though… just a little quirky in the gift department. So I found it funny (yet expectedly odd) that she gave a Christmas night light train for a baptismal gift. I always think of her whenever I light this cute train set.
I hope you are all enjoying the season! Look out for more posts in the next few days!