Christmas in January

There are a couple of Christmas projects I've been wanting to do for a while now (like several YEARS), but I always get caught in the insanity that is December and those projects wind up on the back burner. Again. And again.

This year, as we took down our Christmas decorations and stashed away all the amazing clearance finds, I decided it was a perfect time to take on those projects.

I saw the inspiration for this box in a Reader's Digest Christmas book several years back. I wanted to buy the book, but sadly, it's long since out of print. So I copied lots of pages out of it before returning it to the library. I'll probably be working through those ideas for years!

This is a box for my Christmas music CDs. Normally, they just hang out on the counter on a little shelf under my CD player. Not this coming Christmas!

This year, they'll be hanging out in this:


Pretty, huh? I think it needs some kind of decorative element on the front in the center, but I haven't found the perfect thing yet, so it'll wait until I do. I'm picturing something red, gold, and gaudy as heck! LOL!

I started with this pile of supplies. I gave up on the glitter paper, though. It just didn't seem right somehow--a shoe box, Mod Podge, and some photocopies of Christmas hymns from a nearby hymnal. I copied them onto some beige/eggshell colored paper to make them look more aged.


I used my handy-dandy Creative Memories tearing tool to tear the edges. I only used a few of them, really, and it was hard to choose favorites to put on the box. I've saved the scraps for another project, though, I promise not to keep them forever! :-)


Then I used my brown ink pad and a plain old (really cheap) make up sponge to "chalk" the edges, further aging the paper. I tried the fancier sea sponge, but the make up sponge really worked a lot better and is loads cheaper.

Then I Mod Podged the music onto the box in a random pattern, and sealed it with Mod Podge sealer. And last I glued the red ribbon around the top edges, both inside and out.

A Thrift Store Scavenger Hunt

I love thrift stores. I love the treasure hunting and the low prices and the endless possibilities of all that stuff! I have to be careful, however, not to get too carried away or heaven only knows what I'll bring home! LOL! And really, it's not a bargain if I never use it or wear it.

Today the local thrift store, Savers, had one of their holiday half-off sales. This is even better! Thrifting for half the price! GF Girl needed "new" clothes and I'm in need of some more sweaters and such for teaching and the like, so off we went. The Boy went skiing with the youth group, so Thumper needed to come along too. Now, Thumper doesn't need any new clothes, thanks to hand-me-downs from her sister, her cousin, and a couple of friends. So she would be bored out of her head while GF Girl and I shopped. What to do? What to do?


A Scavenger Hunt!

Yep, I made a list of commonly-found items at the thrift store for her to search for. She loved it! She found many of them, and GF Girl got into it too.

Here's my list.....make your own, add to it, modify it, whatever you need to do to keep your young ones entertained while you shop.

Santa Claus
An Angel
A red t-shirt
The Easter Bunny
A seaside photo/drawing/painting
A book about money
A Barbie with dark hair
A Smurf
A gold purse
A brightly colored scarf
A peace sign
A smiley face
A sewing pattern
Yellow yarn
A telephone
Green shoes
Envelopes
A measuring cup
A Valentine mug
Something for St. Patrick's Day
An American flag
A flag from another country
Fun/Funky salt & pepper shaker set
A Snowman
An unusual kitchen gadget
Crayons or markers
1000 pc puzzle

You get the idea. Just think of the unusual stuff you find at your local thrift store and make yourself a list. You could have your kids compete in teams or do a photo scavenger hunt, snapping photos of the items with a cell phone.

In my case, the store is contained and safe and my kids are old enough to handle themselves on their own. They didn't run wild like a pack of wild monkeys on Mountain Dew. Obviously, you'll need to take into consideration the age and maturity level (and caffeine consumption) of your kids, but even if they're still riding in the cart and you're giving them a few things to look for, it will keep their attention. You could do an alphabet search too....find something that starts with A or find the letter A or colors or numbers...if you want to make it a bit more educational.