Craft Christmas: Hand Made with Love

It’s a lucky day for us at Kickass Adventuring.  For some time now we’ve been hoping to have Sue Bell guest write on the site, and today marks her first contribution.

As well as being a generous and loving friend, Sue is the owner of Giggles and Grass Stains, Santana’s wonderful pre-school.  She is also the founder and one of the core members of Surf Church, and the only person we know that can use the word “kafuffle” with a straight face.

I’ve recently had Christmas and rampant consumerism on my mind, as I often do this time of year, and, lo and behold, Sue Bell does as well:

Helping the Earth and Your Soul this Holiday Season

You know what is kickass?

Helping our “URS”, as Santana would say (“Earth” for the uninitiated).

What better time to teach our kids about the importance of recycling and reusing then on these consumer filled days leading up to Christmas?

Lets take the opportunity during these wonder-filled, enchanted weeks before the holiday to teach our kids what Christmas is really  about: the magic of giving, spending time with family, goodwill, creating traditions and warm snuggly nights cuddled together.

And guess what?   An environmentally friendly Christmas can help teach your family all of that AND be easier on your wallet.

Check it out:

For the last 20 years, my best girlfriends and I have celebrated “Craft Christmas”.  As teenagers, it was a great way to get together after all the kafuffle of family celebrations, and it allowed us, cheaply, to give a gift to each pal.  Back then, it was more about making something that would illuminate an inside joke, or embarrass a friend, but throughout the years it has become much more than that. Craft Christmas provides a time each year for me to sit alone in my thoughts, and concentrate on each individual friend.  While making the gift, my thoughts wander to memories of the two of us, changes we’ve gone through, and our dreams for the future.  In turn, each craft made becomes a gift to me – a chance to revel in my amazing friends, all while putting my heart and soul into a handmade, one-of-a-kind gift that promises to bring a smile and make my wonderful friends feel special.  Because they are.

The joy that Craft Christmas gives me, makes me dread doing “regular Christmas shopping”: the malls, the crowds, the panic of not finding the perfect gift.  In addition to all of that – the waste that I started to notice drove me insane – the packaging, the plastic bags, the gifts bought that no one has the space, time, or appreciation for.  I saw my nieces opening present after present until there was such a mountain of colored wrapping paper we feared losing the youngest child.  It was wasteful, and in my mind, not what Christmas should signify.

And so, my mission starts:  to fa la la la Craft Christmas into everyone’s lives.   To remind us all that gifts, especially from kids, are always better when made with love.

So with that, I leave you with 3 ideas to inspire you and your family to spend the weekend not at the mall but instead at home, thinking about your loved ones and creating a beautifully green Christmas Spirit .

Wrapping Paper

It is estimated that 8,000 tons of wrapping paper is bought and then discarded every December.  Holy Macaroni!  Think about how hard we all try to recycle and be conscientious all year long just to have a wrapping paper binge at the end of December.  Instead, try cutting up your old Trader Joe’s paper bags.  The underside of the bag is a beautiful blank canvas where the kids can draw, potato stamp, and create personalized wrapping paper.  No time to decorate?  Even last minute gifts look beautiful under the tree as “brown paper packages tied up with string”.  If it was one of Julie Andrews’ favorite things, it surely should be one of ours too!

If you feel that your Christmas tree will miss the bright colors of wrapping paper, another great alternative is fabric.  Material from your local fabric store comes in holiday patterns that you can wrap your sweetie’s gift in.  It looks so beautifully classic and the best part is that it can be reused for years and years to come.

Recycling your Christmas Tree

I get it.  I love having a real tree in my house over the holidays.  Nothing beats the smell, the lights and the warmth a Christmas tree brings.  But what about after the holidays?  It seems such a waste to just fling it in the garbage.

Thankfully, our cities can use the Christmas trees to enhance or communities.  If recycled, the old trees can be used in a wildlife sanctuary, on sand dunes to protect the beach, chipped and used for mulch, etc.  And recycling your tree is easy!  Just Google Christmas Tree Recycling with your city’s name into the search engine.  If you live in LA, I’ve already done it for you: L.A. Christmas Tree Recycling.

Gifts

I could list a million and one ideas of how to make a perfect homemade present for your loved one, but the truth of the matter is that it will only be perfectly perfect if it was created by you with them in mind.  That being said, here are some wonderful and easy crafts for the kids that will always bring a smile to an auntie or grandpa’s face:

1. Canvas Portraits.  Canvas can be expensive.  So depending on how many gifts you are making, you may want to use recycled cardboard or blocks of wood from the shed (definitely a greeer alternative!).  Craft Stores also sell a “flat” version of Canvas for very cheap (from $1 – $10 dollars).  Have your child paint a picture of the gift receiver. Ask your child what comes to mind when they think of the person. Make sure to include their answer in the painting.  Add an “Artist Bio” on the corner of the canvas that includes your child’s name, age, hobbies and the painting title.

2. Movie or Performance.  Nowadays we all have the technology to take a video.  Instead of traipsing around the mall, why not spend the day creating a movie or performance for the kids to act out on camera that you can download, burn (or put on You Tube for a greener alternative) and then distribute to Grandma, Aunt Edna or the elderly neighbor?  Have the kids create their own script, decide on locations and design their own costumes.  What an invaluable present for both the recipient and your kids.

3. Framed Poems.  Unless there is a Grinch in your life, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t love a framed poem or story written about them by the little one in their life.  Encourage your child to talk about the person receiving the gift.  He/She can write down words that describe the person (or can dictate them to you if they are not printing yet).  They could write an acrostic poem, a limerick, a rhymed poem, or a short descriptive poem.  Afterwards, the child can decorate the page, or better yet, buy (or make!) a wooden frame that your child can paint.

Use your imagination; feel the spirit of the holidays; look inside of yourself.  The season is here to share a Green Christmas with your loved ones.

Wishing you all Love, Adventures, Peace on “URS”, and a very merry Craft Christmas!

–Sue Bell