Lead By Example

It all started early last year when my family came into some common financial issues. Together we decided the most affordable road for the holidays also brought back the soul and meaning.

I started by researching different easy-to-make projects on-line. Scanned through a lot of the ideas at www.etsy.com. Taking into account the different likes and ages.

Being that my daughter is so young, it seemed ridiculous to spend exuberant amounts of money on stuff she would forget about even before the following Christmas. I spent a lot of time saving recyclables that could be turned into toys. I saved:

1) lids from containers/jars(mayonnaise, peanut butter) filled the inside with hand-drawn pictures and turned them into magnets for the fridge,

2) old baby-food containers, which i filled with a different colour of beads/buttons/bells and glued the lid on: Voila! Colour-learning tool!

3) i collected pine-cones and wrapped them in different colours of wool for fun and texture. This idea came from etsy.com,

4) a playroom for my daughter. Using left-over paint, scraps of material, excess furniture and freebies I had picked up along the way,

5) with scraps of material samples I had picked up at a garage sale, I made gifts re-usable gift bags for everyone and a quilt for my husband,

6) setting some space aside in a large closet in my home and created a unique tool-room for the man of the house,

7) I'm a painter, so I put that to use and painted a picture of my mom and step-dad on their wedding day. As well as art-work, photographs are always a welcomed and inexpensive gift,

8) home-made spices and ready to use cookie-mix, all in jars I had saved from our recycling

9) cut an antler into slices and added a magnet to the back for my step-dad.

Armed with a sewing machine, a glue-gun and some nails, my family and I created some lasting memories.

I am now carrying this tradition past Christmas and into the rest of the year. Good luck to everyone!

Good luck to everyone giving this a try!