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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We were blessed to be surrounded by our loved ones for another year.
The holiday rush is finally over and I've enjoyed recovering the for the last two days. My niece's shower and wedding put me behind and I never did finish decorating this year. My sister-in-law Debbie was kind enough to host my husband's family for Christmas Eve. All we had to do was cook the food. I had my sister and father for Christmas dinner, which was nice after hosting both for 25-30 people for the last ten years. We were broke this year, so shopping was minimal. I spent the 8 days before Christmas crafting so I would at least have something small for everyone. I hope you like what my family and I made. Most of the gifts cost $5.00 or less and the bow and arrow sets were the biggest hit.
The little monster I made for my 1 year old nephew Collin. I had the fur, so the total cost was around $2.00.
Magnetic fishing game I made for Collin and his 7 year old brother Nathan. It cost about $6.00 to make because the bucket was $4.00.
I made a pair of these mailboxes. One for Collin and one for Nathan. My girls had a mailbox on their playhouse when they were little and they would play mail for hours! Felt by the yard is a steal when it is on sale at Joann's. The total for 2 mail sets, about $4.00.
The bow and arrow sets I made for several kids. The bows were made of spray painted 1/2" PVC, PVC caps, foam pipe insulation wrapped with electrical tape for the grip and nylon string. The arrows are 3/16" dowels with a groove cut in one end and capped with rubber erasers sprayed silver. The quivers are easy sew felt. Total cost, less that $4.00 for a small bow and around $5.00 for a teenage sized bow. My daughter's boyfriend was able to shoot his about 20 feet.
Some of the grown ups received these chalkboard snowmen and
gingerbread men made of dollar store trays. They can be used by the
front door to greet guests or near the tree. I thought it would be great
for a countdown to Christmas for the little ones. The chalkboards have
velcro on the back to make writing on them easier. They were around
$5.00 each.
I spent a full day baking so everyone received homemade goodies. I filled in with a few inexpensive store bought gifts, but I honestly spent very little time shopping. It was nice this year to have the focus on family and being together. It's a tradition I hope to keep.
I will be posting some of the great finds I have picked up over the last few months, (but had no time to post) in the next couple of days. Until then....Happy New Year!
