Christmas wreaths and Christmas countdown

Here are a couple ideas which may be too late for this Christmas, but tuck them away in you mental file for next year.

Idea #1: I saw a link for wreath making and decided to attempt it. It's a really great tutorial if you want to try it. I took clippings from my yard, and from a friends yard, which I would recommend, a good variety of greens was really nice. My friend's yard had some red leaf plants and some with little red berries which were a nice touch.

Because I was cheap and impatient I didn't use the wire wreath forms or floral wire. I had my wonderful husband scour the utility room for something that would work. He found me and old towel hanger and a broken metal plate rack, both made great forms for wrapping my greens around. I also used fishing line instead of floral wire, but I think next year I will splurge on wire since the fishing line was harder to tie off.

Anyhow, I really had a blast doing these and I can't imagine ever spending money on a wreath. Mine were plain, no ribbon or ornaments added. I would love to do this a little earlier next year and possibly make extras to give as gifts. Since I already have a red berry wreath (fake) for my door I used these more as centerpieces/table top decor.

I think it would be really fun to have a few friends take clipping from their yards and gather to share the greens and enjoy the wreath-making experience together.

Idea #2: I also copied this idea for a Christmas Countdown. I made one quite simply by printing out numbers 1-25 on my computer in plain cardstock, varying the sizes and fonts, so they were all different. Then I just jazzed them up with leftover Christmas scrapbooking paper scraps, and followed the directions on the link from there. An activity on the back of each magnet was a fun way to countdown to Christmas and made sure we were deliberate about enjoying the season, doing the things we love. This was great for the ages of my kids, they have continued to be really excited about each days activity. Every family has their own traditions and I'm sure you can think of little things for each day. Some things could even be as simple as sharing your favorite Christmas memory. Here are some thing we did:

Look at Christmas lights

Bake cookies

Make treats for birds

Read Christmas books

Read the Christmas Story

Watch a Christmas movie

Pop Popcorn (and string it)

Decorate tree

Visit the State Capital

Deliver treats to neighbors

Make cards

Mails cards

Make paper snowflakes

Go to the Nutcracker

Sing Christmas songs

you get the idea.....