With Christmas just over five weeks away, many of our children will start bringing home handmade Christmas decorations from school. I not only save every decoration my kids make, I hang them proudly on my Christmas tree. Every year, I carefully unpack the paper stars outlined with glue and sprinkled with glitter, the pinecones coated with glue, sprinkled with glitter and tied with a ribbon for hanging, and the snowmen made from pompoms, and give them places of honor right on the tree. There are no store bought ornaments that mean more to me than those treasures, made with my childrens’ own hands.
Parent Bloggers Network asked us to post this weekend about our handmade treasures, and although I could have gone down to the basement and unpacked the kids’ decorations, what I decided to show instead is a decoration my husband made in 1979 when he was 11. I don’t remember when he first showed it to me, I assume his mother must have given it to him when he got his first apartment. But ever since it came into our house, it’s had a place of honor. Right now it lives on the bottom shelf of our large curio cabinet in the living room. I present to you, our handmade treasure, the Elf on the Sled:
Chris made this at his Grandma’s house, so he doesn’t know where the elf figure or the sled itself came from. He thinks the sled might have been a kit that he glued together. At one time the elf was also lightly glued to the sled but it’s no longer attached. The best part? He gave the sled a name:
Yep, “Mean Mother”. His Mother passed away two years ago, but he tells me that she wasn’t mad that he named the sled that. So there you have it, our handmade treasure. This PBN Blog Blast is sponsored by Klutz, the makers of award-winning activity books for people of all ages. With Klutz books, you can learn everything from juggling to face painting, and they are available at most bookstores. Even I could probably learn to do crafts with those books!
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{ 3 comments }
That is sooo cute. I was touched by this story and it also made me slightly sad.
I think this is the sweetest elf of the world. I love the story also.
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The “Mean Mother” sled craft is such a touching story. We’ve all been there, right? Who’s the Meanest Mom? Anyway, it’s great to share such a sweet memory about the love of Mother and Son that has no bounds. I, like you, have saved every Christmas craft my child has ever made and cry every year when I open the box. The years go by so quickly. Thanks for the wonderful post.
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