Traditions

We are sharing 2 traditions today from reader Amber:

When I was in junior high one of my younger brothers gave Christmas ornaments to everyone for Christmas. They were ceramic and he had hand painted them. They were by far perfect but to this day I still have that ornament and every year I think of him and that special Christmas when I put his ornament on the tree. I will always treasure it - even if I didn't treasure it when it was given!

I've started having my kids paint ornaments this year as well. We have 2 wooden ones (one for each of the kids) and 2 plaster ones. My kids are VERY young (2.5 and 1.5) but they LOVE to paint. I thought this would be a good time to start a yearly tradition and to give them a creative thing to do during the holiday season. Some people say I'm crazy for letting my kids paint...but I do everything I can to make it a quick clean up and headache free project. I have some old sheets that are reserved for picnics and painting, first I put those down to cover the floor and table (or any surface that is close to the area being used). Next, I strip the kids down to their skives (either diapers or underwear). Finally I remind myself that this is supposed to be fun and to let them do whatever they want - it won't be perfect and that's ok. Then we get to work. At the end I throw the sheets in the wash, the kids in the tub and clean up the paint utensils. Clean up takes almost as long as the project itself (because of the bath) but it's always worth it. They talk about it for weeks!

Great stuff! One of my hubby's aunts has been painting and handing out ceramic ornaments for years, and while they sometimes break, the kids love having something with their name on it! Thanks for sharing Amber, and remember if you have a tradition you would like to share there is still time to email us and we will post it!