Yesterday my girls and I sanded, painted, hot glued and hand tied 25 ornaments. I love getting this kind of stuff done early in the year, so that when Christmas is here, all I have to do is pull it off the shelf. Kati Oliver, creator of The 25 Days of Christ ornament tradition, gifted us this set of wooden (and felt) DIY ornaments. I have to admit, I was a little surprised at the amount of work that needed to go into finishing these, but with my helpers it was pretty fun. And now that they are done, there are sweet memories associated with each ornament that we crafted together.
I loved that the wooden pieces were large and simple enough for my youngest to paint. She thought it was the greatest thing ever, and had lots of questions about what each ornament signified. I’m looking forward to bringing them all out again, one at a time, and discussing in detail what they refer to. The booklet that comes in the box has scripture references, quotes, and links to pictures and videos on lds.org that go along with each ornament, each day.
And voila! Our finished ornaments. My 11-year old did the bulk of the painting, and also cut out all the felt pieces. My job was to hot glue things together and tie all the strings. Although it was great to get it all done in one day (and conference weekend was the perfect time to do it!), it could also be nice (and less stressful) to have all the supplies in a box, and do one ornament each night, as you actually go through the 25 days of Christ. Regardless of how it is done, I think it’s a great idea, and will bring the focus of Christmas back onto Christ.
You can see more about the 25 Days of Christ here.
This is a super idea!! I have ordered mine and can’t wait to create. Thanks for sharing.
I have the same set…guess I’ve got work to do…Now that Autumn sees yours she says “I want to make those!”