Christmas spirit, in a nutshell.

While trying to come up with project ideas that can keep 7 year-old hands busy for an hour, be somewhat educational, and cost virtually nothing to make, I find myself reminiscing about the things I made as a kid. A wooden clothes pin doll topped with an acorn hat, beads strung on safety pins and traded in friendship (which, by the way, are still fun to make but its so not cool to trade them, let alone wear them on your sneakers).

Maybe its the teaching, maybe its the move 1700 miles from home, or the things I find discarded at thrift stores, but I've found myself reminiscing even more about those little handmade treasures this holiday season. Bells fashioned from cups and pipe cleaners, decorated with foil stars; popsicle sticks-turned stars, carefully wrapped in yarn; one-of-a-kind snowflakes cut from coffee filters. It's these sweet, simple ornaments, made from toss-ables and scraps, that truly represent what the holidays are all about.

For Dave's parents, its a very special house crafted from a milk carton that is hung on the tree each and every year.



For me? It's a plastic baby Jesus, sleeping on a bed of golden tinsel, tucked inside half of a walnut shell. I'm pretty sure its a Catholic and Sunday School standard. I love its simplicity, its tiny scale. And I love the contrast of the small baby, asleep in a humble half-shell, surrounded by Vegas-worthy tinsel.

Whether you celebrate the baby that's nestled inside, the little hands that made it, or the memories that come with it, we hope you find your Christmas this season too.