Gift Giving is the best, and the worst, part of Christmas.
Beginning when our daughters were tiny, Christmastime at our house has always involved some type of handcrafted gifts and we find this a great way to use up leftover craft supplies at the end of the year. For young children, crafting can be better than shopping. It gives them a chance to give of themselves and they take pride in their own contribution. By encouraging the use of otherwise useless materials, the cost is minimal or nonexistent. Best of all: “trash to treasure” crafting is a great way to entertain children (or grandchildren) during school breaks like this next week or that long, boring summer vacation. As kids get older and become more independent, they refine their skills and broaden their imagination – creating memorable and treasured objects otherwise unavailable. At our house we keep certain craft supplies on hand – just in case someone has a great idea. Our craft closet stocks a limited amount of paper towel cores, Kleenex boxes, pill bottles and other consistently sized discards, . broken jewelry, old holey socks, newspaper, and odd things we find around the house that we might find useful someday – particularly those that are “non recyclable”.
The best projects use readily available, no longer useful supplies: At one time our family ate a lot of doughnuts, purchased repetitively in the same size box. So, we covered the boxes with some brightly colored scrap material similar to contact paper and made blocks for family toddlers. … The tubes from pencil lead can make challenging building supplies for older students. … Old wire hangers, encased in crocheted, macramé, or simply braided scrap yarn are seemingly reborn. I have some – received as a gift from a 6-year old elementary student (who made them herself) 53 years ago. … Wire coat hangers, twisted to a different shape, make great back scratchers. These also can be covered to be more festive, but mine works just fine in its raw form. … As a kid you probably made newspaper hats; but did you know that newspapers, junk mail, or catalog pages can also be used for origami?: … Bottle caps make great wheels for cardboard cars, … For those of you who crochet, plastic bags make creative and relatively inexpensive doormats. … For these and other ideas: just type into google “DIY recycle projects” – or, better yet, “DIY” along with whatever material you have on hand. I found LOTS of suggestions with “DIY junk mail”, “DIY bottle caps”, and “DIY soda bottles”.
Perhaps the proof of value comes from my grandmother. When she died, we discovered a collection of “handmade by grandchildren” gifts, including the tin can covered with tiny squares of scrap construction paper that I made over 60 years ago. That can now graces my own desk, a reminder of what can be done by small hands with only “trash” for supplies.
Even adults can find such projects soothing at this time of year. My husband and I make something homemade for each family household – every year. They are always unique and sometimes use crap material. Perhaps the most popular was a “Family Recipe Book”. While using no scraps, it can be computer typed and emailed, then shared with future generations – using no materials at all!
Agree? Disagree? Additions? Deletions? Comments? RRRcyc@signsandwishes.com
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