Getting Crafty With It - Homemade Advent Calendar

So, I was feeling crafty this weekend, and being the Christmas fanatic that I am, I decided to make a homemade Advent Calendar for the upcoming holiday season. Let's start by giving credit where it is due, I got the idea and inspiration mainly from two different websites that showed similar projects. My own project is an amalgamation of ideas from both sites:

www.kiddley.com

www.craftlog.org

My first step was to obtain the necessary 25 matchboxes for this
project. Not as easy as you might think, though not especially difficult either. I initially tried my luck at the local craft store, but they didn't have matchboxes. The closest thing that they did have were similarly sized little gift boxes, but at over a dollar a piece I would have rapidly blown my budget. The very helpful lady that worked there suggested that I try the nearby dollar store.

Heeding her advice, I headed over there and was pleased to find that they sold packages of six little matchboxes for merely a dollar, much more to my of liking. The only problem now, what to do with all of the leftover matches. I settled on dumping them out the boxes, which resulted in a funny looking mini mountain of matches.

I used some long neglected scrap booking paper (purchased years ago on a momentary whim to become a scrapbooker, which never really came to fruition) to wrap up the outsides of the boxes. To make this easier I cut a stencil out of cardboard to the exact sized rectangle that I needed to cover the boxes. I decorated the boxes with some stickers and also labeled each with a number to indicate each of the days of December leading up to Christmas.

Next, I printed up and cut out little strips of paper containing Christmas or holiday related tasks and activities, folding them up and placing them inside of each of the boxes. I checked over the calendar to make sure that certain tasks fit on specific days, but for the most part you can be pretty flexible with this. I plan on adding some small goodies to each box as well, if I can find ones that are small enough to fit. I placed them all in a cookie jar and positioned it on the mantle. Final step, stand back and admire my supreme craftiness. I must say, I am pleased with the way that this turned out.

My list of Christmas/Holiday/Just-plain-fun activities is as shown below:

1. Write letters to Santa Claus
2. Paint everyones' toenails
3. Make paper snowflakes to decorate the house
4. Have a Christmas movie night
5. Make and hang edible gifts for the squirrels and birds
6. Enjoy hot chocolate with all of the trimmings
7. Choose some puppets to use to tell the bedtime story
8. Fold origami decorations for the Christmas tree
9. Dance and sing to Christmas music
10. Give everyone crazy hairstyles
11. Make decorations for the tree
12. Play a game in the backyard (or hot chocolate party if it is raining)
13. Pick out a nice Christmas tree, add decorations, and consume eggnog
14. Make a list of things that we are thankful for
15. Bake a batch of Christmas cookies
16. Have breakfast for dinner (pancakes, waffles, etc.)
17. Finish Christmas Cards for family and friends
18. Go star gazing or take a night time walk with flashlights and check out the Christmas lights
19. Go to see the Nutcracker Suite Ballet
20. Family Games Night
21. Bake another batch of Christmas cookies
22. Wrap a toy and bring it to a charity Christmas tree
23. Dress up fancy for dinner time
24. Prepare a special Christmas Eve treat for Santa Claus
25. It's Christmas! Remember that you have a family that loves you and that's the most important gift of all.

If anyone enjoyed this post or has done something similar that they would like to share, I would love to hear from you!

Lest We Forget

It isn't easy to find the words to express some things, but for the sake of trying to remember a friend of mine that I lost this past year, I am going to attempt it. For the most part, I haven't really allowed myself to fully process or grieve for her passing. It is still in many ways too raw and painful to think about. What I remember most is the sick feeling of shock that rolled over me when I saw her picture in a news story, followed by the desperate hope that somehow it was all a mistake. I knew deep down of course that it wasn't, but I couldn't bare the thought of believing it. I still find it almost impossible to wrap my mind around the fact that she is really gone.

I remembered that it had only been a matter of days since I had checked out her latest photos on Facebook. I remembered thinking how happy she looked, and feeling proud of how successful she seemed to be. We had been closer many years ago, but for the most part we had lost touch with each other. Even so, as I tried to digest the news of her death, I felt myself reeling over from the shock. I collapsed into the chair on which I was sitting and I felt the tears pouring out of my eyes. Since that moment, it has been extremely difficult to really think about it, and for the most part I have avoided it.

It is easy enough in hindsight to say that there were warning signs, that someone should have known that something was wrong, but I think that everyone who knew her personally was just as shocked and stunned as I was, and probably more so. This was the first, and thankfully the only time in my experience, that someone I've known personally has chosen to take their own life. I had always believed that I would feel angry with someone for committing such an act, but I can honestly say that I have not been able to muster even the smallest shred of anger towards her. What I mostly feel is an aching sadness that no one had the slightest idea of the secret pain she must have carried around with her always.

There is the longing to go back in time to do something, say something, to make it somehow better. Even if I could just go back in time and stay a little more connected to her while she was still with us. She was a remarkable person, full of life, and talent, and kindness. Her story should not have ended this way. No one's story should ever end like that. To her family and loved ones, my deepest condolences for their tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. Sad though I am, I know that I can scarcely imagine their pain. As for my friend, she was truly the kind of person that I feel fortunate to have known, however briefly. I can only hope that somehow she has now found the peace that seems to have eluded her in life.

Rest peacefully in Heaven. I will always remember you.