Got an idea, now I need your help!

15 years ago

A couple of weeks ago I asked for your help with a gift idea for my parents for Christmas. My siblings and I were going to give them money for a chest freezer when they got to Florida. Well we had to scrap that idea, because my mom told me that my aunt and uncle who also have a place in the same park in Florida are staying north this winter and they are giving their freezer to my parents. Whew.. go figure?

So back to square one. No gift idea and we are celebrating Christmas on November 22 with my parents. Okay now, they do not have a Christmas tree in Florida (this is their first Christmas there).

I want to get them an artifical tree for their place. It can't be very big maybe 3 to 3 1/2 feet. It will have lights and I am going to make a tree skirt. I would like all my siblings, their children, their grandchildren and I to make or buy ornaments for their tree. I would like it to be " A family Christmas tree", but I do not want to give them the decorations with the tree. There will be four weeks between the time of our get together and Christmas. I think it would be fun for all of us to send them to them, one or two at a time. Maybe they would get a package from my sister with an ornament or two and a day or two later get another package. You get the idea, that way they are adding to the tree for the next four weeks. Now my dilemna is:

I would like to have a poem (or something) to somehow explain the meaning of the tree. I would like it to include something about not being with them on Christmas day but we are still thinking of them. I don't know how to go about this. Does anyone know of any good sites that may help?

Maybe someone here is a lot more creative than me. Sure would like your input. Thanks

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Comments (3)

craftylady-2006
15 years ago
I'm not necessarily good in the poem department but I have an idea for your ornaments. That is, print out pics of your family members, your folks' friends, etc. and glue them onto cardstock with a few embellishments, and punch a hole in the top for a piece of yarn, etc. as a hanger. Another idea is, you and your sibblings and especially the grandchildren write something on the back of the cardstock with their pic on it in gold/silver magic marker and I'm sure your folks would just be thrilled with joy that they can decorate their new tree with familiar faces and writings from the heart! You could make the topper star out of thicker cardstock and write in glitter or just plain marker, something like ".... Family Christmas Tree." Walmart has a great selection of cardstock/scrapbooking stuff at reasonable prices. Buy a "booklet" of Christmas cardstock (Joann's Fabric & Craft store carries these and their on sale right now). There'd be enough cardstock in one of those books for everyone to get enough for all their family members. They'd coordinate on the tree also. Cut the cardstock in winter shapes - trees, glass ornaments, ice skates, sleds, snowballs, etc. Trace the hands of the grandchildren onto colored construction paper, cut them out and take digital photos of them, upload them to your computer and then downsize them to fit on the cardstock when you cut them out. A good size for the pics to fit onto premade hang tags is 2.25 width by 3.75 height. You don't need an expensive computer photo program to do this, just use your Word program. When you paste a pic on a piece of paper in word, click on the photo and a black lined box will appear around it. From there, click on the little "moveable" edges and downsize it to the correct height and width. Make your "ruler" appear on the page for easy sizing. Regular tacky glue like Elmer's glue is watery and runny for paper crafts (the pic will buckle), get a glue stick or use double-sided tape to put on the back of the pics to attach to the cardstock.

Here are pics of some Christmas cards I made recently to give you an idea of what you can do. Hope this helps you.

Sal
tralynn
Original Author
15 years ago
Sal,

These are some great ideas. I love the cards you made. Very pretty. Thanks for the ideas.
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craftylady-2006
15 years ago
You're welcome Tralynn. You'd be surprised at what some of those embellishments are, buttons with the shanks cut off (find a shank cutter at Joanne's, about $5.99 and/or use wire cutters to cut it off. Then I just glued them onto the cards. Michael's craft store has a great selection of embellishments, some on sale right now also. Wait a week or so and it's on more of a sale after Thanksgiving. How about all go Dutch with the expense of the stuff and then have a family ornie making night with hot cocoa, cookies, etc. Do ya'll get together for Thanksgiving dinner? Great time to check it all out, pass around ideas and dibby up the goods! I bet the little cousins and even the big ones would love this family night!

I just thought of - outlining the little ones hands onto colored construction paper or cardstock, cut it out and then downsize a pic of them on the computer and glue it onto the center of the hand, glitter it a little bit, etc. What about the smaller school pictures the kids have taken, could you use them? Write the letters of their names in glitter on the fingers. Martha Stewart scrapbooking stuff (at Michael's or Walmart (which is a few bucks cheaper on everything of her stuff) has a tiny tip glue writing pen that would be perfect for this project. I'm sure the kids would love making these, sprinkling on the glitter - glitter on their little noses, all over the hands, all over the table - oh, have fun with it.

Hope you'll post your end ideas so we all can see what you come up with. This sounds like a great gift of love you'll be giving your folks this year.

Sal