Every year I tell myself I will plan and make decorations with more time ahead, and every year somehow I make them rather last minute in the end. Is there anyone else like that around?
We have not “fully” decorated our appartement yet, but since it was the first Advent Sunday last week, we did start with installing a few lights (my personal favourite part of this time of year) and making an advent wreath with candles. And as we were at it, also a hanging one for our door.
I have to admit, even though I was feeling that autumn was coming to an end the week before that, I guess I was not fully reconciled with the idea of saying goodbye to it. It rather felt too short… probably because a lot of the time someone in our family was ill, passing it on to one another… which meant we were home for a lot of this time. Yep, ’tis the time of the year. So anyways, I just didn’t feel much like decorating for Christmas yet. But, as it was the first of Advent, Liv really wanted to have a wreath and candles, so that we could light the first one.
Even though we had a first snow two days before (which was a rather a wet snow), last sunday it had aleady melted and it was pouring for the whole day. So my plan to go for a walk and pick a few branches for our wreaths was not really possible (as I had no time to let it dry and didn’t do it beforehand).
There I was sitting and thinking what we should do. We are in the middle of a 3rd lockdown and there’s no way I can go buy some greenery, even if I wanted to, as far as I know. And I really felt like I wanted something green to be part of them… when I realized, we had a lot of felt at home. (I am working on something, mostly out of felt right now… who can guess what??:)
So, if we cannot have real greenery, let’s make some!
I kind of came up with this really simple concept of making a lot of tiny leaves and gluing them on to the wreath. I’m sure I’ve seen this a lot of times on pinterest or somewhere. Nothing original there. But even though I felt quite down when I was starting out, it very quickly made me feel very happy as I was seeing how it was turning out quite lovely.
The base of our wreath for our door is a simple cardboard circle, wrapped around with natural string (which I made two years ago, I think).
I also had a very lovely little assistant, who made the following photos of the process (who’s knee you can see on some of them:)
I cut out some rather random leaves, clipped them together with a simple paper clip at one side to make the edges turn a bit and then glued it to the wreath with a hot gun.
Added two pine cones sprayed golden (from last year), and a few red wooden beads here and there. And finished. Yeah, and added the straw stag in the middle after some consideration… but he’s just slid on, not glued.
As for the candle wreath, it’s basically the same. We had a wreath base from last year, when we got a one gifted. For the lack of greenery, I just wrapped it with a stripe of felt and made the same felt leaves on it.
Liv aranged them on the wreath (I do love it, when my kids get involved in what I’m making) and I glued them on where she had prepared them. We decided to add the cinnamon on to it. Liv decided we’d put just the two of them on to it, so I left it as she chose. I want their decisions to be valid.
She also chose the candles. Orange is not necessarily my go-to colour, but as I said, I like it when they make stuff with me, so I accept their choices. And through it I find new combinations I like, I would not have made myself.
Every year I make a DIY Advent calendar for my kids. I already had the fabric pouches I made last year. I really wanted to hang them on a nice branch this year, but it was raining outside and I didn’t bring in any beforehand. Forgot to. I even threw away a few sticks only a few days before, which I’ve had in the back of our car for at least for half a year.
Another thing is I had quite a crisis over this whole thing. If it was worth it. It’s not cheap, even if I did buy them over a longer period, little by little. What am I teaching them with that. Getting things for a whole month. I try to make it worthwhile, things they may need (though the socks and underwear I meant to put in didn’t come in time), artsy things or something they may use and really be happy about. Though a few “stupid” little things did get in- it’s not easy to find 24 different useful things to put in..
Anyways. Crisis here or there. It’s just the pouches on a rod (with lights) this time. I added the little animals I used for Liv’s first Advent calendar. It seemed like this year Sebi is just not that interested in the exact numbers yet, though he can count already. But they enjoy picking out which one to open when. And I was rather lazy to think it through. So here we go. Let’s see if (or how) we continue this tradition next year.
What kind of Advent calendar do your kids have? What do you put in? Or what are your thoughts on this subject?
I hope and wish you have a peaceful Advent (with less identity crisis’ than me)!
Liv Inspires 