Creating Christmas

By my admission, I have yet to be the active do-it-yourselfer in our family. I often find myself being a copycat, and the original ideas often escape me. When my sister was newly married and living in her first apartment, she had a great time making toothpick Christmas trees. I loved the one she made and decided to try my hand at making a similar tree. 

I liked that this project used simple materials and seemed straightforward in its construction. I was pleased that I finally made something by myself that I could use as a Christmas decoration. This tree adorned my home for at least 10 years. I would fluff it,buff it, and respray the flocking to freshen it up.

In the late 1970’s I was married to my second husband. It came time for Christmas and he warned me that he didn’t want me going out and spending a bunch of money buying a cut tree and buying a bunch of ornaments. He insisted we buy a live tree in a biodegradable pot that we could plant outside after the holidays. He said we could string popcorn and cranberries to decorate the tree. This didn’t sound very exciting to me. I wanted something with a bit of charm to adorn our small tree. 

I found a recipe to make ornaments using a dough made of flour, salt, and water. I used my Hallmark Cookie Cutters and made several Christmas cutouts. I baked them in the oven at a low temperature until they were light tan and seemed to be finished. 

Next, I bought small bottles of acrylic paint. The sales slip for these items mysteriously got lost in the shuffle. I painted each ornament with the paints and inserted a hook in the top. I used these ornaments for the 7 years we were married. I always believed that it was his attitude about Christmas that started the growing dissension in our relationship. I did not have a hint that this existed before we were married. 

Since this time, I have promised myself that I no longer want any grinches in my life especially when it comes to the holidays. I love my family and our celebrations. This attitude of his tainted a very special time for me and my family and most importantly the happiness I enjoyed at Christmas time.

I  was happy about my solution to this negative view of Christmas in our household. The moral of the story to me was that if you can’t find happiness in the most wonderful time of the year, you’re just not looking hard enough.

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