Here’s hoping that all the fireworks around your home are the literal kind – the kind in the sky. Have a great holiday!
Top row: Chuck, Daisy
Front: Amigo, La Petite
Photo, of course, by the professional photographer in the family, La Petite.
Originally posted in July of 2009
From a few years ago – we go to the Memorial Day parade every year. This year, Amigo has a gig with the Barbershop Quartet Chorus. They’ll be singing all patriotic songs, of course, and he’s loving it.
Every year we start Memorial Day by throwing our lawn chairs in Amigo’s bike basket and hitting the road for half a block to stake our claim on a good place to watch the parade. Seriously, it’s half a block from our home. We watch from the front yard, and when the police are putting the traffic barriers up, we head over and park ourselves in the road under our favorite shade tree. Here’s Amigo and MIL cheering on the municipal city band. Chuck? He was relaxing.
And then we went home. Home, to help out our “real live veteran in our front yard,” as Amigo put it. FIL didn’t want to struggle all the way down the street with his walker, so he settled under our mock cherry tree and read a book. We gave him a little flag next to his lawn chair so he could be part of the festivities.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. May your family members in the services stay safe and return to you soon.I was browsing old posts for an encore related to Christmas, and I found several.I also found a little peace in knowing the way some things stay the same. Continuity is good; follow through can be calming in the face of an uncertain future.
Wrapping – or my stubborn attitude toward commercial wrappings and trappings. I gave in and bought curling ribbon because it makes hanging the tags (repurposed greeting cards) so much easier. But I walked past the big rolls of wrapping paper. I stuck to my guns on that one.
Frugal gift giving – I spent money on quality. Both Chuck and I check reviews on expensive products before investing or buying cheaply. I feel like there may be fewer presents under the tree, but they’re worth more and they’ll last longer.
Canning and basic food preservation – I can and freeze summer produce with the goal of feeding the family through the winter. That’s not so different from our ancestors, really. They may not have had the farm markets available that I do, and they didn’t have the huge grocery chains as a back-up, either. The philosophy is the same, though. Quality food preserved in summer will take us through the winter.
Then there is the annual tradition of making and decorating Christmas cookies.
The family decorates!
I was in the kitchen baking the molasses cookies to help defeat the Detroit Lions. Hey, it’s only weird if it doesn’t work.
If you think I’m a green freak (Amigo does), you may be right. But if you think my attitude toward wrapping paper minimizes the colors in the pile under the tree, you’d be wrong.
Ho Ho Ho! Looks great, ya know!
In case you think I’m obsessive about it, and you’d be correct, take a look at this. I salvaged larger scraps of wrapping paper for later re-use. Compare the pile of reusable papers with the small plastic bag of trash. Not bad, eh?
That’s a creative transformation of a Verizon bag in the background, too.
I did spend a few dollars at the dollar store to buy ribbon and tape. I’m not a total Grinch.
A little time organizing, and we’ll be all set for next year. There will be no need to buy wrapping paper. No need to buy more, family, do you hear me?!
Folks, it’s post holiday, I’m cleaning the house, and even with our small garbage can we did just fine. That’s a point of pride in this eco-green household. Despite the grumbling, our use of one-use wrapping paper is minimal, and it shows when we take out the trash.
La Petite combined grocery bags with pretty paper.
An old card with bright scavenged paper.
A grocery bag acts as trim for a box.
And the tree still looked festive and fun.
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and good times with family and special people.
I rescued a big stack of bright yellow paper from being recycled at school. It had been crumpled to take up space in science kits, and when the department heads unpacked, they didn’t save it. I intervened, of course. Folks in my school building know that I’m the scavenger among us.
I share this encore presentation because it’s still true. Amigo still insists that I’m a”green freak” and I take my eco-sensibilities too far for his taste. The rest of the family tolerates me, so here’s the rest of the story.
Several years ago I vowed to stop buying wrapping paper. I didn’t say I’d never use it or reuse it, just that I wouldn’t buy any more.
Amigo doesn’t like the philosophy. In fact, he’ll only help me wrap if we’re using real gift wrap. I compromised by using gift wrap I’d rescued from the wastebasket when the school PTA cleaned their closet. We wrapped with rescued and reused papers, and the gifts look great.
He doesn’t object to my green version of gift tags. Every year we take stock of the previous year’s holiday cards, cut them apart creatively, and with the help of a little ribbon and a hole punch, turn those cards into unique and lovely gift tags that cost nothing but a little time. We’ve done this since before he was born; maybe that’s why it feels natural to him.
Thanks to my spreadsheet gift record and my online shopping prowess, the majority of the shopping is done. Maybe I can sneak some of my eco-friendly and frugal methods past my wrapping assistant that time. Or maybe not; after all, he reads my blog.
An encore presentation: it’s all still true. I just got back from a short shopping trip that included Half Price Books and a local dollar store. I can finish the wrapping now.
Folks, you know me. You know I gave up buying wrapping paper several years ago. You know I plan ahead for gift shopping because of all the birthdays that mingle with Christmas. You know I love Christmas music and listen to it – well, I love to listen to holiday music, new or classic.
But do you recall – of course you do. Creative wrapping, frugal gift planning, and finally, the shopping, take a little thought. And then, with a little thought and planning, the fun begins.
Thrift stores! By carefully perusing the racks, I have often found good buys on brand name and quality clothing. Lands’ End, GAP, Old Navy, and my favorite jeans just take a quick cycle through the wash and then look good as new – or better. Better how? Because they’re already worn in, but not worn out.
Thrift stores again – baskets. I enjoy filling baskets with my own canned goods for special people like extended family. My favorite place to find baskets? Goodwill and other thrift stores.
Stores that specialize in vintage. This angle requires good knowledge of the gift recipient. If you’re considering that rabbit fur coat that’s marked 20% off, you’d better avoid buying it for me or for La Petite. But if you see a lovely scarf or classic cameo pendant, go for it.
Stores full of repurposed and crafty pieces. There’s a shop near my workplace that sells wonderful creative and useful household pieces. I look at their wine cork frames and trivets and think “I could make these.” Then I realize no, I don’t have the time or the talent. I’ll buy it from someone who does have the time and talent.
And finally, last but never least, I thoroughly enjoy shopping at Fleet Farm. Don’t bother with Toyland; just stick to my standard departments. Friends and family know that they can buy anything for canning and preserving and I’ll be thrilled. They might even find gardening tools and toys there, despite the weather outside being frightful. We’ve also discovered that the foodstuffs designed for hunting or camping are also good pantry staples. Bear Creek soup mixes, anyone? Yum.
No one fumbles around with the tree in a Green Bay Packer fan household. Diminutive though they may be, these little delights are like prize jewels of the family ornament collection. This roly-poly guy is a jingle bell decked out in Green and Gold and a football uniform.
These two came from a student (oh, she knew me well). They look fragile, but they aren’t. You won’t see them on injured reserve. Tiny and shiny, the crystal snowmen are small enough to fit in a teacup, but they’re prettier near a string of lights that can reflect on their glory.
Amigo complains that I’m a “Green Freak” when I look for alternatives to gift wrap and tags. He doesn’t know that I have another use for old cards – decorative tops for canned goods.
It all starts with two lids, one regular and one large. Those are the patterns, templates, tracers, whatever you’d like to call them. If I have a choice, I’ll cut out a large one because I know I can make it smaller if I need to. Add a box of cards (holiday, birthday, etc.), a scissors, and I’m ready to work.
Getting to work!
I cut apart the cards to make gift tags or round tags for my canned goods gift giving.
Finished Circles – in two sizes
More finished circles
Some cards are too special to cut into pieces.
This one is a keeper.
The rest are now in a manila envelope on my bookshelf Any time I’m giving away a few jars of goodies, I can reach for some nice, classy pictures to decorate the tops.
Okay, readers, let’s build on this. What other uses do you have for cards? Do you scrapbook? Make new cards from old? Leave a comment sharing your ideas.
When shopping for a friend who is also a reading teacher, it’s fun to go to a bookstore.
Shopping Bag
A shopping bag plus a gift card to help fill the bag – and then fun with wrapping.
A Little Fun Repurposing
As the Cat said, “It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.”