"Don't call it a crafternoon"
(Just don't.) Plus, the FTT gift guide
Lately Bea and I have this routine where I embarrass her, and she tells me about it. Even now she is asking why I am typing this on the FTT: “Why are you writing that? You don’t embarrass me, Mommy—mostly.” But out and about on her birthday, I randomly gave a “Go Pack” and wolf sign to someone wearing an NC State sweatshirt, and this was not the right thing to do. It’s kind of a bit between us now, and also probably connected to the fact that we like to watch shows about teenagers and their clueless parents, like Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Maybe we should watch Gilmore Girls instead.)
Anyway, Go Pack! (We’re big fans of the women’s basketball team—undefeated and #3 in the nation!)
So, Bea was recently invited to her first non-birthday holiday party hosted by kids (!), complete with an adorable evite. We shopped for a cute outfit, and I was thinking that it would be fun to do something similar for Harriet’s friends. What about a crafternoon?
“Don’t call it that, Mom,” Bea said. “Just don’t.”
Harriet is fine with whatever we call it, as long as it’s a party. Harriet and I have a number of embarrassing things we like to do, including an elaborate goodnight kiss that involves snaps, wolf ears, crocodile arms, and “cute girls” peace signs. She loves to craft, and also to be fancy. I love to craft, to be fancy, and I also have the fantasy that this event will use up some of the materials that are stuffing our various craft bins.
So here’s what I’m thinking we’ll do:
Choose an afternoon, probably a Sunday. Make an evite (today).
Gather paints, gems, beads, shells (we have these things already). Plus paintbrushes, glue, Mod Podge, little cardboard boxes from jewelry and note cards, and torn-up catalogs and magazines (also have plenty).
On the crafternoon, we’ll make treasure boxes, play outside, drink cocoa, and eat cookies. Easy-peasy, mac-n-cheesy, as Harriet likes to say.
What I love about this project idea, aside from the fact that it uses materials we have, is that it will separate well into short chunks for five-year-olds with shorter attention spans. We can paint the boxes (first), and while they dry the kids can play in the yard. I can call them in for cocoa, and they can decorate the boxes. Another break, then the last step of Mod Podging the boxes so they’ll be shiny and gorgeous.
We’ll show you the results when they’re done, but if you’re looking for some other craft ideas for older kids, or even just this particular rainy day, we’ve got you covered with step-by-step instructions:
Handmade Japenese stab-bound notebooks
Playbill ornaments or little book ornaments
A group project: cardboard dollhouses
Making a group board game would also be fun
If you’re going on a car trip: try an embroidered journal of your travels
Swirly bookmarks (could also be adapted for gift tags)
Simplified tiny book ornaments!
What crafts have you been enjoying lately, Frog Troublers?
All of the above would make great gifts for grandparents, friends, teachers (along with maybe a gift card for the teachers). But if you’re looking to shop local, we also have some suggestions. Shopping local has many environmental and community benefits, but also: if you shop local, nothing is last-minute. (How is any shopping in December now considered last-minute?)
1. If you have an organic grocery store or co-op, why not grab a classic moon phases calendar? It’s nice to know when the full moon and supermoons happen!
2. For the kids, I’m going with experience gifts—classes are a GREAT way to support local businesses, and it’s something you can all look forward to in the new year. I think the best way to do this one is to choose something a kid has always wanted to do but that you (maybe) resisted—Bea was over the moon when I enrolled her in her first gymnastics class.
3. For adults, why not give a gift card to a place you love? Redbud Writing Project, a local writing group, offers awesome classes in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction (and at every level). It was also founded by two inspiring NC State grads. A gift card for a massage or a facial would also be appreciated by your busiest loved ones.
4. My number-one gift is books, and it’s handy to have a go-to book you know your friends will love. This year, mine is Tiya Miles’s Wild Girls, about women change-makers throughout American history (starting with Harriet Tubman), and Bea’s is Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities graphic novel (a great intro to the series).
Recently, Harriet and I have enjoyed The Juniper Tree, classic and lesser-known Grimm’s fairy tales translated by Lore Segal and Randall Jarrell (with illustrations by Maurice Sendak)—you’ll probably need to get your copy used, but the one we ordered was in pristine shape. I’ve also recently loved Ladies’ Lunch by Lore Segal, and anyone who enjoyed Sigrid Nunez’s The Friend (see below) will also devour her newest, The Vulnerables.
4. For a bigger gift, it’s fun to give book sets or series. Here are some by a few of my friends, all available at bookstores around here:
Marsha Gordon’s buzzy and fascinating biography of Ursula Parrott, Becoming the Ex-Wife, pairs great with Ursula Parrott’s re-issued Ex-Wife. (Pick up signed copies at So and So Books in Raleigh.)
For sci-fi fans, Cadwell Turnbull’s exciting We Are the Crisis, paired with the awesome first book in the three-book series, No Gods, No Monsters (Signed copies available at Bookmarks) would be an exciting present to open.
For romance lovers or anyone planning a beach vacation: Sarah Grunder Ruiz’s delightful Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships paired with her equally charming Luck and Last Resorts—get your signed copies at Quail Ridge Books.
For dog lovers, why not pair Sigrid Nunez’s The Friend with my bestie Cat Warren’s incredible What the Dog Knows (pick up copies at The Regulator, Flyleaf, or McIntyre’s)? Or What the Dog Knows and the excellent young readers’ edition? Or the young readers’ edition with Sy Montgomery’s The Book of Turtles? (I haven’t read it, but someone on my list is definitely getting Sy’s new Of Time and Turtles).
Lots of love from us on this rainy December day!
P.S. Local readers: are you going to the Donald Davis holiday storytelling event at McIntyre’s/the Fearrington barn next weekend? You totally should! Ticket proceeds benefit the CORA food bank.
Best Holiday Gift List Ever!!!
Thank you for so many wonderful gift, reading, and craft ideas. I hope you and Harriet have a fantastic craftafternoon! Don't tell Bea that used the C word. My love to all.