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Crafty Friday: Home for the Holidays Wood Ornament Kit

by FandPinLV -- Being Savvy Las Vegas

Welcome back to this week's edition of Crafty Friday, where we're taking a minute to enjoy the simpler (in theory), more handmade facets of the holidays this year. If you missed last week's installment, you can see our gingerbread tree (which, I am proud to say, is STILL in tact!) here.

Who needs a bunch of shiny, mirrored balls or crystal icicles on their pre-lit tree this year? Well, we do, actually (minus the fake tree) more on that later). But, we do love our share of homemade décor. Some of my favorite ornaments on our tree are those that I made with my mom thirty something years ago.

That's why it was a no brainer to pick up this simple ornament kit from our local Michael's Store (after explaining yet again to Boo, that Michael's is not owned by Michael Phelps).

The kit, by "Home For the Holidays" was a great deal. You get four pre-drawn wooden ornaments, four felt-tipped markers, two glitter glue pens and even a strip of adhesive magnet if you want to keep your creation on the fridge instead of the tree.

Boo and I sat down after dinner one night and started in on this. She did really well with her gingerbread girl. Her coloring skills have been dramatically improving, so I was really impressed with her results. I did the gift tag ornaments since they were more detailed and required a finer hand and more patience than my nearly five-year-old possessed.

She took her time and was meticulous about every detail. The results came out pretty darn cute if you ask me.

Just remember: you saw it here first. My little Georgia O'Keefe.



Time required: About 15-20 minutes per ornament (depending on how obsessive your kid is about their art)

Target Ages: 4

Pros: The kit was simple, inexpensive and fast to put together. It was so simple that it didn't need any instructions.

Cons: These are not high-end pieces, so don't expect to get Lennox-quality keepsakes out of the deal, but the memories and homemade touch are much more precious. Beware that the felt tip ink bleeds a bit on the wood, so keeping things within the lines may be a challenge. It also helps to be sure to have some paper towels under the project before you start in case you have pens that stray off the ornament or an overzealous child with a glitter glue pen.

Ratings (0-5 Dice: No Dice = don't waste your time and/or money, 5=your kid can't grow up without it)
Value: 5
Ease: 5
Mess Factor: 4
Keep-ability: 4  (We're going to label and date these. She's going to want to share this with her kids.)

So the final tally gives us about a 4.5. This was a great weeknight "after dinner, but before bedtime" project for us to do together. She only got one done, but she doesn't mind. She'll do the other one later.