Creative Christmas

Let me say, reading your blogs has left me amazed at all of the creativity out there centered on Christmas and other things. Your stuff for sale on Etsy, for one. I’m probably the last to hear about it, but now that I have, I’m in love with it. What a extraordinary place to support small business and people who are making beautiful art, jewelry, vases and more out of their homes—stuff you couldn’t find in a store if you had to. Very cool.

We don’t talk too much about Christmas at work, since about a quarter of our staff (who are very awesome people, by the way) don’t celebrate holidays. So yesterday, there was the coolest staff appreciation party, and part of the deal was a “white elephant” gift exchange—you know, one of those “choose a gift and steal someone else’s if you don’t like yours?”

We all brought an unwanted item from our home that would theoretically have some appeal for others, wrapped it in non-holiday paper and each chose a numbered ticket. Although the first numbers had a better pick of the anonymously wrapped gifts on the table, the latter numbers had a better choice in terms of hijacking opened gifts. It was funny and festive. And a nice way to say “Hey, the economy sucks. Re-use something from your house. It will be funnier, better for the environment, and you won’t have to buy anything.”

Candle holders galore, a few books that no one wanted, frequently stolen bottles of wine, a UF Gators baseball hat, a Kleenex holder, and a shoebox of treasures from a desk drawer were among the re-gifted items.

So check out this Christmas tree. It is made entirely from found materials around the home and is a creation of a local artist who’s married to one of Husband’s co-workers. How’s this for creativity? It’s even cute. Wish I had a better picture.

We bought a live tree this year instead of Old Petroleum, our fake Frasier Fir. I’m thinking of some better ideas for disposal than the curb when it’s time for her to go. (After all, 3 years ago my freaking car was wrecked when a dump truck shed a Christmas tree in the road. Because there were people in all 3 lanes of traffic, and the tree appeared before me like a blazing comet, I had no choice but to hit it.)

Before I sign off for today, thanks for all of your meaningful thoughts on the post below. The comments are worth a read if you have the time. Enjoy your day and happy blogging.