The other night after the Christmas tree was up, somewhat decorated, and a few bulbs broken by little hands…my husband came up with the sweetest new family tradition. He knows that I have a kind of odd obsession with wood cookies. I have been known to take large limbs from neighbors’ trash piles and bring them home to slice up, using the table saw, for craft projects and for the kids to build with. The worst was when I collected tires that were being tossed out, so our Wee Warhols could play and set up obstacle courses. Turns out tires are wonderful breeding grounds for mosquitos and are close to impossible to dispose of. Goes to show that I will bring anything home that I think we can repurpose or reuse. Even though he can’t stand when I steal other people’s “trash” my husband does appreciate my intentions.
His sweet suggestion was that we slice off a wood cookie from our Christmas tree each year and make a family ornament out of it. I love this idea! We very well may do this once the tree comes down, but my son and I came up with a few wood cookie ornaments that we created using a wood crafting tool. We purchased a wood burning tool kit from a craft store for $29.99. We are completely obsessed with it! It came with many different attachments that we are having fun getting familiar with. (You can find less expensive ones with fewer attachments if you want to keep it simple and be more economical.) To make our ornaments we traced cookie cutters then burned the lines, on some we just free drew, or you could make a stamp on it then burn the image in. So many possibilities!!! We drilled holes into the ornaments and added twine for hanging. A hand drill and some small clamps are a must have for any child’s tool box. To slice off the bottom of your Christmas tree I would suggest using a hand saw, reciprocating saw, or a chainsaw. I hope our new holiday tradition inspires you to come up with some traditions of your own. I would love to hear a few.
