Another item for my Christmas checklist

Rosie had a cold last week and missed a day of preschool. The next day she came home sad because all of the other kids had made a pinecone ornament to take home and she didn't have one. No problem, I said. In the Land of Loblolly Pines where we live, there is no shortage of pinecones. We could make pinecone ornaments every day for a year and still have plenty.

We got out the glue and glitter and paint and crafty supplies and we each made a pinecone ornament. Our craftacularness is not the point of this post, however.

This is what I find so amazing. Here is my creation, the pinecone oeuvre of a 33-year-old practical woman:

And here is the ornament of an almost-4-year-old under the influence of the book Fancy Nancy, which I simply cannot recommend enough to parents of girlie girls:


She used up every speck of green and red glitter glue, all the silver glitter, much of the blue glitter, all of the feathers, all the jingle bells I didn't snag for myself, and at least two dozen fuzzy sparkle pom-poms. I love this child.

Although Ian did not wish to participate in the glitter fiesta, in the interest of equal time here is the sandpaper gingerbread man (rubbed with a cinnamon stick for a delicious smell) we made together last year. Love this child too!!

Also Rosie's:



And Eric's, which is a self-portrait. Love this guy!!

(I cannot find my own sandpaper gingerbread girl at the moment--I saw it briefly on Saturday when we were decorating, but I think the tree ate it since then.)

I don't consider myself one of those crafty moms, but we do try to make at least one thing together every year. Forget those department store theme trees, they suck compared to a tree covered with tacky homemade ornaments.

I made this one in the fourth grade. It scared my little sister but I have always loved it:

So there you have it. Whenever the Demented Elf ornament surfaces, my Christmas spirit usually starts to stir.

Two weeks and counting down...