So last Thursday night I decided that our tree had stood naked long enough; that it was time to get it decked out in all its ornamental glory. My husband had hurriedly put the lights on a few days before and then left town bequeathing the remaining tree décor duties to my son and I. I think my tardiness in finishing the task was due to my pouting. I was simply disappointed that our 2009 tree decorating experience was not going to be Norman Rockwell like. In fact, truth be told, it ended up more Norman Bates like.
When our son was younger, his attention span for hanging ornaments was at best about five minutes. And instead of spreading the baubles around the entire tree, he would amass them on one branch; a very low branch at that, just perfect for the cats to reach and whack at. I did my best to affirm his accomplishment and to hold back my Type-A impulses to readjust their placement. I just kept telling myself that it would all change as he got older; that some holiday season in the future we would spend the evening as a family decorating the tree with smiles on all our faces, glasses of egg nog ready to refresh us and It’s a Wonderful Life playing in the background. I had grand hopes that our boy would eventually relish this special tradition, even crave it and that he would happily stick around until the last ornament was hung. So much for expectations.
After convincing my son that helping me trim the tree was in his best interest (the newest DVD installment of a-boy-with-magical-powers was due out on DVD the next week), he dragged himself to the family room and promptly tuned the TV to a show set out to discover whether or not a prisoner could saw through steel bars using dental floss. Scratch holiday mood background noise. And scratch the refreshing egg nog. There was none in the fridge.
Together we worked on unpacking the ornaments from their boxes and it only took three “I know mom’s” for him to remember about stuffing the bubble wrap back into its respective box. The unpacking took way too long. I was losing him fast. So in an effort to ensure that he stayed on task until the last decoration was thoughtfully displayed, I had him start hanging things up. Well, let me tell you this: age does not equal design sense. My almost-grown-in-his-own-mind child continued with his ornament amassing on low branches habit. And let me tell you another thing: age also does not equal ideal maternal encouragement. Add one more item to my list of motherly guilt.
By the time the fourth snowman had been placed within a six inch radius of the others, I had lost all ability to suppress my control-freak tendencies. I followed him around the tree immediately removing and repositioning each ornament he proudly hung, oft times even muttering under my breath something about “doing it all wrong”. See, very Norman Bates like. So scratch the smiles on everyone’s faces. At about thirty minutes into this do-over decorating episode my son turned to me and announced that he was going to bed. He hadn’t even lasted through one third of the pile. Ugh.
I bid him goodnight and promptly began my pity party. But I must say that the party didn’t last very long. Somehow, someway, I managed to change my attitude and enjoy the decorating solitude. It ended up being a wonderful sentimental journey down the path of our family’s history. Every ornament on the family room tree tells a story, a look into who, how and what we are, and as I worked to find just the right branch for each piece, I was able to reflect on its meaning and significance. And best of all, I was able to laugh and cry without the mocking jeers from the male members of my household.
Our First Home
Our First Cat
Our First (and only) University
Now I’m sure you’re asking, what does all this rambling have to do with a Party Time blog? Um, I’m not really sure. Other than I think it would be fabulous to include handmade ornaments on my tree that represent who I am as a paper crafter and that years from now would evoke sweet memories of happy times spent indulging in my hobby. And indulging in my hobby is way more fun when done with my paper crafting partners-in-crime by my side. In other words, PARTY!
So what follows is a plan, a sketch, a loose outline of ideas for an ornament making party I’d like to call “Ornamental Fun”. Use what you want, modify it to your needs. Just enjoy the time crafting with friends and the pleasure in knowing that years from now when you unwrap these handmade tree embellishments you will be wrapping yourself in cherished remembrances of the past.
What to Make (start here)
Choose a theme and/or a technique to carry throughout the party. For my examples, I chose snowflakes, folded medallions and shiny stuff you sprinkle.
Set some creation parameters. With your theme and/or technique in mind, decide just what kinds of crafting materials you’ll want to have available. Glitter, pattern paper, ribbon and punches are the staples to my ornament designs and all are elements that can be bought on the cheap in bulk.
The bases I used, clear glass balls, felt cut outs and chipboard letters, are also less expensive items that can be bought in multiples. You can also fray some of the costs by having guests bring items with them such as clear balls or pattern paper to match their décor.
Make plenty of examples for guests to follow. You will have those who will want to go off on their own tangents, but for those who need and want to stick with a plan, make sure there are enough mock-ups for them to handle and examine.
How to Let Guests Know
Send invitations that announce your theme. For my party invites, I covered chipboard ornament shapes that I found in the dollar section of my local crafts store and embellished them with details from my ornament designs. Printing party information on transparency sheets then slipping it into clear glass balls tied with ribbon is another option. Either way, use the invitation to give guests a hint of what they will be creating. It will get them excited to be there.
What to Serve Guests
Keep the food selection simple. Most prep time will be involved with getting things organized for guests to craft so keep the menu uncomplicated to maintain hostess sanity. And because table space will be needed for working on ornaments, a counter top buffet makes good sense. Choose finger foods that can be nibbled on easily as guests take breaks from crafting. These snowflake cookie cutters from Wilton are a perfect way to carry my party’s theme into the buffet line. I see the cookies sprinkled with bright colored sugar crystals (like glitter) and tied with a red licorice rope hanger (like ribbon). Mmmm. Both yummy and pretty.
How to Set the Mood
Keep decorations within the scope of the party’s theme. Gather colored balls in bowls or hurricane vases for a quick and thematic centerpiece. Hang beaded ornaments from the chandelier with ribbon. Intertwine a lighted garland around serving pieces and tuck miscellaneous ornaments and trinkets into the branches for added pop. Or dress plain napkin rings up by wiring ornaments to them.
How to Pull It All Off
Kit pre-cut and measured items. Handing guests a kit full of everything they need to make each project will make the creation process go much more smoothly as well as prevent supplies from being wasted. Make sure there are ample amounts of shared supplies like scissors and glue brushes. Busy guests are happy guests.
Protect the space. Remove furnishings that if ruined would be devastating. Accidents will happen. Glue will be spilled and glitter will fly into every uncovered crack and crevice. My cats are still wearing glitter from lying too close to my desk while I was working on these examples (but at least now I can see the black one in the dark).
Sit down and enjoy the experience. Being in the moment is the hardest step for me. I tend to fret over keeping things on a time schedule and keeping ahead of the messy clean-up. Make sure to focus energies on sharing creative time with guests and just plain having fun because those are the best memories to unwrap during future holiday seasons.
~ Elizabeth (ekb)