I just wasn't happy with any of the ideas out there on the Internet. They were all either too simple (I know, I'm crazy that way), or too cheesy, or too big and bulky for my house. None fit my criteria: original, recyclable, and visual (my son particularly needs to SEE and count how many days are left till Christmas).
So I started brainstorming and looking around my house to find things I could repurpose for this task. I kept coming back to the empty baby food jars we had laying around, and all of a sudden it hit me: these would be perfect!! They are small enough to fit them anywhere in our house, but big enough to put stuff in them!!! A little treat or a little note...or maybe both!! :) Plus, they are definitely recyclable, so no wasting! Win!
The next task was to figure out how to organize them or arrange them that it wouldn't take too much space in our small house. I could have put them all in one long line on the storage shelve, and it would definitely be very visual. But the kids have direct access to that area because it's not very tall. Glass jars + kids' little busy hands--not a very safe idea. Maybe try arranging them on a table? And make a holiday centerpiece out of it...Hmmm...And here is when my brain started spinning extra fast: "...moving all the jars back and forth every time we sit down to eat is just too much...but what if they were all together, on some sort of a tray, or pedestal....or...."DING!"... A cupcake stand!!!"
It was such a simple but perfect concept!! Now all I had to do was to "dress up" my jars and come up with ideas for our Advent Calendar. Scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, some ribbon, and a sharpie--Lucy's baby food jars never looked so fancy! :)
Of course, I hit a tiny little rock on the way...the were only 23 holders on my cupcake stand...and 25 days. But the solution was pretty easy. We would do 24 days till Christmas, and for the #24 it will be not a jar but my kids' first Christmas present--Nativity Scene by Little People. We were planning to give it to them for Christmas, but doing so before Christmas made so much more sense!!! They would get to play with it and reenact the story of Christ's Birth on actual Christmas Eve--perfect!
So here it is, our simple but sophisticated DIY baby food jar Advent Calendar!
No comments:
Post a Comment