Christmas Archives

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending The Agrarian Collectives’ wreath making workshop at the Sunnybrook Preserve in Chesterland. Sure, Chesterland is a bit far from where we live (now), but Chad + I both grew up just minutes from this town, so we know the area very well.

I had signed up a few weeks ago, not knowing how I would be feeling, but knowing that I would desperately need to get out of the house. Turns out, I was right. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten outta the house solo, so I knew Chad & Ari could do without me for just a few hours. Ha!

I arrived early to give myself time to settle in, and I’m so glad I did! I was able to meet with Kelli from the Agrarian Collective (again) and snap some photos of the spread. — And let me tell you, it was an awesome spread!

Kelly and her crew did an amazing job at setting up this workshop. Everything looked Pinteresty-perfect! Which, admittedly, helped me tap into my creative side pretty quickly.

She gave us a quick run-down of what do to. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, but I felt empowered!

The result? Magical! It’s amazing what a little empowerment and creativity will spark! I got to business and finished my wreath very quickly!

Seriously. I went from nervous about HOW to create something to just getting it done in a snap! Great leadership from the AC crew! My new, beautiful, simplistic, wreath is now hanging on our door, helping to usher in the holidays!

Bonus — I, unknowingly, scratched #7 off of my 31 for 31 list by taking a “makers” workshop!

Please checkout the other events that they have going on, including the longest night, a winter solstice gathering, on Tuesday December 22nd! Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased online here! From what I understand this event is nearly sold out!

One thing I’ve learned about babies and toddlers is that you can totally go overboard with gifts. And well, everything. They get very over stimulated very quickly. At birthday parties, we’ve learned not to open every gift. In fact, we only open about 3. The rest? We put in storage to be opened later [and if I’m being completely honest, we put them into hiding so we can “regift” them — to him! — for Christmas just a few months later!].

The times he seems most uninterested in gifts is when he is overwhelmed. So this year, out of necessity and sanity, we are only giving him a select number of gifts for Christmas.

Matchbox Cars. All of the fancy toys in the world don’t compare to silly Matchbox Cars. I’ve learned that boys just love driving cars all over the place. So getting a giant box of cars is going to make his freaking day.
Fake Power Tools. He was obsessed with this Home Depot drill his friend K had, so he ended up picking out a Home Depot Leaf Blower with his Toys R Us birthday gift card. 🙂 It’s so funny cause he thinks it actually works to blow things. [hint: it doesn’t]
Action Figures. Especially the Marvel Titan series. Bonus? If I get roped into playing, it’s like Barbies, but with boys. Inexpensive. Sturdy. Fun.
Ants in the Pants. I was surprised to learn that he’s playing games like this at the sitters house. And actually focusing; like sitting down and actually listening/following directions! So I picked up this game [which, admittedly, was my favorite preschool game as a kid] on Black Friday!
Candy canes. Because, candy. And it’s a crowd-pleaser.
Green Toys Dump Truck. Not only is it eco-friendly, but this dude suddenly became obsessed with dump trucks. When we go to friends houses, he immediately passes up the fancy toys and goes straight to the big trucks.
Amazon Fire Tablet. Before you get all judgy about being ‘that mom’ that gives her kid a tablet, let me clarify: Ari has been using Chad’s old iPad for like a year now. Chad upgraded a while back and then pretty much it became Ari’s iPad. It had movies and preschool games on it. Aaaand it hasn’t been holding a charge for a few months so we haven’t used it in a long time. So the other day Amazon had the Kindle Fire on sale for $30 (!!!!!!) so guess who is getting a tablet [WITH a very childproof case]? Yep. Moosh. Really, they are great to have on hand for learning games and movies for road trips.

Looking at this list now, it looks like a lot. But I swear it’s easy to go overboard. And really + truly, we haven’t spent much at all on gifts. We’ve acquired them when we find them on sale and let them pile up over the months before Christmas!

What are your go-to toddler boy gifts!?