In Praise of a Children’s DIY Tree
At Aspen Grange, we believe it's important for kids to be involved in alllllll the creativity of Christmas. Actually, it’s vital. So let them wrap their gifts for Grammy (even if they decorate them with bits of orange yarn and blobs of glued confetti, she’ll get a kick out of it). And go wild with cookie baking—the messier your kitchen, the more fun had. But one of our favorite ways to treat kiddos to the magic of the season? Give them their very own Christmas tree in their room, adorned with something even better than made in USA Christmas ornaments. That's right: I'm talking DIY.
Every November, we beeline to our nearest craft store and choose an ornament to decorate ourselves. (Maybe someday, we’ll go full-throttle and make our own from scratch…but right now, with a little one, simply hand-painting a picked-up bauble will do, ideally if it’s a made in USA Christmas ornament). This year, we selected a sturdy cardboard ornament I liked the shape of: it had an Old World, twisting silhouette that reminded me of my engagement Christmas in Italy. I bought three of them so everyone in the family could paint their own, just how they wanted, then bought nontoxic craft paint in transfixing jewel tone colors: emerald greens, amethyst purples, ruby reds, topaz blues. (When everyone is painting from a limited and luxurious color palette, there would be no way for these made in USA Christmas ornaments to turn out badly…right?!) To lend each ornament some extra sparkle, I also picked up some gold glitter to adorn them all and give them a cohesive look that would help tie the whole tree together, wherever they roosted.
Then I waited and watched the weather like some Victorian-era sea captain—only instead of keeping an eye on winter squalls that would churn my ship, I was looking for the perfect craft day. We like to go exploring as a family on the weekends, whether that’s hiking through evergreen trees on nearby trails or hitting an art museum…so sitting home to craft when the sun is shining isn’t really in our M.O. Finally, one Saturday in November, snow was drifting in, making our roads too slick for comfort…and out came our plan to paint our made in USA Christmas ornaments.
We set up a painting station in a spot that was easily wiped clean (our quartz-topped dining table, covered in old newspapers to catch paint drips and drabs). Then we cranked up our fave Christmassy tunes, and prepared ourselves for a bit of a Jackson Pollock-worthy mess. It's part of the fun!
Ta-da! Don’t forget to write each artist’s initials and the year in fine Sharpie on the underside of each ornament, so you’ll remember when—and who—made what.
Decorating your own made in USA Christmas ornaments to place on your kid’s own tree in their room has a perk that goes way beyond the fun of it all. When our child grows up, all the years of ornaments on the tree will grow with them—each one reminding them of a very fun crafternoon, and time spent with their loving family. And every time the tree’s twinkly lights go on, it will show them just how magical tapping into their creative self can be.