Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

When my parents-in-law were newly married and both in school, they faced decorating their Christmas tree with no money to buy ornaments.

The solution came from what they, as young students had in abundance… white typewriter paper.  They folded and cut and soon their tree was blanketed in beautiful, elegant snowflakes.

As the years passed and they had the money to buy more expensive ornaments, they found they could not give up their beautiful handmade snowflakes.  After nearly 45 years of marriage, they still decorate their tree with paper snowflakes along with their favorite ornaments.  Some of the snowflakes are many years old, some were even cut by loved ones who have passed away.  Each year the best snowflakes are carefully saved between sheets of cardstock.

Most of my husband’s siblings, our family included, have carried on the tradition of hand cut snowflakes.  It started for us, just as it did for my in-laws… out of necessity, but has continued out of choice.

I know we all did this in grade school, but in case you can’t remember, here’s how we cut our snowflakes:

Start by cutting an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of printer paper into a square- 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″.  Cheaper, thinner (light weight) paper is actually best for this project.

Fold your sheet in half.

And then half again, so you have a small square.

Now fold your square into a triangle, in thirds.

Like so.

Here’s is where small, good quality scissors are worth their weight in gold.  Don’t try to make an intricate snowflake with your kid’s snub nose kindergarten scissors…

Once cut, I open them up gently and press them with my iron on the lowest setting.  Be very careful not to catch and rip the snowflakes when pressing.

Tie a length of string onto the snowflake and hang them on the tree… or from the ceiling or wall.  I love this tradition, because every member of our family can contribute and each snowflake is unique, lovely and festive. But, best of all each year we create wonderful new memories.

Every year,  since my husband and I were married we have bought a new Christmas book.

We’ve bought some wonderful books over the years, but Red Ranger Came Calling by Berkeley Breathed is one of our most beloved books.

My husband won’t be happy that I’m writing about this, but he gets choked up every time he reads Red Ranger aloud to the kids.  (Personally, I think it’s because he sees himself in the main character of the book… Prickly.)

It’s a tale about a cynical young boy named Red and his skepticism of the existence of Santa Claus.  As Red says, “… a kid’s life was one long opportunity for having the rug pulled out from below him at every step.  Myself, I was determined to stay on my feet.”

The story is set during the Great Depression and the struggles of those times are woven deftly into the plot.  As are themes of resourcefulness, gratitude and faith.  Red wants nothing more (or less) than a bicycle.  Well not any bycicle, but a “Buck Tweed Two-Speed Crime-Stopper Star-Hopper Bicycle…. but it was 1939, and although Christmas Eve had arrived, dreams were unaffordable.”

This book is as witty and funny as it is wise.  And in the end, Red discovers sometimes our dearest wishes are granted… just not the way we expected.  When the last pages are read, I challenge even the most cynical reader not to feel a bit of wonder and even hope at this delightful story.