Tree Huggin' Tuesday - Quick and Easy, Eco Friendly Gifts

Omigosh I am starting to panic. I have not done any shopping yet and it is 11 days until Christmas morning! @_@

Our life in this house has been so hectic and chaotic the last 2 months that it suddenly hit me this morning, it's the middle of December and I am not even close to being ready. YIKES!

The problem with suddenly realizing that you basically have 10 days to get your sh*t together is that it is very easy to get caught up in the mass consumerism of the season. I find I am telling myself I'll just pop over to Costco and get all the gifts and everything I need and then I can be done. But there really is no thought in that because I know I'll just be there buying gifts for the sake of getting gifts and what good is that? And for the record I am not saying that just because you shopped at Costco your gifts are meaningless, not at all. I am just musing to myself that if I go there (it's 5 minutes from my house) and just shop for the sake of shopping and getting things that the gifts from me wouldn't have as much meaning and thought as I would like...does that make any sense? It's been a really long day around here.... :Þ

For one thing, I hate crowds.

{shudder}

The thought of hitting the stores this week or next is enough to sending me running for the hills screaming incomprehensible things while smacking myself on the forehead and hoping the little men in white jackets don't catch up with me.

For another thing, I feel like the meaning of this time of year is starting to fade. For some it is celebrating the birth of Jesus. For others, it is a celebration of light, of welcoming back the sun and just being close to friends and family. Whatever your reason for celebrating at this time of year, ask yourself, what does it mean to you? Is it about having the biggest and best and most expensive present to give or show off? Or the most presents? Why do people feel the need to literally spend thousands of dollars on gifts?!?! If it is not about that, then why is that always the focus? I don't get it and it's not what I want to teach my children.

Let's re-cap here.... I am wayyyyyyyyyyyyy behind in the gift giving/making department, it's December 14th, I hate crowds and mass consumerism really irritates me. So what is a girl to do?

Stay home, have a glass of wine and get into your zen spot by making your own gifts that have meaning and are filled with love and good energy.

I am not that crafty (although I am a crafty girl wannabe in the most desperate of ways :D LOL), I am not creative when it comes to coming up with ideas, but I am stubborn and tenacious and despite everything we've been through this little while, I am not letting it be my free pass this year to just hit the stores and get 'stuff' for the sake of having things to wrap up and give away. I might suck it up and shop a little bit if I can find the right gift for the right person and it is something they love (ie there is truly thought behind it), but other than that I plan to lay low for the next couple of weeks and remember the spirit of the season.

If it weren't for my children, I think I would just skip this craziness all together, but they are getting so excited and I have to remember that really, the magic of this season is still in them. They still believe in Santa and have so excitedly started their letters to send off.  One of the things they really want is actual toys from Santa's work shop. Not from the stores, but 'original' toys. Basically Maria and Matty are getting old enough to question the whole concept and want to know why Santa just gets everyone store bought toys.

I need to come up with something original. I need to be 'Santa's Workshop' and some how turn into an Elf and create something amazing. In ten days.

Luckily there is Google and fellow bloggers with super nifty crafty ideas that share what they come up with!

For Noah it is going to be these fabulous Fabric Alphabet Fridge Magnets that I saw awhile back on SpearmintBaby.com (and posted about on December 3rd) and fell in love with.

Aren't they just adorable?!?! :D

  

Photo and idea courtesy of SpearmintBaby.com

And really, he's 3. If my sewing is less than stellar I'm sure he won't notice. ;o)

Matty loves, loves, loves playdough and that is sooooooooooooo easy to make. If I put it in some original and unique packaging, use some cool colours with some car shaped cookie cutters, he'll be thrilled!

I haven't made playdough in a long time, but when I do this is the recipe that ends up the best for us:

Simple and Easy Homemade Playdough Recipe

• 1 cup of plain white flour (Save the organic whole wheat stuff for something else and just use the whitest all purpose flour you can find. Yes for us crunchy granola girl types it feels weird to use white flour for anything, but this is the time and the place for it! LOL :D)
• 1/2 cup table salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 teaspoons of Cream of Tartar
• Food coloring

Using a large pot add in all your ingredients and mix together over medium heat. Eventually the consistency turns to something like thick and sticky mashed potatoes. When this happens remove from heat and carefully start kneading the dough until it gets a smooth finish. Just watch out because it will be hot at first. I usually tip the pot over onto the table and let the playdough drop there and it cools off faster that way while I knead it.

For my Gluten Free friends, here is a great recipe that has gotten rave reviews!

Easy Gluten Free Playdough recipe:

• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tsp. cooking oil
• food coloring

Mix all ingredients together in saucepan, cook on low heat, stirring occassionally for at least 5 minutes or until it forms a ball. Remove from heat, let cool for 10 minutes. Scoop into a large bowl, add at least 1/2 cup more rice flour, and 1/2 cup more corn starch, knead until well mixed and no longer sticky. Store in airtight container.

  

Photo Courtesy of MumsBabyMagazine.com

For the colours, I use the food colouring pastes that you find in cake decorating stores. They seem more expensive yes, at first compared to the liquid kind you find in the grocery store etc, but they last for years and years and years. They are well worth the upfront cost. Just a teeny tiny speck on a toothpick will you give you rich and vibrant colours that are hard to find in store bought play dough varieties.

If you add some vanilla extract the playdough smells super yummy and the extract hlps preserve the dough so it lasts longer. You can use peppermint extract too which would be fun for this time of year!

Add some glitter to make sparkly dough. The kids love it! Make some special 'Santa Dough' by leaving the dough uncoloured and then add in red, green and silver glitter. :o)

Cooked playdough lasts longer and is easier to play with (in my not so humble opinion) than its non cooked counter part. It is also super easy to make, ridiculously simple to clean up and it costs just pennies for what turns out to be a really fun and unique gift!

Are you making any homemade gifts this year? I'll be on a mission all week for great ideas so feel free to share and I'll be sure to pop back and let you know any cool links and ideas I find too!

With love and light, ♥