Every Christmas, from our oldest son's first on, we have bought each of the children a special keepsake ornament to go on the tree. We go through the ornaments, one at a time, from oldest to youngest, as we hang them on the tree, letting them remind us of the past years, as we put them up. It's a fun tradition, but one that became quite expensive, as our family increased in size.
Last year, while doing a little belt tightening, in response to the economic downturn, I decided to make the children's ornaments instead of buying them. I worried a bit that they might look flimsy, or cheap next to the store bought decorations, but they ended up being some of our favorites, and so we decided to tweak our tradition. Instead of buying the keepsakes, we (meaning I) would make them.
Of course, that means making a new set of ornaments each year (last year I used a gingerbread theme), something that will be unique to each child, and help us to remember who they are that particular year. So, I was very happy to note the knit pattern for Christmas Tree Bears, at Little Cotton Rabbits, when I was searching out a pattern for the tiny knit bears the children used for our hibernation craft earlier this fall.
While most of the children have outgrown teddy bear ornaments, for the moment, the pattern looked like it could be modified fairly simply with a change of yarn color, and the addition of a few small details, like bits of yarn for hair and shoes, into...
...an angel ballerina, for my middle daughter, who has that role in the community performance of the Nutcracker this year...
...my youngest daughter, with her bangs continually in her eyes, and wearing her favorite color - purple...
...or, my youngest son, in the yellow, and white striped shirt he outgrew during the summer, but refuses to stop wearing.
I'm not completely happy with the face on the last one yet, and I need to add some shoes. Then, I'll have three more to make, including two more ballerinas, and one for a no nonsense, "I'm not interested in anything" twelve year old. But, so far, it looks like we'll be able to keep up with our keepsake tradition, without breaking the bank.
It's great to be a homeschooler.
These are too cute. I make new Christmas Ornaments every year, from snowflakes to angels, I think however my most cherrished are the quilted satan balls I made from an old quilt top my Grandma made for me that never got quilted. They warm my heart every Christmas.
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