Especially ones that involve Christmas films?! Yes, please – count me in!
Now, we already know it’s a proven fact that snacks (especially sugary ones) make any movie night better. But, how about adding some customized Holiday Spirits to go along with your fave Christmas flicks?
These jolly and festive Grinch, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph themed drinks are the perfect accompaniment to some of our most beloved classic Christmas movies!
And the best part? They can be made into “Kid Friendly Versions” by just omitting the alcohol!
What do you say friends? Come on over – we’ll crowd on the couch, snuggle under a blanket and watch some classic feel-good shows while sipping on fun, boozy libations! We’ll be the jolliest bunch of you-know-what’s this side of the nuthouse!
Add all the ingredients together in a punch bowl. Mix.
Using a dab of corn syrup on your finger, rub along the full rim of the glass. * Wetting the glass rim with water works as well, but the syrup definitely holds the sugar onto the rim better than water.
Dip the glass upside down into a bowl of the red sugar.
Carefully pour the cocktail into the glass, avoiding the sugared rim.
This post was sponsored by Dremel Tools. All opinions are my own.
As I was decorating the house for the holidays this year, there seemed to be so many Christmas decorations that my kiddos weren’t allowed to touch. Even our nice train track with the working engine is something they can only play with when Mom or Dad can help.
I could tell they were feeling a whole lot of “well, this isn’t fun” feelings and honestly, it just didn’t seem fair.
I decided it was high time to create an entire tree, from top to bottom, for my kids to decorate and play with. And this DIY Under the Tree Toy Train Track is just the final touch their Holiday décor needed! Plus, the track is incredibly easy to move around and store! Oh, and plus plus, it’s crazy inexpensive to create!
Hometalk
Starting with 2 pieces of 1″x3″x8″ wood pieces, we used a saw to cut (4) 18″ and (4) 7″ pieces. If you don’t have a saw, make sure to have your pieces cut at the store before you leave!
We chose to cut the 8 pieces at 22 degree angles at the ends to create an octagon shape in the track.
You will also need (3) 18″ pieces and (2) 7″ pieces cut to match the inside angles of the track for the back. These will provide a surface to hold your homes and trees.
I spray painted the track a metallic gray and the back pieces white.
Set the wood aside to fully dry.
Next, we painted our wood and rectangle squares – which will be the houses – colorful and bright shades with acrylic craft paint.
For the roof pieces, we painted our triangle shapes black.
Using white puffy paint, we created a snowy shingle look in layers across each of the triangles.
A bit of craft snow glitter added the perfect sparkle to our snowy rooftops!
Using the hot glue gun, we attached the roofs to the houses.
I prefer to “man” the glue gun during our family crafting time. I know first-hand how painful burns from the glue gun can be on your tender digits!
Once the spray painted wood was dry, it was time to connect the gray track pieces to the white back pieces. Matching the sizes together (18″ track pieces with 18″ back pieces, 7″ track pieces with 7″ back pieces), we screwed them together from the outside of the back piece to the bottom of the back of the track piece.
Hot glue the finished houses and tree shapes to the interior of the back piece and continue filling in with the shapes along the front and sides of the track.
We wanted our houses and trees to be touching so that we could fit as many as possible on our track.
To help hold the track together when in use, narrow strips of velcro did the job!
Plus, the velcro makes it crazy simple to move the track around and store away.
We found some plain wood cars and trains at the craft store and added a bit of paint to them to use on our track. But, the track is wide enough for most toy cars, really.
It’s totally perfect and totally hands-on for the kiddos!
This post was sponsored by WORX Tools. All opinions are my own.
Christmas is right around the corner and my itch to start decorating my home is becoming more of a jolly, red, green and white rash. I can’t wait to deck the halls and make our spaces joyful. One of my most favorite parts of the entire Christmas season is all the lights. Houses, business and town gazebos lit up and sparkling, trees glowing in the night and icicle lights adorning front porches. Even though it’s cold and snowy, all the twinkling and shining just makes me feel warm and aglow. This Merry and Bright Marquee sign is perfect for any light-loving kindred spirit and will certainly put you in a wonderfully cheerful mood!
Step 1: Paint Plaque White
Spray paint the painter’s plaque white outside or in a well-ventilated space.
Step 2: Tape the Edges
After the paint has dried, you will need to use painters’ tape around the top edge to keep it clean for the next step.
Step 3: Add Glue
Using a decoupage medium and a foam brush, apply a coat of glue along the side of the plaque.
Step 4: Glitter Up the Sides
Making sure the plaque is over a tray or plate, sprinkle the glitter onto the wet side.
Continue working around the plaque, brushing on the glue and shaking on the glitter one side at a time.
Set to the plaque off to the side to dry.
Don’t forget to dump your extra glue on the tray back into your bottle!
Step 5: Paint the Letters
With a gold sparkle spray paint, paint the front of each letter spelling out “MERRY & BRIGHT” outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. You could also use acrylic paint in place of the spray paint if you prefer.
Allow to fully dry.
Step 6: Mark the Letters
Turning the letters over, mark where the holes for each bulb will go on the back of the letter using a black marker. Make sure you know how many bulbs are on your battery-operated strand beforehand so that you make the correct number of holes in each letter.
When making your holes, keep in mind the letters are thin wood that may split easily and staying in the center of each letter will prevent this.
Step 6: Drill the Holes
Using the Maker X Rotary Tool with the 1/8” drill bit, drill through each black dot on the back of your letters.
Step 7: Mark the Lines
With a ruler and a pencil, lightly mark a line 2” down from the top (for MERRY) and ½” up from the bottom (for BRIGHT) to use as a template for applying the letters.
The line will help you keep your words straight.
Step 8: Hot Glue the Letters
Hot glue MERRY & BRIGHT onto the plaque, making sure not to cover up the holes. (If you do accidently cover the holes with glue, don’t panic! You will wind up drilling through it anyway in the next step.)
Step 9: Drill the Plaque
Now that your letters are glued in place, it’s time to use the Rotary Tool again to drill through to the back of the plaque.
Step 10: Erase
Erase any pencil lines you can see.
Step 11: Velcro Battery Pack
With a 2” strip of sticky velcro, attach the battery pack to the back of the painter’s plaque in the opening of the frame.
Step 12: Insert Lights
Insert one miniature bulb through each hole, working slowly up and down the letters.
If you notice the lights pulling out of the holes in the back, a small piece of duct tape will help hold the pesky wires in place.
Step 13: Hot Glue Snowballs
For a finishing touch, take .5” white pom-pom balls and hot glue them randomly across the front of the marquee sign to give it a snowy look.
These trees are so stinking unique. Unlike anything I’ve seen at the stores and actually very simple to put together! Using a handful of easy-to-find supplies (some even straight from your backyard), you can make these rustic and adorable Lamb’s-Ear Christmas Trees too!
A wood slice, a stick, some twine, lambs-ear garland (dusty miller or eucalyptus both would look cute as well! I like anything that has a flocked-look), hot glue and floral tape are all the supplies needed.
*tip*: I have 8 kids. So Mama don’t have money to throw around (I also haven’t slept in over 18 years but that’s a whole ‘nother subject). When making anything faux floral, if possible, buy the garland instead of the separate flower sprigs. It’s less expensive for more of the same thing! This message brought to you by a mother that has perfected the art of penny pinching, dumpster diving and making crap from junk.
“Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it”
Make ’em tall, make ’em wide, make ’em any way you want!
I made these for a stage presentation that lasted 30 minutes. I was done each time in about 15 minutes. Seriously. That quick. I wouldn’t lie to you, friends. I mean, who doesn’t love a quick Christmas DIY?!
Start with a wood slice. You can find these at the craft store already dried and clean, or you can find them in your backyard or local park or trail for free (especially if you have a wood-burning fireplace and a husband that is crazy about picking up every downed tree within a 25 mile radius of your home for free burning wood….) Find your stick (again, either from the craft store or from the backyard) and drill a hole into your wood slice the same width as your stick. Add hot glue inside your drilled hole to hold your stick in place – make sure it’s straight-ish.
Your stick height will be your tree height, so keep that in mind when picking out a stick as well as making sure you have enough lamb’s-ear for your project. I’ve made trees as tall as 28 inches high and 1 lambs-ear garland was plenty.
Next, you will want to measure (I use that term loosely. By “measure” I mean hold up your garland and figure out approx. how long each piece needs to be)
Using wire cutters, floral scissors or hedge clippers, cut the garland pieces to size. These pieces will be hanging upside down to create a more “tree” look, so make sure to leave an end piece of a few centimeters on each sprig for attaching to the base stick.
With a dab of hot glue, adhere each sprig to the stick. I typically use 3-4 sprigs around the stick.
If you get hot glue on your fingers during this step, I give you full permission to curse like a sailor if it makes you feel better. This here is a judgement-free zone. No one knows the feeling of 3000-friggin’ degree hot glue burning through the skin of your tender digits until they’ve actually had it happen.
Tip: Some trees I use only one tier of sprigs. Others I layer up 2-3 tiers for a fuller tree.
Once they are all glued on the stick, use the floral tape (in this case I used white floral tape to match the white stick) to secure the sprigs of lamb’s-ear onto the stick.
Cover up the exposed floral tape with a line of twine secured with hot glue.
This tree was made with a backyard stick and I love how it “leans” a bit. Not perfect, but totally cute. I also used 2 layers of lambs-ear for this one. A shorter layer on top and another longer layer underneath. The floral tape is hidden under the top tier. Both layers were attached in the same method described above, but I didn’t need to cover the second tier’s tape with twine since you couldn’t see it.
I also added a string of twine along 3-4 inches on bottom of some of the taller trees for an added layer of texture. With or without the bottom twine, they are pretty.
A pinecone hot glued on the top can be a fun addition to the rustic feel of these sweet things.
I am a bit of a Christmas fanatic (okay. A LOT of a Christmas fanatic!). There’s just something about the season. The songs, the shows, the books and stories. Peace on Earth, goodwill towards men and giving to others. It’s an absolutely magical time of year. And each December, I gift my children with their own Winter Wonderland of sorts. My home is decked out and fully trimmed with the Christmas spirit. Plus, there are lots and lots of COOKIES!
But what my children love most of all about our holiday home is that almost all of our decorations were semi or fully handmade.
And handmade is the best type of ‘made’, if you ask me.
So, I am sharing some ideas to personalize and create a unique Christmas for your family and loved ones (all while saving some major Reindeer Bucks!)
Mercury Glass Ornaments
These babies are like a good spray tan. A bit fake but a whole ‘lotta pretty.
This is such an inexpensive way to add this trendy and pricey look to your holiday!
Simply spray equal parts vinegar and water (1:1 ratio) onto a clear glass ornament bulb. A few squirts should do the trick.
While still wet, use a light coat of Looking Glass spray paint on top.
Allow the paint to dry fully and proudly accessorize your tree with these babies like you just spent BIG MONEY!
Picture Ornaments
Go ahead, put your face on it!
These personalized pieces bring a natural element to your Christmas tree and only take a few supplies.
The wood ornaments can be made using cut branch pieces with a hole drilled through the top or inexpensively purchased pre-cut at the craft store.
Print a black and white picture of your choice from your computer onto regular printer paper (make sure to match the size of your picture to the size of the wood piece before printing).
Using a bit of ModPodge (found at any craft store or big box store with a crafting section) and a foam brush, apply a thin layer to the wood.
Next, take your cut out picture and place it on top of the ModPodged wood. Add another light layer of ModPodge on top of the picture and let dry – Don’t panic! The ModPodge will look cloudy at first. But, as it dries, it clears up. It’s like a Christmas Miracle!
A coat of water-based polyurethane on top after the ModPodge is completely dry is an optional step to ensure the longevity of your ornament.
Sticker Ornament
Stick a sticker on it for stickers-sake!
Grab a box of clear, glass ornament bulbs.
Take a sticker of your choice – numbers, letters, names, initials, dates, poop emojis – whatevs.
Make sure the sticker is pressed on completely and there’s no curling edges. Take a craft paint color of your choice, and using light coats, paint your bulb (on top of the sticker as well) with a foam brush.
Once fully dried, slowly peel up your sticker.
Add a small, cut piece of dark-colored paper or fill the bulb with shredded paper to really make your sticker outline stand out.
Flocked Tree
What the FLOCK?
I for one, luuuuuuurve me some flocked trees. But, man oh man, they are a bit more moolah than I prefer to spend. Especially when “some” in my home (ahem: EDWARD)think we already have too many Christmas trees – I mean, is that even a thing?! I think not.
So, grab yourself a cheapo Christmas tree from the Goodwill, your local second-hand store, FB Marketplace or your Grandma’s attic and make your own.
All it takes is a can of fake snow and a box of baking soda or cornstarch.
Spray your tree with a coating of spray snow and while wet, sprinkle soda or starch all around tree branches until it’s fully flocked to your flocked desire. Dry time is kinda long. So be patient. Once dried, give your tree a good upside-down shake to remove the really loose pieces.
FYI – this is messy. Like, really, really messy! From start to finish and everything in between, this is messy. But, so is any flocked tree.
It’s a commitment to the faux snow you must make, my friends.
Did I mention it’s rather messy?!
Tree Stands & Bases
“Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree. Your stand is soooooooo ugly.”
But I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be this way! You can love your tree from top to glorious bottom by getting a bit creative.
Using a lampshade, a basket, a large tin can, or whatever else you can scrounge up, you can make a beautiful base for your tree.
“Cause you know I’m all about that base, ’bout that base…”
Live Boxwood Wreaths
Boxwood wreaths are so popular right now. I adore them as much as the next crazy Christmas Lady, but have you ever priced out a boxwood wreath? Don’t. Just don’t. Trust me. It’s not good for your thrifty heart.
So, of course, I have a solution! If you don’t have a boxwood bush in your yard, I am sure one of your friendly neighbors do. Ask for a few clippings (or wait until it’s dark and “accidentally” break a handful of twigs off their boxwood) Okay, obviously I am just joking about that suggestion…sort of….
Anywho, take your fresh clippings and attach them to a wire wreath frame or a grapevine wreath using twist ties or craft wire. Add a ribbon bow or a piece of burlap and VOILA you just pretty much became a professional florist.
Just remember to spray your wreath with a bit of water once a day to help keep it fresh. It will dry out and eventually not be as green, but it should keep for the Christmas season!
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