A Clothespin Christmas 

Christmas comes but once a year and now it is here indeed. It is crazy how quickly this year has gone by. It is like we celebrated the new year, blinked, and now it is already December again. Crazy, I tell you.

Since we cannot deny that Christmas is just around the corner, Andy and I figured it was about time to get us a Christmas tree. Up here in the “Great White North,” it is more than socially acceptable to find your own tree in the forest, chop it down, and then bring it home to adorn it with decorations. So that is just what we did.

But for our decorations this year, we decided to do something a bit different. We thought “Why buy decorations for our tree when you can just make them?” (This is our unofficial philosophy for almost everything… Why buy something when you can make it yourself?!) So here is what we came up with: clothespin Christmas ornaments!* They were quite fun to make and required very little effort to take the pins apart and hot glue back together to form snowflakes. Then for the final touch, I “pizazzed” them out a bit with glitter paint to make them sparkle (because who doesn’t like sparkles).

Now our tree is up, the ornaments and lights are on, and our living room is made complete for the most wonderful time of the year. As I sit and admire the beauty in the simplicity of our little tree with its homemade ornaments, I cannot help but think that keeping this season simple is just as beautiful. Many people get caught up in the Christmas rush of parties and shopping for one last gift. There is nothing wrong with those things at all. But this season, may we also remember to carve out some time to just sit back and admire the simplicity and beauty around us. May we learn to take joy in the little things (that in the end usually turn out to be the most important things). And when all is said and done, may we not let the true meaning of Christmas and the reason why we get together in the first place slip us by. Take time to love much, laugh hard, and have yourself a very “clothespin Christmas!”

What is your favorite Christmas or holiday tradition? Please feel free to write about it in the comments below. I would love to hear about it! 🙂

*If you are interested in making some of these fun clothespin Christmas ornaments yourself, check out this step by step tutorial by By Stephanie Lynn found here.