Just maybe. ;]
But, it was too fun not to! I love putting things together for my kids, and the holidays are just such a magical time for children. I love promoting that magic, and I also love spoiling my children. And the Holiday season is one of the few times in our family that we allow ourselves to splurge.
Well, Holidays...and Birthdays.
But other than that, we tend to be tight-wad Thompsons over here! (No offense if your last name is Thompson... it just rhymed ;])
So, when Holidays(&Birthdays!) come along, we are kind of methodical about what we want to get the children. It is one of the few times we really have the money to get them something good, so we want to make sure that it is quality, both in how it is made...and how it is received by the kiddos.
So far the kids have building blocks, a light table, art shelves and supplies, balls, playmobil, playdough, puzzles, trains, a train table, an art table...and the list could go on.
To help expand and diversify that list...we decided this year to make Emmie her very own market... and Kay a lego table.
And I just made an awning for Emmie's market, and I am SO stinkin' excited about it!!! Like maybe happy dance excited. Just maybe!
I made it out of a card board box that Kay's lego table supplies had come in. I cut the box in half and painted it using my kid's craft paint. Then I attached it to the wall using my husband's screwdriver and a few screws.
What can I say? I'm a borrower! ;]
Anyways, I kind of like that the stripes are only on the one flap, but I'm not entirely sure. Do you think I should finish the stripes through out or leave it as is? I'm a little bit worried that finishing the sides of the awning with stripes might make it too busy. I dunno. Opinions?
For the actual market stand, we are using an old T.V. Center that we found sitting outside by our apartment complex's dumpster. Pretty classy, I know ;]. But, I figure, with a fresh coat of paint and a little bit of elbow grease, it will end up looking pretty cute.
I especially love all the different levels. The plan is to paint it with chalkboard paint, and then add some wicker/wooden baskets with play food, a basket with some fake flowers, and put up some vintage grocery ad's on the wall behind it.
I mean, how cute are these? Really!
I'd also like to add wooden letters above the awning, with a store name like "Emmie's Market", or something personal like that.
As far as Kay's lego table, we bought 15 of these lego mats from lego.com, and will be gorilla gluing them down on the underside of his train table top. That way it'll be dual purpose. If you're interested, I'll put together a step-by-step tutorial on how we assemble it all. In the meantime, I just need to find a day to sit down and do it!
I'm thinking next date night. ;]
We also bought Kay a lego set to go along with it. Not to mention the free holiday set we got as part of a promotion when we ordered it all online. Not too shabby ;].
Anywho's it should make for a pretty special Christmas morning. I'm just excited to see all of our ideas finally start to come together. They have been floating around in our brains and conversations for far too long. I can't wait for them all to be a reality!
How 'bout all you lovely folks? Are you doing a hand-made Christmas? A store-bought? Or a little bit of in-between? Ours is definitely an in-betweener. Hopefully, it will be a good mix of convenience, quality, and sentiment. I'll let you know ;]
Man, I really seem to like those winky faces. I gotta keep myself in check. Totally resisting the urge to add another winky face after this sentence.
....
;]
Leave the store awning like it is otherwise it's too much of a good thing. Looks like we will get our house, so Christmas will be spent moving and setting up. No frills this year!
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