One of our favorite Christmas traditions is drawing Secret Santa names with my husband's family. Every year the four of us put our names onto tiny bits of paper and toss them into a hat along with the names of each of my in-laws. We take turns drawing top-secret slips of paper which contain the name of a family member for whom we must create a one-of-a-kind handmade gift.
Some years are more challenging than others, some names more difficult to draw (creating a thoughtful gift for my brother-in-law is simply a lot tougher than for my 3 year old niece). But no matter who we select the reward of watching them open something made especially for them overshadows all of the plastic consumerism that comes before and after.
In our new found spirit of upcycling we decided to head to one of our favorite local thrift stores to seek out a few key gift-making ingredients (more to come on this process in a future post)...
For around $20 we purchased:
A glass vase, some stretchy velvet pants, and a pair of old slippers, PLUS we picked up some pants and a nice work shirt for my husband, a shirt for me, and a practically brand new magic kit for our 5 year old son.
Today's little pearl?
$20 spent giving old crap a second life feels a lot better than $20 spent on new shit (plus you get more bang for your buck).
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