On tents and love

This is our Christmas present to the kids.  

I've probably mentioned that we're not really big holiday celebrators.  Gosh, I'm sure that sounds heartless and cruel to some people but we've found that being low key works for our family.  The holidays pass semi-normally with scattered bursts of special events - like going to see the light with friends, or visiting family.  But there is no big build up to Christmas morning.  The kids are still little and don't know any better and the general season is still special with it's cookie baking and sparkly light spotting.  I'm interested to see how things change and evolve as the kids get older.  I'm pretty sure that we will still keep things simplified...no matter what traditions we adopt.

This year is the first year that I thought about getting them any presents.  They don't want for toys at all and have super generous grandparents so there hasn't ever been anything that I really wanted to buy for them. About a year ago, though, I started thinking of making Owen a little tent.  We constantly build forts here - blankets and pillows and chairs going every which way.  I thought it might be nice to have something a little more permanent and they looked easy enough to build.  

Aaand like most ideas I have...it evolved.  Into a teepee.  Into an 8 foot tall teepee that we all could kind of camp in.  I saw a tutorial on Smile and Wave and suddenly I was buying the wood in Lowes...I'm not sure what happened.  

It took me a few extra days to finish it - so it ended up as more of a New Years present than a Christmas present.  And I accidentally bought 5 pieces of wood instead of 6 so it's a litttttle different.  And I modified the instructions to make the door flaps overlap...but in general her measurements and instructions are a good place to start.  Easy enough for a sewing novice like myself to whip out in a few hours.  

It looks homey in our living room - is roomy enough that we can all cuddle inside - and is WARM.  Perfectly cozy.

I love making the kids random toys...homemade things like this or the play kitchen or the yarn blobby things. They're wonky and imperfect and take so much longer than I estimate they will...but there is something so important about finding ways to tangibly express love to someone else.  Baking them goodies, giving backrubs, building tents, mowing their lawn...whatever it is...I want our kids to grow up learning to DO as well as say.  To be creative in their expressions of love and friendship with others.  

I definitely need to ponder ways to encourage such creativity in them but I think that practicing it more often myself is a pretty good place to start.