Making our own holiday gifts

As the handles on the clock moved mercilessly, we hustled to put the last few tools out on the tables. We barely had time to reflect on the past few weeks - it was a blur. It was a hectic time, planning, shopping, economizing, Pinterest research, more shopping, and even a pre-test with a few student volunteers to make sure we were ready. 

The first few guests walked in and we switched over to Host mode.  We gathered the students and set them up at each station.  They spent the next hour and half decorating wooden frames with embellishments, creating their own scented bath salts from scratch (yes, they mixed and stirred and shook their litte jars) and finally glued tissue paper onto votive jars for one-of-a-kind candles for the home. 

Parents relaxed in the back with refreshments and tried not to peek as their children made gifts for them.  Topping off the evening with hot cocoa and a big cookie, the families left with their hand-made gifts and smiles.

Ok, did I mention it was raining?

And it did become a little crazy somewhere in the middle when each bath salts jar had to be tied with a pretty ribbon and personalized tag and there were some spills occasionally....but it's all part of the experience! 

It was a joy to put this together and make it happen for our families.  Here are some cute photos so you can see what we did!