Cloth bags instead of wrapping paper. An Eco craft Project.

Everyone is talking about the environment. It's as if we all woke up at once to the fact that the earth is a closed biosphere and that stuff we use has to be recycled or we are doomed! So I'm joining in, why not! I'm looking at presents and how we wrap them.

Paper is pretty easy to recycle compared to lots of things we make. And plain paper breaks down and composts nicely. But fancy wrapping paper, the shiny sort, the metallic sort, the glittery sort, doesn't. And Christmas and birthday wrapping can end up looking gorgeous but being very bad for the planet.

Some time ago I wrote about using bags for children's gifts, not because of the planet, but because children's toys are so over packaged that an impatient toddler can end up in tears of rage when 20 minutes after unwrapping their new baby doll daddy is still trying to undo all the ties and twists, and because so much toy packaging is geared towards gender.

But lately I realised that reusable bags would also be good for adults gifts, for any gifts really, and the best thing about a little bag is that it makes gifts easy to wrap, and it can be reusable too!

If you have a sewing machine they are a snap to make, but even if you hand sew they are far from complicated.

So with a doubly environmental plan that involved buying cheap clothes at Charity stores purely for the pretty designs on the material and then recycling them into bags, I set to work.

So far I have actually used new material because I found some cheap 'fat quarters', and the bags I have made are small, but I'm going to keep making them, as and when I have time, so that by Christmas I should have a good choice.

I have used ribbon for the 'drawstring' on my bags so that they can have a bow tied at the top.

The simplest design require no finishing of raw edges, just a simple rectangle of material, wide hems sewn at each narrow end for the drawstring (ribbon) , fold the rectagle into a square, and then a quick sew together of the sides.

Two loops of ribbons are threaded through the hems and ... ta da! a drawstring bag.

Christmas Fun

Now that DD is a grownup teen we don't do so many of the fun little Christmas things we did when she was small. Partly because she is older and partly as I'm back at work full time.

I sort of miss the messy glitter, the cotton wool stuck to fingers with PVA glue. Maybe that's why this year I did the silly little present a day advent calendar!

I received an email today with some fun Christmas ideas so I'm going to share in the hope you can do some, because trust me one day your little monsters children will be all grown up and you'll miss it all - no really!

So here are some ideas from  London’s most trusted nanny agency , giving their tips on how to make Christmas truly magical:-

Make Christmas Crafts
Letting your children loose with some craft supplies or making handmade Christmas decorations together is a great way to bond and get excited for the arrival of Father Christmas. Whether it’s paper snowflakes or something larger such as painting a model of a Christmas tree, it’s a fun way to pass some time and talk about the jolly season. (it may also cause you to need a new carpet, and will ensure a house full of glitter well into February, but that's half the fun!) Red Ted Art is my go to crafting blog for ideas!

Bake Christmas cookies
Kids always love baking, but especially at Christmas time! Christmas eve can be a great day to bake, as you can leave some of the treats for Father Christmas to enjoy. Festive shaped cookie cutters are quite easy to find, such as stars or holly, and are fun to decorate too. If you are having guests over for Christmas dinner or a party on Boxing day, you can bake a large batch and the children can be proud to show off their baking skills to family and friends. I have a great no spread (and no chill!) cookie recipe here - we will be making some for Christmas this year.

Copyright: katyjay / 123RF Stock Photo

Make traditions
Every family has its own traditions – what’s your Christmas tradition? Does everyone own Christmas pyjamas or a onesie that you all wear on Christmas eve? How about writing and sending letters to the North Pole on 1^st Dec without fail, or attending your local nativity as a family? Perhaps you always go to the London light switch on and even invite your daily nanny to join in the festive celebrations. A Christmas tradition will make it feel like a special time of year. We sort of started a 'new pyjamas on Christmas eve' tradition a few years ago, and we always watch a family movie together, with snacks and hot chocolate (or booze!) on Christmas eve. I also try to continue my family tradition of opening Christmas presents after lunch on Christmas day, but I'm fighting a losing battle!

What are your ideas for the perfect Christmas? And are there any things you miss from your childhood, or when your children were younger?
 

Things to do - fun free family frolics!

Autumn is suddenly here. Today it's raining as well as chilly. Proper ' stay at home and watch a black and white movie with a hot toddy' weather.

And that's great, for an adult, for a Sunday, for one day. But those with children (and I count myself among you still, despite dd being nearly 14) know that after a few days ... Hours ... minutes, kids will chill our very marrow with the cry of "I'm bored!" And the equally horrifying "what can I DO?" 

And the usual thrusting of a child into the back garden to play with football, trampoline or skipping rope is thwarted by rain, and trips to the playground curtailed because "no one will be there to play with" and "the slide will be wet" so we the parent are reduced to playing Lego in the lounge, painting in the pantry, cooking in the kitchen or beading in the bedroom.

You, like me, probably love to be with your kids, love to be with HAPPY kids, so I asked twitter for some ideas to add to the anti-whine arsenal and here they are.

The Moon in a Shoebox

Are you a parent of a school age child? if so you will know the enormous amount of 'projects' that have to be completed at home, and will understand that depending on your child's age and how keen on the project they are the amount of help they need from you can vary from 0 - 100%

at the weekend my 10 year old and I finally finished a long planned 'moon' project. The brief was that it had to be 'something about the moon or space or the stars, with facts.' Previous entries had included papier mache moons, model space craft, plans of stars etc.

Well I can take credit for the idea and minimal assistance with the sticking. Daughter was in charge of planning, picture choice, cutting and placement. Also the facts were all researched, selected and printed etc by her.

The results are below. It is the first project where we both learned stuff, we both had fun, and we are both proud of the finished product!

The shoe box has a tracing paper panel in the lid to allow light in....should you wish to make your own! ;-)