DIY & Organize

As many of you know, we have been preparing for our daughter’s wedding for several weeks.  It was delightful! We could have not asked for a more gorgeous day in anyway. It was a small family wedding in our backyard.

To keep little hands busy during the evening, we put together gift bags for the children in attendance.

We used canvas bags from a craft supply store, fabric paints, and Crayola fabric crayons. The fabric crayons were awesome! They were neat, clean, and easy to use. Plus, they had a  rustic look when used on the canvas.

The theme of the wedding was family and how the bride and groom’s family forms the roots for their new family tree. One side of the bag was decorated to reflect that theme and with the child’s name.

Bethany decorated the other side with the date, colors, and graphic from the invitation.

We selected a variety of items from Walmart’s party supply section to place in the bag: the book “Mouse Count”, slinkies, silly putty, activity books, tilt game,  and pen. We gave the toddlers board books: “The Everything Book” by Denise Fleming and  “Blue Hat, Green Hat” Sandra Boynton. (I read “Blue Hat, Green Hat” to a two year old last week, and he laughed and laughed. He absolutely loved it!)

We gave the bags to the children at the reception dinner.

We also made a couple hundred origami globes to jazz up white lights.

Bethany and her dad worked together to make signs.

In the background you can see lamp posts. The base of the lamp is a tuna fish can and the globe is an ivy bowl (goldfish bowl). An oil lamp was placed inside. The oil lamps were purchased from a restaurant supply company. These were created  for a friend’s wedding and were shared with us. Thank you. 😉

We made the floral center pieces for the reception and I am sorry to say I didn’t get a good picture of the completed center pieces. But an easy component was dropping a gerbera daisy into a tall vase. They are beautiful flowers!

The bride and groom wanted their day to represent them and honor the special people in their life. Bethany wore her grandmother’s pearls, her great-grandmother’s brooch, and ear rings that were given to her by a close grandmotherly friend. The glassware for the dessert table were pieces from friends.

This post is not as early childhood focused as most, but do let this be reminder that this day will quickly come.  I mean like…fast…the speed of light…vroom…it is here! 🙂

I suggest that you:

1. Take advantage of teachable moments; slow down, share your time.
2. Teach your children the values that you want them to have; even when it is difficult. Persevere.
3. Teach them how to choose good friends. This will later help them select a good spouse.
4. Be the person that you want your child to be…or try to be. This is easier for me to say than to do.
5. Have fun! Make happy memories together.

Thank you for reading and following Creative Connections for Kids!