Making Fun

A blog about making life more magical and meaningful

Start an Annual Holiday Tradition with Friends

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Every year I look forward to our annual outing to see the Nutcracker with my daughter and one of my best friends and her daughter. We all meet for lunch and see a matinee on one of the Saturday or Sundays in December. Beyond the Nutcracker being a beautiful show and a perfect way to ring in the season, it is a really meaningful time every time to get to see our daughters grow up (they make fun of us now) and get some quality time in my friend. This year will be our fourth time, and I hope to one day be celebrating our 50th.   

Despite the holiday season being hectic, it’s actually really easy to factor in a nice little tradition. You all know it’s coming in advance and can plan far ahead, and have something awesome to look forward to.

Who will you start a holiday tradition with?

Create and Apply Personal Policies

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Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

One of my favorite beach reads this summer was a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don’t Have with People You Don’t Like Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do. It was quick, fun, and had some great advice (or reminders).

One idea I particularly liked was developing personal policies that could help you determine what to do in a given situation and handle it respectfully. For example, you give the same amount to every fundraiser you are asked to donate to, or never participate in a friend’s Kickstarter because you can’t give to everyone and it wouldn’t be fair. Her rationale is that citing a general rule or policy generalizes your cited reasons for your choice making it less personal, while still being honest and respectful.

I liked the idea of creating “personal policies” for all kinds of things – from friend’s fundraisers to birthday cards to rituals involving the new Star Wars movie to grand gestures for friends in their biggest moments. It can help you make quick decisions, and push you to have more fun!

What personal policies will you create and apply?

Make Kentucky Derby Hats

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The running of the Kentucky Derby is always on the first Saturday of May. In my house it has become a tradition to celebrate with beautiful hats we have made (and Mint Juleps).

When my daughter was just a few months old I made her first Derby Hat. For a few more years I called the shots on the style and colors but once she was old enough we would all make them together.

With some creativity and some time you can make your own gorgeous fancy hat. Here’s how:

First, find a hat to build upon. Pick up a sunhat with a large brim on an Easter or Summer sale, or from the gardening section of store. There are also often hats at craft stores during Derby season. If you don’t have a hat, consider making a fastener off a small piece or cardboard, or once I even helped a classroom full of Kindergarteners make Derby hats on upside down paper plates! (Search Pinterest for paper plate Derby hats for ideas and directions)

Next, select/create your decorations for your hat design.

  • I usually start with a colorful ribbon for around the hat. I either glue it on or tie it if it’s thick and/or has wire.
  • Pick or make your flowers. Flowers are often a focal point of a Derby hat. I like to make felt flowers and have pinned a number of designs and patterns on my Derby Day tradition Pinterest board. You could also buy silk flowers at a craft store, or make paper flowers.
  • Add flare. Feathers are a fun option to add flare to your hat (I have ordered a peacock feather decoration when I was feeling fancy). So is netting! Beads or sequins can be fun too (if you go this route I’d suggest materials already on a string vs. loose).
  • Consider small toys as well. One year my daughter chose small plastic dinosaurs for her decoration. Next year I’m going to make a Toy Story hat with small toy packets from Disneyland.

Once you have your plan, use a hot glue gun to attach your decorations.

Then, enjoy the “most exciting two minutes in sports” while looking fabulous!

Plant, or Give, a Tree

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Photo by Johann Siemens on Unsplash

Planting trees is a simple thing everyone can do to produce oxygen, clean the air and reduce global warming.  What a perfect thing to do in honor of Earth or Arbor Day!

In Urban areas, trees do all of that plus they increase property values and revenues in shopping districts, promote exercise, calm traffic, reduce crime, and have a ton of other benefits. In my city of San Francisco, it has been reported that half of the available street tree sites in San Francisco are currently unplanted.  We must plant more trees and sidewalk gardens!!

We planted a tree in front of our house for free through Friends of the Urban Forest, which helps individuals and neighborhood groups plant and care for street trees and sidewalk gardens in San Francisco. We have directly benefited and participated in this program and love pointing out the trees we have planted in our neighborhood. (And by we, I mean my husband but I consider this a team contribution.) Check out Friends of the Urban Forest here. You can also see all of the greening projects to get involved in in San Francisco on this page on the SF Better Works website.

You also can put more trees on the planet by giving a gift of tree planting:

  • Gift tree planing through the Nature Conservancy. A $10 gift will plant as many as five trees and will help maintain and steward these forests for years to come. You can give and personalize a gift here.
  • Through Living Tribute, you can plant tribute trees in US forests to honor your friends and loved ones, and send or receive a personalized commemorative card.
  • There are tons of initiatives to put more trees on this planet you can find with a quick Internet search!

Get to planting or giving!

Have Kids Make Their Party Favor

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Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

Looking at the pile of plastic crap I would be assembling into a kid’s birthday party goody bags one year, I swore I would never participate in this miserable ritual again. Not only does everything end up getting tossed within a day, its extra money spent on more plastic that isn’t good for us or the planet.

That said, the birthday party code mandates children leaving with a party favor. I think the best alternative to a goody bag is having kids make something during the party that they can take home. Not only is this more fun and memorable, it stands in as an activity!

Here are some of the best ideas we have seen or tried ourselves:

  • Make stomp rockets. Great for an outdoor party at a park. Check this out for more.
  • Tie-dye a t-shirt. Craft stores have inexpensive plain t-shirts and there are tons of kits or directions for tie-dye on the web. You could even have kids bring a t-shirt they’d like to “upgrade.”
  • Customize aprons. Great tied in with a cupcake decorating or art challenge. Little aprons can be purchased at craft stores and there are fabric pens (easy!) or paint that kids can use to decorate their aprons.
  • Paint a frame or wooden toy. You could also get crazy and construct a frame from popsicle sticks.
  • Make bath bombs. There are tons of amazing recipes, and even printable tags, for bath bombs on Pinterest.

What a great opportunity to teach kids to create more and consume less, and have fun in the process!

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