Christmas goes all year round at my house…

I’m always a little sad to see how quickly people move on from Christmas. To me it seems like just now is when you can really sit back and enjoy it. No more deadlines, no more rush, now you can sit back with a cup of cocoa and a cheesy movie and just relax.

Besides, the house always looks so bleak once you take Christmas down, and unless Spring is right around the corner to brighten things up, I just can’t bring myself to do it.

This is not just an excuse to keep from cleaning up the Christmas mess, but also an excuse for me to show you all the Christmasy things I should have been showing you in December, but was too busy with doing the Christmasy things.

I have loads of Christmas projects to show off, so I’ll start with this simple one that has been waiting around on my hard drive since back in October. My computer is fighting valiantly against its final crash, so I’m a little afraid to upload the new photos onto it. Everyone cross your fingers for good ol’ sparky. Also, if anyone knows why a computer would work slower than my runny nose despite all the latest virus software, I’d love any input. Rookie needs a bed more than a computer.

We made this as the first gift of the season this year for Bear’s parents, Mike and Sally. They are just relishing their role as grandparents, and this is one of the first years that the kids are getting old enough to really have fun with around the season. Moose is almost five now, and the other two are each just over a year, so the grandparents are just stuffing their little fuzzy heads with Santa-lore.

Bear actually came up with this idea when he saw the wood mailbox in Michaels. The whole project was his from inception to completion, including all the snow. He didn’t even know they made such a thing as a “snow writer,” he just had this idea in his head of making the mailbox look snowy and then left it up to me to figure out how. It was my first time using that snow writer paint you see each year at Christmas time, but I am a big fan. Super easy and it puffs up great. Then we just dumped some thick glitter on top while it was wet.

One trick for the lettering: Since I can’t really draw, I have become quite a pro at finding ways to fudge. Here I printed my favorite font off the computer in the size I wanted it, and then using a ball point pen with a dull tip, I traced it right onto the balsa wood mailbox. Those cheap sticky bic pens work great for this. You want something that won’t scratch through your paper as you’re applying a good amount of pressure. Then when you pull the paper off, you’ll have just enough of an indentation for you to see where to apply the paint. A silver paint pen around the edges covered up any sloppy bristle work, and bingo. I look like a stud.

We gave it to Bear’s parents before Thanksgiving even came around and they loved it. It held a place of honor right on the kitchen counter top all year long as they explained to the kids that this was where letters to Santa went to make sure he got them in time. I’m really looking forward to next year when Moose will be old enough to write his own letter and toss it in the box. You know grandma and grandpa will snatch that letter up and run right out to buy everything on the list.