and then they made their own ornaments

and my heart grew three sizes that day.
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My kids are pretty much enchanted by the new Frozen movie.
Okay.  I am too.

It’s just so adorable!  The music, the characters, the story line, Olaf!….singing about the Summer.
We need to see it again.
Because the kids can’t stop thinking about it.

The other day Owen had a darling idea, “hey Mom, we can make Frozen ornaments!  All we have to do is draw them, glue them to a box, then cut them out!”
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You’re right!
That’s all we have to do.

So he drew Olaf.  And Lucy drew Anna and Elsa.
And they turned out great!
We cut up old cereal boxes and taped twine to the back….similar to Cereal Box frames and Wrapping Paper Tags.
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And these were entirely their creations.
Is there anything sweeter than a child’s homemade project?
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These are the treats that make parenting totally worth it.
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And now my three favorite ornaments didn’t come from the store.  They came without ribbons, boxes, and bows. And they hang on our funny little tree that sits on a table, for one more year, till Clara can be trusted.
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Until then, it’s been a Christmas present to myself to not say “no no touching” all month long.
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Thank you kiddos for sharing with me.  I agree with Olaf.
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  1. So adorable! I just adore reading the presentation of your posts! Loved that movie too! I just designed and released a Princess Anna PDF pattern on my Etsy (Etsy/Joy2Sew) . I’ll email you about it. Maybe you’d like to make Lucy and Clara a costume??

  2. Just lovely! My eldest has resisted drawing and craft activities for years, and has JUST started to really enjoy it all. I feel quite emotional thinking about how happy this makes me!

  3. 3) sherry

    Lucy is a WONDERFUL drawer, and so is Owen for that matter 🙂

  4. 4) Chantalle

    We LOVE that movie! I got the soundtrack right when we got home, and we listen to it a LOT 🙂 We went with one set of grandparents when it came out…I think we will need to go with the other set at Christmas! Great crafts!

  5. I totally need to see that movie now. My son is 18 months, so a bit younger than Clara. And last year, we put our tree on a sink box that hadn’t gotten installed yet. I think finally before Christmas I got the sink box covered up with red fabric! 🙂 This year, we installed the sink…so we just risked it and put the tree on the ground. We haven’t put on ornaments yet, so we’ll see how he does. I love those ornaments! So fun. Maybe I’ll have my son do some of these, with simple scribbles. It’d be a fun way to document this Christmas…ooh, and great gift idea too for Grandparents! Wow, your kids are great inspiration!

  6. We really need to see this movie. It is all over the blogosphere. But…China only brings in 34 (random) western movies a year. I wonder if Frozen will make the cut. Owen, what a cutie. Give those adorable little ones hugs and kisses from us.

  7. I loved that movie too! I went with my sister and niece, my son, hes 5, refused to go! He missed out. I came home and told him how great it was!

  8. We also were completely enchanted by Frozen! It is my favorite disney movie ever! The kids have already seen it twice. Those ornaments are priceless!

  9. 9) Amanda

    Adorable.

  10. These are adorable! I was trying to figure out how i can do non ball ornaments with my 3 year old. These are perfect!
    Thats a brilliant idea with the tree. Last year we got them their own little tree (she was only 6 months and him 2). It worked to keep him away from the big tree. This year she is 18 months and into everything! So we got them a 2 foot fake one to last for a while and we will still get our big tree with ALL of our ornaments only on the top 1/4 of the tree haha… our first year (no kids) we came home to chewed up ornaments. The dog had fun and we learned.
    Cant wait to do these this week! Thank you!!

  11. 12) Darci

    My girls, 6/9 both liked the movie.they want to see it again and watched clips on YouTube tonight.

  12. We loved the movie too! We have been singing along to the tunes during carpool. Darling ornaments.

  13. We STILL have not seen this movie! Ah! I so want to.

    Also…I hear ya on the no touching thing. I wish I could do that! Natalie would have scaled that table leg to the get to the tree already, so we just put our tree out and have found crumpled, ripped, bitten and some broken ornaments around the house. sigh…luckily nothing is glass. 🙂

  14. 15) Magüi

    Que monada! Que lindo el muñeco de nieve de Owen, y Lucy es una artista!
    Gracias por compartir!

  15. 16) Sílvia

    My dauther is 15 months, so my tree also seats on a table, and is already missing one ball, dadys fault!

  16. They are adorable!! The best ornaments are the meaningful/handmade ones!
    (Love their drawings, by the way! They got some talent!)

  17. My girls, 4 & 2, love frozen!! Heck, my 9 year old boy liked it, I loved it! Lucy and Owen are budding artists! Very cute.

  18. 19) Penny

    You continue to be my favorite blogger! Just love your posts and style.
    Do you know/remember what color the blue paint is on your walls?
    I have been trying to figure out what color to paint my kitchen and I think that blue is beautiful and happy.
    (love the handmade ornaments, too – can’t wait to see the movie with my grandchildren)
    Have a great day – enjoy the season of merriment.

  19. We made all of our own decorations for the tree this year. Next year it will be nice to pull out the old ornaments and remember when we got them but this year it was all about the kids being crafty and decorating the tree all on their own. Lucy is a fabulous artist.

  20. what a great idea! my kids went and watched that movie with their grandma and loved it!

  21. 22) Ag

    That’s amazing! So sweet. And let me tell you that it looks like little Lucy will be amazing at drawing! She seems to have the patience and attention to detail it takes. I hope she develops it and doesn’t get bored by it! So cute!

  22. SO cute! Your kids seriously have the best ideas. My girls are getting movie tickets to see Frozen for Christmas (since we never see movies in theaters) so it will be a special treat. Now I’m thinking I should take a cue from Lucy and Owen and make them a little craft keepsake to go with the movie tickets!

  23. 24) Juanita in OH

    What a heartwarming Christmas story. So much of it is what Christmas is all about. The best gifts come from the heart and I think you hit the jackpot! I saved one box full of things from my children’s younger years like drawings, report cards, baby shoes or clothing item and when they turned eighteen I gave it to them and they had the same joy I had when they gave me those very same things. TFS.

  24. 25) Lisa

    I love that tree on the table–plenty of room for big presents! Your kids really captured the likenesses. Save up for art school.

  25. Totally precious, can’t wait to see that movie!!

  26. absolutely ADORABLE and can I say, what ARTISTS YOU HAVE!!!

  27. 28) Chris

    They did a wonderful job! They look awesome! Great ornaments! 🙂

  28. 29) Becky Thompson

    I love how you make Christmas not about the commercial side of the holiday. I still have a handmade ornament from the 3rd grade (and I’m 50!). My mother had me make a handmade ornament each year until I graduated. As I got older, it became a fun tradition. When I finally moved out, she handed me a box of my ornaments and my first Christmas tree in my apartment had ornaments and a taste of home. It was the BEST gift!

  29. 30) iHeartQuilting

    How cute! We haven’t seen the movie yet, but will go over Christmas vacation. As a kid, we always had our tree on a table as well, because there was always a baby/toddler in the house. Plus we had to have our trains or race cars under the tree every year and that was the perfect spot for them. We never got our tree until Christmas Eve, and our parents would finish putting it up after we went to bed. So Christmas morning was a double-whammy, because we saw the completed tree for the first time. Happy Holidays!

  30. We are also obsessed with that movie right now! All four kids (and me too, honestly) have been dancing around the house singing to the soundtrack. 🙂 The tree-on-a-table is a wonderful idea for a house with little ones, good thinking!

  31. 32) jodie

    kids are awesome Dana, and when they craft it up, even more so! have to laugh at the tree, ours is currently getting attacked by our 22 month old..we have to wait a few more months/weeks? for frozen to come out, always the bridesmaid never the bride in Australia :O) have a good Christmas.

  32. 34) Crystal Elston

    That gave me a chuckle. Simply adorable. Love this!

  33. 35) Tammy

    Super cute!! 🙂

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