Hello, today we are talking about how to hand-make and get the MOST out of your Holiday season.

Sometimes the Holidays can start to feel like a rat-race of hustle and bustle, so today, we want to take a moment to SLOW down and review a few ways to make your Holidays and traditions feel more genuine, more authentic and more enjoyable!

Go fix up a cup of hot cocoa and settle in for this cozy read.

Move over mass-produced plastic gifts.  Step aside last-minute checkout aisle gifts.  This year we are bringing a personal touch to the Holidays and packing them full of genuine care and heartfelt details!  

Here’s how

More and more often we see an increase in the quick, cheap, and fast.  In everyday life and in the gifts available for the Holiday season.  It seems that everything is getting faster and faster, doesn’t it?  We want everything right now!  During a busy time of year like Christmas, the rush can feel unsustainable.  It can add more stress and steal our joy before you even know it.  How do we combat the ever-increasing pressure?

We have to make a choice.  We are about to give you some easy, accessible ideas to slow down your Holiday season and indulge in all the GOOD stuff that you don’t want to miss.

Have you ever been sifting through an old box in the closet or attic and found something hand-made by a relative or even by your younger self?  Perhaps it is a bit worn with age, clumsily signed in the corner in your childish scribble or a relative’s granny scrawl.  This piece of art likely isn’t perfect, but it’s probably loaded with information about you or your relative!  What details do you notice?  What story does it tell?  Already you can see that something hand-made carries with it, a specialness.

Hand-made art and gifts can be the catalysts that spark endless stories and memories.  Maybe you have heard things in your family like “Aunt Betty used to make marvelous crocheted blankets, before she got arthritis” Or “Grandma Lily used to make watercolors and always won blue ribbons at the state fair!”  Now, can you imagine your children sorting through a box just like this years down the road?

How neat would it be for them to be pulling out hand-made Christmas ornaments made by YOU to decorate the tree?  Or discovering a painted canvas from one of their siblings.  Or finding photos from a paint party or craft night.  These pieces are not perfect, and we wouldn’t want them that way!  Hand-made items for your Holiday decor and hand-made gifts always bring an air of authenticity to the Season.

So maybe now you are thinking….“But I’m not creative and no one would ever want to see or have my crafts!” We hate to tell you that you are wrong!  Remember, it’s about being genuine and authentically you!  Maybe you are the weird Aunt that puts googly eyes on everything, or the Grandpa who is obsessed with Gnomes, that is what makes your items special, YOU make them special.  These are the hidden treasures that will be passed along in family and tradition, the things that will carry meaning as we pull them out year after year.  The things that will make us remember the important people in our lives and spark new stories and memories for generations to come.

There are so many ways you can get hands-on this Holiday season.  Here are some ideas to get you started, as well as some links to our Holiday Ornament Classes and Christmas paint parties.

Baking homemade goods

Homemade canned goods or bath and body products

Crocheted items such as hats, scarves or coasters

Hand-painted Christmas Cards

Hand-sewn or embroidered stockings

Hand-painted Ornaments

Hand-painted artwork and decor

We absolutely look forward to our Ornament classes happening in Washington each and every year!  If you would like to join the tradition you can join one of our classes below!  We look forward to making memories with you and you loved ones this Christmas.

Grumpy Gnome Ornaments Class Olympia – View Class

Winter Critters Ornaments Class Sumner – View Class 

Folk Ornaments Class Centralia – View Class 

Holiday Botanicals Ornaments Bremerton – View Class

Winter Critters Ornaments Lacey – View Class

VIEW ALL HOLIDAY EVENTS HERE 

Hand-make your Holidays with Artvana

Hand-make your Holidays with and Ornament Class

Hand-make your Holidays with these special events

Hand-make your Holidays with an Artvana paint party

Hand-make your Holidays with a paint and sip