Our Family Christmas Tree Banner

As soon as I put the Christmas Tree Banner Craft Kit in my etsy shop, my mom ordered one. And not because I made her. I totally did no such thing. 

And then she had us each make a tree when we were at her house for Thanksgiving. She wanted to have a Family Christmas Tree Banner to bring out year after year.  And, yes, she's the kind of mom who still adorns the house with the holiday decorations we made when we were little little little. She's awesome.

So, after dinner, we got out the super-cute, biodegradable box:

And took out all the decorations.

Then we spread out all the trees and paper decorations and fancy embellishments in the middle of the table and got to the decoratin'. It was really fun! I mean, how often does your whole family craft together? Sure, the kids might do a craft with a grown-up every once in a while. But having the whole family - grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins - sit down and create something together, well, it's pretty special. When were all finished, we each signed our name on the back of our tree (even the little kids!) and we made sure to date the banner. Sha-bam!  It's a keepsake.

Here are my mom and her husband Tom as they decorated their trees. Tom is one of the best people I have ever known. Ever. I could not have asked for a better person to be a Tompa for my kids. We are so lucky!

Since my mom and Tom are the bosses of the whole family, we put their trees in the very middle of the banner. 

Our cute little cousin Noah. Check out his red, white, and blue tree. He was all about the buttons. So cool!

Peyton and Noah. Aren't they adorable?

Here's our little cousin Hayden getting a little help from my sister-in-law Ali (whose fantastic blog you can find here). Do you see how fun crafts can be even for the littlest ones? Hayden is only 20 months old and look at that great crafting smile! She's a natural!

Here's my brother Josh being... well, my brother. Guess what happens when I tell you I'm going to take your picture for my blog and you act like a goofball? That picture goes straight to my blog, that's what. Notice how he's holding his tree Just So. Hilarious! He took all of two minutes to whip up his tree. As he would probably say, "That's all I needed to create the best tree ever. Suckas!"

 

Ali and I were at the tree decorating table forever. Because we take pride in our work. And also, maybe, because we were doing just a tiny bit of talking. Or a lot. It's what we do.

The Noah, Hayden, Josh, and Ali section of the banner:

By now, my kids have each made many, many of these trees, but they still love making them! Here's sweetie Ella making her tree:

Don't worry - the glue dries clear! So if your kid insists on doing it ALL BY MYSELF! - go ahead and let her. The resulting tree might have glue all over it, but it will still be precious.

Me and my pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread-eating-monster. Yum!

Peyton wouldn't let me take a picture of him making his tree because he only allows finished product shots. He's got a plan of greatness, that one.

Here's James making his cool retro pink tree.

Are you noticing a picture pattern with that girl? Like here or here or here or... any of the other three thousand pictures I have of her like that. Anyway.

Here are our trees:

This next picture has nothing to do with the Christmas Tree banner and everything to do with how awesome Tom is:

Happy Christmas Tree Banner Time!