Our (Semi) Top-Secret Gifts this Christmas

This post is labelled (semi) top-secret because only half of the recipients have received their gifts… If you think a Christmas gift may be coming your way from my family in the next few days, consider yourself warned! 

2016 is quickly drawing to a close, with Christmas just a few days away. Like many, I’m anxious for a new year and a fresh beginning. Although 2016 brought many highs to our lives, it also brought significant loss in my husband’s family and my own. Each year, the kids and I generally create a DIY gift of some kind for their grandparents, great aunt, etc. I tend to do a lot of gifts based on handprints, I think because I know their little hands will only be this little for a short while.

As I started to think about what we could create to give to our family this year, I knew that this Christmas would be very different for us. My husband lost 3 grandmothers over the course of 2016, and I lost my grandfather. Our families are all continuing to adjust to this new normal and live with the losses, but those first holidays without a special friend or family member can be extra difficult.

My in-laws are very fond of cardinals, and the symbolism they hold. The appearance of a cardinal in your yard is said to be a visit from the loved one you have lost. I know many people who take special note of cardinals in their yards, pleased by the message of hope & reassurance they bring.

I decided to do an adaptation of a handprint craft I have seen many, many times on Pinterest- so many times, I couldn’t even guess who to credit as the original source. I used a few coats of blue acrylic paint to cover small canvasses (we used 8 inch x 8 inch), and let it dry completely. Then I used 2 tones of red acrylic paint to create my children’s handprints, and allowed those to try entirely as well. Next, I used brown acrylic paint to add in the trees, and when that was dry I used white acrylic paint to add the snow. Orange acrylic paint was used for the beaks. After fully dry, I used a black permanent marker to draw the black tips on the heads, and the dark portion of the eyes, as well as outline the beaks. I dipped the non-bristled end of a thin round paintbrush in white acrylic paint, and dotted it on to create the white highlights in both eyes.

I wanted to include a version of a cardinal poem, so I did a little searching and came across one that I adapted to fit our needs. There was no author attributed to the original, so I’m not sure who to credit for that either, unfortunately. I included a drawing of a cardinal, and printed them out. I used colored pencil to color in our cardinals, trimmed down the poem, and used strong scrapbook adhesive to affix the poem to the back of each canvas.

I also wanted to create something small to add on to the gifts, so I chose to make a very simple little ornament that fit the theme, and came together in minutes. I used some clear glass baubles, and removed the tops. I gently rolled a flexible, 3-dimensional cardinal scrapbook sticker, and pushed it carefully into the ornament. Using a paintbrush (the eraser end of a pencil would also work well), I gently pushed the cardinal sticker into place and made sure it was good and stuck. I put some fake snow into the ornaments, along with a few little snips of fake greenery, to give it a more wintry feel. For one last Christmas-sy touch, I threaded a small red jingle bell onto the loops before reassembling the ornaments. Once a ribbon or hanger is attached, the ornaments are ready to go on a tree.

I completed the gifts with some adorable glittery red cardinal wrapping paper that I found at Target. (Hey, I love a themed gift! What can I say?) As I said above, half of the gift recipients have opened their cardinal presents already, and they were thrilled with them- lots of tears while reading the poems.

The first holiday season following a significant loss can be extremely challenging and emotionally draining. Sometimes all it takes to help people get through them a little easier is the reasurrance that their loved one is remembered and missed by others. These simple homemade gifts are the perfect way to make sure that anyone you know who is dealing with loss this winter knows they are not going through it alone.

If you are facing the holidays without someone special, please know that people are thinking of you, and also remembering your loved one fondly. 

Do you have a special way to remember a lost loved one during the holiday? I’d love to hear about it in the comments, if you feel comfortable sharing.

More handprint craft ideas for all seasons are collected for you here!
Still looking for some ways to make this Christmas special? I’ve got you covered!