Sometimes Your 6 Year Old Wants A Tattoo Gun From Santa…

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I volunteered in #thebigone’s class earlier this month for their big holiday celebration. Along with some other moms, I helped the first graders decorate gingerbread houses & men, and then I spent some time reading holiday stories out loud to small groups. In our holiday discussions that morning, I heard about some of the most wished for items on the kiddos’ Christmas lists, and came to the realization that my child’s list was a bit more, shall we say, unusual than that of his peers. While his classmates were requesting fancy electronic toys or beautiful dolls from Santa Claus, my son was writing a whole other sort of list, (which inspired some of my book selections at the library as well).

#thebigone wrote his list to Santa completely independently one morning, and when I came downstairs to read it, my reaction was a combination of both surprise and amusement… Given his way, 2017 would likely have been a banner year for our family- #thebigone was hoping to receive some exciting wild animals, learn to play a new instrument (thank you to The Wiggles for being such Australian inspirations… what 6 year old isn’t requesting a digeridoo from Santa?!), and learn a new trade [‘stay on tattoo giver’ made the list. Yup. A machine to permanently mark their own skin is a must-have for all first graders this December.]

Luckily, Santa thought things through a bit, and the cheetah was not delivered, nor was the tattoo gun. (The digeridoo is a different story. My in-laws like to give the people what they want at Christmas!) I knew the tattoo gun was likely inspired at least in part by the fact that both his father and myself each have more than one tattoo, and it gave me the perfect reason to check out some of the books I’ve been eyeing at our library recently…Perfect for parents like myself, who may feel a bit trapped between their previous young, hip (ok, hip-ish is probably more accurate) life, and this parenting gig, where you sometimes feel sort of old and often feel kind of lame.

Tell Me a Tattoo Story is honestly just one of the most beautiful books I have seen recently. Eliza Wheeler’s illustrations are soft & muted, giving a hazy, dreamy sort of feel to the picture book. Allison McGhee’s text is simple and sweet, narrating the conversations between a young boy and his dad, as dad relays the deep meaning behind each tattoo he has chosen. As someone with several tattoos, chosen for their personal significance to the events in my life, this tale resonated with me strongly. (And I’ll be completely honest, it has me totally itching for a new tattoo- ’cause, you know, pretty!)

Side note: Curious about my ink and the meaning behind it? You can find a blog post from years ago, when my earliest few tattoos were featured on Tattoosday right here! 

My Dad Used to Be So Cool has been a fairly popular choice in children’s literature lately- I’ve seen the bright, bold cover and graphic illustrations featured on several blogs and varying social media feeds since I started blogging last month. Another perfect read for parents who swear they did once know what cool was, the illustrations of this former punk rock sort of father steal the show- simple and clean, with blocks of intense color. Keith Negley’s depiction of dad’s hard rock days is priceless- especially for any parent who wasn’t a stranger to rock shows back in their day.

Knowing that Santa Claus was unlikely to pull through on the delivery of a tattoo gun, I created a reasonable compromise for #thebigone. I drew up a tattoo coloring sheet, inspired by both Tell Me a Tattoo Story and My Dad Used to Be So Cool, and I’m sharing that free printable with you here on the blog. Honestly, I designed it with the six year old in mind, but I had a great time with it myself, and I think this is one of those coloring pages adults and kids will equally enjoy.

Grab your free printable below and start customizing some beautiful tattoos with your kiddos!

Art & writing activities based on children’s books are an incredible way to boost comprehension and retention- get some ideas here!

So, my kid had some pretty weird requests for Christmas this year- how about yours? What was on their lists that made you scratch your head and say ‘huh?!’? And more importantly, what was the oddest gift they actually opened this weekend? I’d love to hear your experiences (seriously, can anyone out there top digeridoo?!)- please share them with me in the comments below!

Digeridoo, anyone?!

So beautiful, a must-see!

I’m not a dad, so that means I’m still cool… Right? Guys?

Looking for some more tattoo coloring fun? Here’s a few great options for all ages…