Claire’s Christmas Present

This year I had planned out very specific gifts for the kids. First, Santa was bringing the piano that they had to share. The piano was actually an expensive gift (in my mind, anyway) and I felt like I needed to scale back the spending when it came to the gifts from Steve and I. I decided on a book, a game for Family Game Night, and a toy. The games I got via a convenient $10 off coupon on my cereal boxes, the books I bought on discount (although the book Santa left wasn’t so cheap, Santa apparently doesn’t do deals I guess) and then I was left with the toy.
Initially I had planned to make both toys, or rather, I’d make Claire’s and Steve would make Callum’s. Months ago we picked up the beginnings of a wooden truck at the SOS and I found the plans to finish it, unfortunately Steve decided that it would take too long to get it done for Christmas. Thankfully the Scouts saved the day as they had a wood toy sale and were selling well crafted wood toys for CHEAP. Win-win. I supported a local cause, got my awesome hand-made wooden truck and it didn’t cost me $80 (the price I’ve regularly seen these trucks sell for, I paid $35 in case you’re curious).

Of course, said truck spent most of Christmas morning pulling a plastic bus… which, well, you know.
Claire’s gift came together exceptionally cheaply because I put it all together with felt I had on had – a felted pizza and cake! All I bought was the pizza box, for a $1 at our local pizza place, the ric rac on the cake and the cake pan at the thrift store. Me so smart, yes?


There are many, many, many tutorials online showing you how to make every imaginable felted food, and I loosely based the cake and the pizza on several tutorials and then, you know, just did my own thing. I even made a personalized sticker to cover the pizza place logo with one that says “Claire’s Pizzeria”, since she is her own pizza chef, and doesn’t work for Poppa’s after all.

The kids are having a blast making dinner and dessert, especially since they also got a set of wooden cupcakes you can decorate with markers from Auntie Michelle (markers, that thankfully, wash out of everything they’ve touched so far!). Even though that little microwave stand turned kitchen is the most used item in the house, hands down, I do think I will have to put an end to buying things for it. It’s stocked. Very well stocked.