A Pinterest Christmas

Now that Christmas is over, I can post some of the fun homemade projects I did this year for Christmas. I found both of these ideas on Pinterest (LOVE!) and adapted them for our family. They were a huge hit!

Family Card Game

This is an awesome game that features all of our family members on playing cards. You can play GO FISH, MEMORY, or just use them as flash cards for young children. I created the template on Photoshop and then swapped out the various family pictures and changed the colors for each person. Then I got them printed as 3x5 photos (2 of each card), glued them to some pretty scrapbooking paper (so the backs were all the same), and laminated them. I wandered around Walmart for about a half hour trying to find the right container for the games. Finally, I found index card holders that were perfect! It was a bit of work, but totally worth it. The boys love them. We have been playing games all day. The total cost was about $6/set. I made a set for Christian and Andrew and 2 more for their little cousins.

Angry Bird Bowling

Christian decided to buy a little Angry Bird ball for Andrew's Christmas present, so I knew this was the perfect way to complete the gift. I saved some soup cans, painted them like green pigs, and then covered them in mod podge to keep the paint from chipping. To get the proportions right for the pigs, I printed a picture from the internet to trace around on the cans and then free-handed the rest. For New Year's Eve, we took this game and set it up and the bottom of the stairs. The kids rolled the ball down the stairs trying to knock over all of the pigs. They loved it! Jonathon even got in on the action. The total cost of this project was $2 for the paint + the cost of the ball.