Around this time last year, a friend of mine hosted a Christmas tree ornament party. Every person/couple who attends the party has to bring a homemade ornament to the party. The hosts select their favorites within several different categories and put those ornaments on the tree; the rest are auctioned off to the attendees, with the funds raised going to charity. It’s a great idea for a party, one I hope to replicate someday.
As you can see in this entry from last year, I won “Most Creative” in 2008. The “Best in Show” ornament was a beautiful replica of a church, complete with internal illumination and a stain-glass window.
This year I set out to win Best in Show, but going into the evening, I was worried that I had come up short. I was really happy with the concept I had thought of, but my execution was lacking. I’ll let you see it for yourself before I explain.
It’s a thumb. Specifically, a thumb drive. I whittled a piece of wood so that it would hopefully resemble a thumb, and then I painted the “fingernail” with nail polish. Then I glued a thumb drive to the end of it and saved photos from last year’s ornament party on the drive. The idea is to create a lasting legacy of great ornaments that you save on the drive every year. Plus you have a thumb hanging from your tree.
Did I win Best in Show? Nope. But I did win Most Creative again! A two-peat!
I also realized that I don’t want to win Best in Show. Well, okay, I do, but the best in show ornaments both years looked like normal ornaments that you’d hang on your tree. Very nice ornaments, per se, but not with much of a story behind them.
I guess my next goal would be to create a classic-looking ornament that has a story behind it. That’s my goal for 2010. Any ideas?
Make the ornament now. Whatever design you can think of, but it needs to be able to contain a sheet of paper. Then, write a very short story over the next year, and incorporate the ornament into it (maybe the paper contained in the story ornament has a map or a picture in it). Print the story on one side of the paper, and the image as described on the other side. That way there’s a story ABOUT the ornament, and in the ornament, and the sheet brings the recipient into the story.
That’s pretty brilliant, John. Thanks for the idea.
that is the longest thumb I have ever seen. Go back to the smoke detector ornament idea of last year.. I’d like to see that one. Every firefighter would promote that ornament.
I’m glad my mom is so encouraging of my ideas. It’s a long thumb, but it’s still pretty cool!