If you think your holiday decorations looks festive, this creative mum is about to put you to shame.
Robbie Crawford is planning a party for her entire family this year and decided that a regular Christmas tree just wouldn’t do.
The genius idea struck the preschool teacher as she was telling her students about her Native American heritage.
As she was thinking of ways to make the event just that bit more special, she looked to the corner of the room and saw the tipi that she had set up for the class.
And voilà: the Christmas ‘tree-pee’ was born.
‘My family decided that they were coming to my house for Christmas,’ Robbie tell Metro.co.uk.
‘All 19 of them were going to be staying with me for two days.
‘When guests come to my house, I try to make it fun for everyone, especially the kids. It brings me pleasure to create adult zones and kid zones, making it enjoyable for elderly family members, as well as young rambunctious children to be under the same roof.
‘I do a lot of special touches to decorate for the kids. I set up activity tables, build-a-snack food bars, electronic games projected onto the wall, bears, balls, balloons…whatever I can think of!
‘At the preschool where I work, I was teaching one of my favorite units where I am able to share with my class information from my Native American heritage.
‘Each night that week, I had been prepping my house for all the guests who were coming so I was in Christmas mode. I looked at the tipi in my classroom and thought, “that’s the shape of a Christmas tree”.’
So, how did she make it?
The thrifty mum from Missouri, US, used the wooden frame of the classroom tipi and attached some branches that she had saved from an old tree.
She attached the branches with the help of a stapler, and dressed the tree with leftover wedding decorations and non-breakable baubles.
The project took her two hours to complete.
Robbie says: ‘I don’t have much money (did I mention that I work in a preschool?) but poverty is the mother of invention and creativity is her father.
‘My creativity kicked into full gear. I had an old broken tree that I saved because the branches were nice quality and I knew I could do something with them. I had burlap left over from a wedding that I decorated.
‘I put all these elements together in my mind and dreamed up an awesome Christmas play fort my little nephews.
‘With my nephews’ adorable faces in my imagination, I set about making this tree-pee when I got home. I knew when they saw it, they’d scream in delight, jump around, crawl in and declare me their favorite aunt. This was my inspiration.
‘I loaded up the tipi in my car, gathered all my materials from my garage, and created a tree-pee in two hours. I called to let my sister’s boys know that I had a surprise waiting for them when they got to my house for Christmas.’
‘I took pictures and posted it [on social media], just like I do all of my projects but for some reason, this idea took off.’
Unsurprisingly, people are loving Robbie’s jolly creation.
Her Facebook post has racked up over 80,000 shares so far, along with 7,500 likes.
‘I love it. Awesome idea!,’ commented one person.
Someone else wrote: ‘I’m obsessed with this tree-pee!!!.’
Robbie also says that people have contacted her to tell her that they’ll be making their very own tree-pees this season.
‘What is really special is all of the people who have written me about how they plan to use this idea in their homes,’ she tells us.
‘Several have said they have children with disabilities or special needs and this space will be so satisfying for them during the busy Christmas season.’
Robbie adds: ‘Some have decided to use it for their pets. Some want to hide their presents inside the tree-pee since they have limited floor space in their tiny apartments.
‘A native American lady wrote me that this will be a wonderful way for her to pay homage to her ancestry.
‘Who would have thought that when I was just trying to bring joy to two little boys, this idea would have brought joy to so many others? I’m so happy about that!’
In fact, the response has been so positive that Robbie has created a Facebook page dedicated to the project, asking others to share photos of their own tree-pees.
We’re pretty sure Santa Claus will approve (we wouldn’t even be surprised if he took a nap under the tree on Christmas morning).
Have you been inventive with your Christmas decorations this year? Get in touch and show us your fantastic creations: metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk
MORE: 16 Christmas gifts for people with anxiety
MORE: All the things to talk about with a colleague you don’t know well at the Christmas party
source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/13/thrifty-mum-creates-christmas-tree-pee-people-loving-festive-creation-11893801/
0 Comments