COVID is really changing the shape of Christmas celebrations this year in so many ways - though thankfully it cannot change the reason we celebrate.
For the last three years, our family has participated in various Christmas craft markets and artisan fairs in our city of Vancouver, BC. This year, most markets have been cancelled. One of the markets we usually participate in moved to an outdoor, distanced, tap-payment/e-transfer format, in order to honour COVID guidelines. So, we were gearing up to launch our fourth effort this year. However, after much consideration, the in-person outdoor market was cancelled and an online Christmas market created for those still wishing to provide or purchase unique, homemade, creative, local gifts.
Before we display our current wares, perhaps some background on our past efforts... The photos below are from the 2018 Regent College Christmas Artisan Fair.
Ella (9) has been making granola (with Mom) for the last four years.
Already in year two, she had made so many batches that she informed us
she had memorized the recipe. This inspired her nickname - 'granElla'.
Her granola has been so popular (read: addictive) that several people
have requested a regular supply year round.
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| 'GranElla' |
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| Glover granola |
Jimmy (12) and I have been working on stamping inspiring or humorous quotes into driftwood for the last four years. We collect funky pieces of driftwood throughout the year. We bring it home, dry it, clean it, and sometimes we cut or sand it. This process tends to make our car smell like seaside at low tide and tracks a lot of sand into the house. Once the wood is prepped, we stare at it for a while and try to figure out what it wants to say.
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| 'driftwords' |
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| Jimmy's driftwood |
Hannah (14) has done various things for craft fairs. She has made small loaves of banana bread for a couple years. *Dad brag: I've tasted lots of banana bread in my time and its usually pretty yummy. But Hannah kicked it up three notches by adding bourbon. Since it's typically my bourbon she's using, I require a banana bread tax and I can confirm that once you've had bourbon banana bread (BBB) it's hard to go back to teetotalling loaves.
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| Hannah's bourbon banana bread |
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| Hannah's milk-bottle vases |
Hannah has also made double-lined fleece blankets and milk-bottle vases. To make the milk-bottle vases, Hannah used Modge-Podge to coat pages and clippings from old books or musical scores that had been discarded or were falling apart (and couldn't be rescued). She pasted these clippings to the outside of the bottles, and once dry, applied a double coat of clear acrylic sealer.
Maddie (16) loves to draw. For past markets, she's made hand-drawn book marks and cards. Now Maddie mainly sells prints of the cards she draws, either individually or in bundles. Some are Christmas themed but most are not. Some people (eg. her parents) like to put them in frames and hang them on the wall.
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| Maddie's cards |
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| Maddie's bookmarks |
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