Another Baltic Christmas - Day 11 and stick ornaments

A warm welcome to Inese, author of the blog “Are You Happy?”. I felt an immediate connection with Inese because of several factors: 1. she has two boys about the same ages as Lauris & Mikus whose names are Lauris & Markus, 2. she and her family are living the expatriate life (although in the UK - in Hitchin, England), and 3. she writes in English and in Latvian, because as she puts it “my life is between two worlds and two languages.” Please make sure to stop by her blog where things are getting especially exciting – I’ll let her tell you their family’s big news herself!

Latvians live close to nature. We try to use natural resources as often as possible, and Christmas time is no exception.

This year we decorated one of the living room windows with materials found and collected during a nature walk. It was a nice morning – sunny and a little bit chilly. We took a short walk, and the boys were so happy to find straight sticks.

It is not a surprise that boys like sticks; they find so many ways to use them, introducing them into their imaginary scenarios or just carrying them with as discovered treasure.

This time we took it a step further – we used a glue gun to create simple, natural, and absolutely gorgeous Christmas decorations.

The boys used a glue gun for the very first time (with a little bit of my help and close supervision), and I think the result is delightful!

Try it yourself… You can create many shapes with your twigs and sticks. Just add some green fir & spruce branches, and some pinecones for color & texture and the job is done.

Thank you Inese for your contribution to the 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas, and I wish you plenty of strength in the coming months! Inese’s blog about her family and England can be found here. Stay tuned tomorrow for another wonderful Baltic-inspired holiday craft on Day 12 of the series…