My stepmom is the awesomest grandma. Or maybe it’s that she’s the awesomest stepmom. She sent us a package in the mail, inside which was a craft project for Julian, but she did all the messy stuff herself and included every single item we’d need to do the project. Sometimes I cannot believe my luck. (Nice work, Dad!)
Apparently this week includes a Jewish holiday called Tu Bishvat. I am not very observant as a Jew, so I had never heard of this one. It’s like a New Year for the trees. Or something like that. (Read it for yourself on Wikipedia.) When Julian and I called my stepmom on the phone to have her explain the package she sent, she told Julian it was time to say Happy Birthday to the trees.
He couldn’t wait to dig in to this project. The package included two pinecones, with yarn attached to them so we could hang them in the trees. There were two tupperware containers, one with birdseed and one with some kind of sticky high protein mix. There were plastic knives inside.
What I’m bragging about here is that I did this craft project with my three-year old and did absolutely no preparation myself. I so appreciate this clutter-free gift (something to do, not something to own and display in my house) that I want to tell the world. Or at least the Internet.
If you’re stuck doing it with your preschooler yourself, just slather some peanut butter on a pinecone, roll it in whatever you have around the house (breadcrumbs, sesame seeds?) and hang it on a tree with a piece of yarn.
Come back the next day and marvel at the sneaky birds that ate your pinecone. I swear my preschooler was peeing in his pants he was so excited. (Ok, my fault for letting him go without diapers.)
