Um, That’s Not What I Meant

So in yesterday’s post, I told  you that Keagan and I made a paper chain to count down to Halloween and that I’d explained to Keagan that when all the chains were gone, we’d put on a costume, go out and get candy for the faeries and we’d leave it under our “faerie tree” where he’s told me they live and the next day, he’d have a gift from them. Keagan seemed excited and it seemed like he understood (he’s 2.5 if you’re not a regular reader)

Well last night, we tore a link off the chain while getting ready for bed. Then Keagan’s eyes lit up and he said “Let’s go give the faeries their present!” and ran to the front door. I stood there, in that moment knowing that I could either a) crush is happy little idea and have a toddler who would be angry with me until Halloween when we would be giving the faeries their present (candy) in exchange for some goodies or b) Allow it and know that I’d have almost two weeks of small gifts to come up with, thus creating a tradition that puts Halloween in competition with Chanukah for holiday with the most days of gift giving.

I chose b. The world needs more magic. So Keagan ran out the front door gleefully and called out “Hey faeries! Look! I have present for you!” We placed his paper chain under a pile of pinecones and I told him the faeries would take it while he was sleeping. “And bring Keagan a present!” (this was a statement, not a question) “Yes and they’ll bring you a present,” I said, wheels turning in my head. What on Earth would I give him?

Hubby suggested the woodland elf hat in “Bend the Rules Sewing” by Amy Karol of Angry Chicken. We have the wool felt on hand for that.  But I’ve been planning on giving that to him the day after Halloween, when he was feeding the faeries his trick or treat candy. Plus, if I start with something that big,  it’s going to be hard to make it fun every day.  And I didn’t feel like sewing a hat.

So I thought about what we have laying around the house. Lots of toliet paper rolls. I save them compulsivly, because I think we can use them for craft projects. Probably because I feel guilty that we haven’t switched over to using cloth instead of paper yet. Anyway, we have a ton of those. Could I color it? Too cheesy. Make a necklace? Maybe.  Then I got the idea to make a telescope to see the faeries better.

We have a lot of felt from various projects I over bought for, so I wrapped the felt around two tubes (one stuffed into the other) and cut the fabric. Then I wanted to use fabric glue to make it stay, but I couldn’t find it. So I decided I’d duct tape it in place. haha. Then I decided to embroider his name on it. The embroidery hoop was dangerously close to the sleeping baby and I didn’t have time to wash off any fabric markers, so it was totally free form and pretty sloppy.  Oh well. Then I added the leaves because I thought it made it look more faerie like. All in all, I don’t think it turned out too terribly for a  tired rushed project with limited supplies on hand.

Keagan seems quite pleased with it. Now I just have to come up with something for every night for the rest of October.

Looking at him and thinking of the fun that we could have with this tradition, I think it’s worth it I will, however, start the Halloween chain much later next October.