Many years ago, when crafting was still popular, I found the
directions for these beautiful North Woods Santas. They were easy to assemble and my friends and
I got together one night and mass produced them to sell at craft shows that
season. Of course I had to keep a set
for myself as well. Every Christmas
season I pull them out and adjust their coats and beards and arrange them on a
side table for display. Having packed
them away for about 25 years now, they are looking pretty rough.
A few years ago I decided that they were too shabby and that
they wouldn’t be making their annual appearance. When I had finished decorating that year, my
youngest daughter looked around and asked where I had put the Wise Men. I never thought of them that way but she was
right, they are very humble Wise Men and I felt compelled to pull them out of
their box for another season.
I don’t know why I was surprised that she had noticed, she
was just a baby when I made them and they had been on display each year
since. I tucked that little piece of
information into the corner of my mind to be pulled out at a later date. This year she mentioned the need for more
Christmas decorations and I went right to work on her very own set of Wise
Men. Little did I know what a challenge
that would be.
The materials for the men are fairly simple: wool for the coats, fur for the trim, wool
roving for the beards, and little decorative items for them to hold. No big deal.
Off I went to Joann Fabrics (the only fabric store in the area) for
materials. Can you believe they did not
have any wool, not to mention any of the other things on my list? Yikes!
Now what? You guessed
it, off to the thrift store. I rifled
through the skirts and coats and came up with a gray wool skirt and a cream
colored cape that I thought I could make work.
I still needed fur and laughed to myself (well maybe out loud, too) when
I found a tattered mink stole on the sale rack for $3. You have to know I grabbed that one up! I also found a little sweater that had a
white rabbit collar. I took the collar
off the sweater and offered it back to the thrift shop. I really didn’t need it.
My skills are a little rusty and it took me a while to get
the men assembled, but I did. Finding
the little decorations was crazy and I made many trips to the craft stores
looking without success. Back to the
thrift shops where I found a little basket and some dried grapevines that I
used to make my own little wreaths. I was able to salvage other trinkets from
past projects to repurpose. There’s
always something extra hanging around. Fortunately my mom still had the wool
roving for the beards and she sent that along to me. There is quite a bit of that left over so
stay tuned.
Phew! They are finally finished and delivered to
Massachusetts where they proudly stand as a centerpiece on her dining room
table. I love sending a little piece of
myself to my daughters. It’s especially
nice at Christmas when we are apart and they can have a little reminder of
their childhood home at the holidays.
