Making ornaments with my kids during this time of year has become one of our much-anticipated family traditions. I enjoy it and treasure it simply because it helps add more life and meaning to our Christmas preparations. We all know how chaotic this season can be so setting aside a few hours to just sit down together as a family to make things with our hands, help us slow down and meaningfully savor it all somehow.
So when Quriocity — a one-of-a-kind space in Quezon City that encourages creativity and imaginative play — reached out to me a few months back asking if I was interested in doing a Christmas-themed workshop with them, I was overwhelmed with excitement and immediately pitched an ornament-making event for parents and kids. After much planning and preparation (and finding the right date!), we made it happen last Nov 12 and called it Merry Makers. The place was packed and my heart was full!
The goal of Merry Makers was to create a venue for parents and their children to bond by way of arts and crafts. This in itself becomes a wonderful story each ornament they make will tell every time they see it up on their tree. Another thing we wanted to accomplish was to teach them how to make beautiful things out of discarded items at home.
These projects were not completely new. In fact, I’ve shared how to make some of them on the blog before (Check HERE!). But as always, children come up with the best, most original ideas. Using assorted beads, buttons, ribbon, egg cartons, cardboard and random fabric scraps, they followed the steps I shared then put in their very own unique flavor to each piece! It was fantastic and I loved what they were able to make. It also seemed like the mommies really did enjoy making as well.
Things got pretty messy and many of the kids, unable to contain their excitement, got pretty loud (my kids most specially! Haha!) but all in all, the atmosphere at the beautifully fixed up venue was bright and festive just as we had hope it would be. The parents exchanged stories about each others lives and the children played together. We had delicious cookies, cakes and hot cocoa to share too. Many of us had just met but everyone felt right at home.
My deep gratitude goes to the whole team behind Quriocity for helping me make this fun event happen. It was such a pleasure to work with them!
I do hope everyone who was there took the merry making home with them and continue to do so every year at Christmas time!
Quriocity is a creative space open to all! Visit them at Crossroads Center, 77 Mother Ignacia, Diliman, Quezon City and follow them on Instagram as @quriocity_ph for event updates.
And if you didn’t make it but you’re interested in what you see, I’m holding a capsule workshop on ornament making at SIMPLE: Zero Waste Holiday Pop Up Market on Dec 15, 10am at SM Aura Premier. Check event details HERE.
Photos by Nica Cosio and the Quriocity Team
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