Is your fridge covered in Christmas photo cards? Mine is! I love getting these because in the age of digital photography we rarely seem to print anything anymore. We now gather around the computer to look at pictures, rather than a photo album.
In honour of Christmas being tomorrow (cue the panicking..) this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday is a Christmas Card that I created for shits and giggles of the hubby and I in front of the White House Christmas Tree…
Growing up we always got a new pair of jammies for Christmas. It was the one gift my sister and I were allowed to open on Christmas eve – and we’d immediately put them on. Not sure if the tradition was born because my mother wanted us to look good in photos as we opened up our gifts, but having matching Christmas pajamas added a feeling of festivity. We’ve had matching night gowns, flannels and footies over the years, but none ever matched the hilarity of Ralphie’s Pink Bunny PJs from the movie A Christmas Story:
Fun Pajama Fact: The word “pyjama” traces its etymological origin to the Persian word “payjama,” meaning “leg garment.”
I’ve often wondered if other families had this tradition and was pleasantly surprised that many do! As an adult, I sometimes still get a set of flannel jam-jams from my mom, but all-in-all that family tradition faded away after we left the nest some 20 years ago… However, I think that there is a surge in old holiday traditions (see my post on the rise of the Ugly Christmas Sweater); and a quick Google search will bring you a plethora places to buy matching Christmas jammies.
I’ll leave you with this fun holiday message (and great PR stunt!) from the Holderness family that’s been making headlines and making Christmas jammies cool again….
Have you started buying Christmas gifts already? I’ve had a few friends mention to me that they are “almost done their Christmas shopping.” Almost done!? I have barely starting THINKING about it, let alone purchased anything yet. But retailers are signaling us that it is indeed time to get your Kris Kringle on.
Every year I try to find something cool to give my circle of girlfriends as we exchange gifts. This year is going to be fun as are so many new cool things thanks to the rise of the Maker Movement!
If you don’t know what the heck the Maker Movement is, it’s essentially the ultimate Do it Yourself (DIY) movement. It’s about people who are starting their own projects, creating their own businesses, making and selling self-made products. Modern technology, such as 3D printing, has made it easier than ever for a single individual to create and distribute items that are customizable and unique without having middlemen like manufacturers. But the Maker Movement is not just people creating items with a 3D printer, it’s also about someone selling handcrafted items on Etsy. Have you ever made something from scratch? Then you are already part of the movement!
In Ottawa, a company called Artengine hosts an open “hack space” called ModLab every Wednesday night. At ModLab you can use their 3D printers and laser cutters to make some awesome stuff! And if you buy a membership, all you have to pay for is the plastic, the use of the 3D printers is free. How awesome is that!!? And if you visit websites like Thingiverse, you can get tons of open source programs (read: free!) to make stuff.
Here’s my favourite to date: The Makerbot Mixtape! I love making CDs for friends and this allows me to give them something fun and nostalgic. This reinvented Mixtape is a MP3 player encased in a 3D printed cassette housing. You can get the free code from Thingiverse here to make it yourself (with a 3D printer).
Guess my friends now know what they’re getting for Christmas…
The Publicist Diaries 