Thumbprint Reindeer Ornaments

I admit it. I'm not a great gift giver. Just ask my husband, he knows this to be true. I very rarely purchase the 'perfect gift'. In fact, the last great gift I gave him was a Coach wallet in 1994. I recently landed my first full time job after graduation and I was so excited and proud to give it to him. So with Christmas 2011 on the horizon, I once again find myself in the unfortunate but very common position of being without a present for him. At the dinner table last night I half-heartedly joked his two presents are sitting on either side of him (our two girls, ages 6 1/2 and 2 1/2) but he wasn't quite buying that. Not that he's expecting a great big, expensive present from me (besides knowing better than that); we are in the fortunate position of being able to mostly purchase what we need when we need it. We honestly don't need anything and since I am a stay-at-home mom with hugs and kisses as income, I can't splurge on a big ticket item.

You might think to yourself why don't I just ask him what he wants. I do and he routinely responds, "World Peace" . Yeah, thanks a lot for that answer, sweetie. I'm lucky if I can serve up some world peace in our house three out of seven days.

I need something for him to open on Christmas Day beyond the sterotypical underwear and socks, which I already have given in years past. It has to be something he won't want to return, something he can use, something that will bring a smile to his face. I think back to past birthdays and Father's Days for inspiration. Those gifts were mostly things our daughters made for him. I'm not very crafty and can't even draw a straight line. It's 4 days before Christmas and I have a household of visiting family members to entertain and cook for. This present needs to be simple, fast and inexpensive...and not the typical homemade Coupon Book of things promised yet never delivered.

I log onto my go-to site for just about everything in my life - Pinterest.com. I could go on and on about it but Wikipedia offers this brief definition: "Pinterest is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and mange theme-based image collections. The mission statement of Pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through shared tastes and the "things" they find "interesting". You can look up anything there is a board for, so hoping for some heavenly inspiration I look up 'Advent Activities' and viola, I find this year's hubba bubba gift.

Pinterest tells me the Reindeer Thumbprint Ornaments will take 20 minutes. I have 20 minutes. It tells me I need plain ornaments, a Sharpie marker, paint and a cute little thumbprint. Check, check, check, and check...I have all four of those things. I don't even have to get in the car to buy anything. Sounds like an answered prayer to me!

Here's how to make them:

1. Paint your little one's thumb with brown water based craft paint.

2. Press the thumb onto the ornament.

3. Once dry, add eyes with a black Sharpie marker.

4. Add two lines for the antlers and then V's to fill them in.

5. Using the end of a small paint brush, add red craft paint for the nose.

6. Let dry and you are done! I added a pretty holiday ribbon to hang on the tree instead of a metal ornament hook. I also wrote the year on the bottom of the ornament.

Tips: the thumbprints tend to turn out better on the matte ornaments versus the shiny ones. Assemble all the materials first and have a damp papertowel nearby to wipe off messy hands and any mistakes. Have fun and enjoy!