Gifts for the grands...

Since all of my grandchildren are in their teens or 20s, we now give them money for Christmas and their birthdays. That way they can buy what they want and not feel obliged to say "thank you" for something they really didn't want.

I always try to give them money in interesting ways. You can see a fun way I gave money for a previous Christmas in this post. Just scroll to the end of the post to see what I'm talking about.

This Christmas I decided to design and create a "tri-panel packet" for each of our ten grandchildren.

Here are four of the ten that I made:

They each measured 4" W X 6" H X 1/2" D and were tied shut with ribbon or gold cord that was attached on the back. 

I used nearly an entire sheet of 12" X 12" cardstock for each one, as I had to adhere two pieces together to get the 13" length that I wanted. I also needed several pieces for the pockets on the inside.

When you open the top panel, this is what you see on the right side - a heat-embossed sentiment with space for a brief note and our signatures. This is actually the back of the inside right panel.

When the panel above is flipped to the right, this is what you see on the inside:

I created two pockets on the left panel to hold some cash, a 1/4" deep pocket in the center to hold a hot chocolate mix, and then three stacked pockets on the right panel to hold more cash.

Then I added some decorations and more stamped sentiments, popping them up on dimensionals when possible. Each packet was similar on the inside, but with different papers and embellishments.

Here are some close-ups:

It took me a couple of hours to make the first one, but once I had my design figured out, I could make them in less time. 

Today, I will be making the Christmas crackers for our Christmas Eve table. I made them last year (and saved my design instructions, thank goodness!), so they shouldn't take too long. I have all the little goodies to put inside, including a Christmas-themed joke for each one. 

If you want to see what they look like, check out this post. Once again, scroll to the bottom of the post to see the crackers.

I want to wish each of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS, depending on how and what you celebrate. I hope your days are filled with the warmth and love of family and friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl