Those who raise chickens tend to be rock solid, down to earth types. My kind of people. Which is why today I’m going to reach out to you. If we put our heads together I’m sure that we can come up with some wonderful ideas of how to use our chickens to make homemade gifts (and I’m not talking about a big pot of chicken soup here.)
As you know, the holidays are coming upon us (and if you didn’t know, just step foot in your local department store where the decorations will – literally – hit you on the head.) This year, as a family, we are going to try to shop locally and make many of the gifts for our friends, families, and teachers (and when you have 6 kids, there can be many, many teachers.)
It’s time to shift the focus, just a bit back to where it belongs.
It got me thinking. Our birds play a big role in our lives, surely there must be a way we can incorporate the importance of our lovely girls into our holiday gifts.
First there is art. Although not an artist by any stretch, I have been known to draw cartoon chickens once in awhile. A small framed picture (even keychain or fridge magnet) of some of our favorite girls could be an option.
Likewise, homemade stationary using inked feathers to make designs on the cards could also be an interesting gift (I’ve done this in the past with pine needles and it’s turned out quite well – especially if you prestamp the envelopes or postcards.)
Blown eggs covered with shellac (mod-podge) pictures and jewels make impressive ornaments (just be sure to use the blown out eggs in your once-a-year-incredibly-rich-but-so-worth-it holiday pound cake – yum.)
Next there are feathers. Some of our chickens are currently in molt and we have a ton of chicken feathers all over the place. Wondering what we could do that used feathers, I looked on the internet and found references to dream catchers, hats, and hair feather decorations, all great ideas. But then I found this little gem:
Make Christmas balls ! Use clear glass ones, sprinkle glitter in the bottom, and add your fluffiest, prettiest feather. I love the feathers from my Silkies, and the soft, downy ones from geese work well. Attach the following poem and give as a gift.
I am an angel feather,
sent from God above
To serve as a reminder to you,
of His precious love
I’m from your guardian angel
that God assigned to you
And fell out in her struggles
as she protected you.
Each time you almost stumble
each time you nearly fall
Thank god and all his angels
for answering your call.
author unknown
I love this idea and see it playing a large part in our holidays this year. If you change the poem just a little, these decorations could also be used as car (or sickness, or away from home) protection balls. The sentiment that someone has always got your back and is looking out for you is an incredibly comforting one and to use the feathers from some of our gentle hens to illustrate this message makes it just that more powerful. When I make a few of these I’ll post a photo for all to see.
What about you? Any one out there make holiday decorations inspired by your chickens?
