How to Make a Homemade Holiday Bird Treat Decoration
My Niece Is All Grown Up Now
Christmas Traditions
Christmas has always been my family’s favorite holiday. We would almost always celebrate at my mother’s house while she was alive. Depending on the year, and her mood, my mom would either have the whole house decked out with everything imaginable that would have anything to do with Christmas – or she would have the smallest tree in the world surrounded by presents. On the good years, she would have all of her mechanical Santa’s, Christmas lights of every color, and all kinds of trinkets. It looked like a Christmas Wonderland.
When my niece was little we had a tree at my mother’s house that she had to decorate for the animals every year for Christmas. She wanted to make the animals to be happy and well fed for Christmas. We would string popcorn and cranberries (and any other fruit or vegetable that we could find to string) and then hang the strings on the tree. We would also make birdseed ornaments for the tree. It kept her entertained for hours on Christmas Eve and kept her mind off of Santa Claus for a little while. This is how we did that.
Supplies
Supplies
Cookie cutters in a variety of shapes – The more Christmassy the better
Largest jar of peanut butter you can find
Largest bag of wild bird seed that you can find
Cranberries
Other small berries, fruits or veggies
Preparation
Empty one jar of peanut butter into a large bowl, along with a bag of bird seed, a package of cranberries and the other berries, fruits and veggies. Mix by hand until all of the birdseed and other ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Take the cookie cutters and place on table or counter. Push mixture into cookie cutters. Use an empty ink pen to push holes near the top. Place in a refrigerator or freezer until they are set enough to remove from cutters without falling apart.
Take ribbon or string and string through the hole in the top of the ornaments. Take them out and place them on the tree. You can also take your strings of popcorn and cranberries, as well. Then sit back and enjoy the show!
Just Memories
When my niece was little, we would sit and watch to see what birds or animals would come by – at least for a few minutes. Every year, without fail, after just a few short minutes, we would hear the sounds of jingle bells in the air. There were usually accompanied by the red light in the sky. My niece would see and hear that and declare that Santa was close and she would run to the house screaming to her mom, “We gotta hurry! Santa is on the way! I gotta get to bed!” Everyone would laugh and head towards the house, my niece and my sister would head for home.
