homemade holidays: color pegs

The Mr and I have bought a few things for Baby Wonder for Christmas this year, though we are keeping the presents from us minimal. Part of this is because he has so many toys that any more will end up being donated, as we have no more room after his birthday at the end of October. The other part is that, although he is young, it is important to the Mr and I that Baby Wonder (and his upcoming sister) doesn't get absorbed in the selfishness that can overcome children when a gift giving holiday approaches. The earlier we instill the less materialistic side of Christmas in our children, the sooner we can explore together as a family how to celebrate this blessed and magical time of year.

We are using this year a model for "Santa's" gift giving that I really like. Our goal is to focus on things other than presents, but let's be honest, there are few things more magical than waking up on Christmas morning to a tree full of beautifully wrapped gifts. We may double this in years to come... I am not bent on following this strictly, though the idea is wonderful.

We've adopted this outlook for Christmas:
1 thing I want
1 thing I need
1 thing I'll wear
1 thing I'll read

We'll use this year as a trial run since he's still a little young to understand what that all means. With any luck, this will encourage our children to prioritize and think about what they truly would like, as well as leaving room to focus on other aspects of the holiday season, as opposed to viewing Christmas as a free-for-all.

I have really wanted to focus on learning with Baby Wonder recently. I don't know what has made me fall so far behind where I thought I should be in teaching him, but that's where we are. Only going forward!

Baby Wonder's "1 thing I need" this year will be color matching pegs. He knows some of his colors, but still gets them mixed up occasionally, so I thought this would be perfect!

I like that it is a hands-on way to identify different colors.
We can play multiple different learning games with this set.
I made these for him (another thing that I love about them)

These are pretty straight forward to make.

Here's what you need:

Acrylic paints, as many colors as you would like to introduce
Sponge brushes (I found these were easiest to work with for this)
Wooden pegs
Wooden pots

This is how the pegs come. I found them in JoAnn's unfinished wood section. They come 2 to a pack for $1.99 each

The pots come similarly packaged, though they come 8 to a pack. You can buy multiple packs if you want to add more colors, but I was happy with the variety I had. The pots are $4.99 per pack, but I used a coupon so I got them for 50% off.

(Commercial: if you don't have the JoAnn's app on your phone, download it! And Michael's and Hobby Lobby, too... It's like constantly having a coupon in your pocket.)

Paint one peg and one pot matching colors. You'll need several coats, so give yourself an afternoon to keep coming back to this project.

The concept is pretty straight forward, but I'm so excited to show Baby Wonder. He loves games like this, and I know he'll have his colors down in no time!