At some point in my childhood, my brother and I couldn't watch television until a certain time. Consequently, my brother and I would sit around the house waiting for TV time. Since my husband had a similar experience, we decided that for Camila there is no TV during the week (we need to give her some reason to see a therapist later in life!). The rational behind our evil ways is that we hope our daughter, as she gets older, will learn to find fun and alternative forms of entertainment, like crafts, books, or sports. The challenge, though, is that we, as parents, need to help her find things to do. Since she is only 2, it is a challenge at times. But have no fear, grandma came up with a great idea. Camila's own Christmas tree. 
This weekend, Camila and I decorated her own Christmas tree with handmade ornaments. It began with salt-starch ornaments (recipe from Paint Cut Paste) I made after decorating our tree. Later in the week, Camila, her cousin, and I used paint, glue, and glitter to decorate the ornaments. I then added pipe cleaners to the ornaments; this made it easier for Camila to hang. On a different day, I spray painted a tree branch from my father's backyard, which would later serve as the tree. Finally, Camila and I decorated the tree. This was a fun and easy project that I broke down over 2 weeks. Best of all, it was a great project to do on a cold Sunday afternoon.
Recipe for the salt-starch ornaments: You can find the recipe on the Paint Cut Paste blog
* Bring 1 cup of water to (barely) a boil
* Add 1 cup of salt, stir and dissolve for about a minute (not all of the salt dissolves).* Pour salt and water over 1 cup of cornstarch and mix together
* Add 1/4 cup of cold water
* Add 2 tbsp oil (I used canola. you might want to go with 1.5 tbsp instead, in hindsight)
* Role it out to a 1/4 inch
* Cut into desired shape and back at 245 for 2 hours.
