I’m Not a Crafty Mom and I Don’t Feel Bad About It

The holiday season is upon us. We are either cleaning our houses preparing for guests, or we are pulling out our holiday decorations giving the illusion that we have our crap together. If you’re like me, this is the time of year that your social media feed begins to get cluttered with cutesy craft projects that your friends are doing with their children. Some are just flat out channeling the craft queen herself, Martha Stewart, and making their own Christmas tree from stray pine cones and ribbon.

I’m not sure where this craft gene comes from but I can guarantee you that it skipped me. I don’t even have the gene to desire to be crafty. Making ornaments that look like you can order them from Etsy is just not my thing. My kids know this, and they don’t seem to be too broken up about it.

In the past, I’ve tried to be crafty and make cinnamon ornaments complete with glitter and pretty ribbon. The day turned into lots of sneezing, cinnamon and glitter everywhere, and I’m pretty sure someone threw up. I tried taking cute pictures by a pond, but my kid kept falling out of the basket and we all ended up with goose poop on our clothes. I tried several more times to be crafty and take social media ready pictures, it turns out it’s just not my thing.

I’m not knocking the parents that are crafty. You keep doing your fancy dancy social media worthy crafts with your kids. In fact, I’m a little envious of how good you are at creating these pieces of art work. It’s just not in my blood. It’s not in my wheelhouse. It’s not in my “want to” bucket.

I used to be really hard on myself about not being one of those moms. I felt like my kids were missing out on some sort of childhood magic that only a mom could give. Let’s all take a minute and laugh at my naivete. Turns out I was stressing myself out about something my kids didn’t even enjoy.

Yup, folks. I made the activities so fun sucking that my kids didn’t even enjoy them. I was stressed and trying to force them to be happy while I tried to force myself to be happy doing something that I absolutely hated; all because I thought they would somehow miss out on childhood magic. How can they miss out on childhood magic, when they’re children. Everything is magical at this point.

So no, I’m not a crafty mom, and I don’t feel the least bit bad about it. I’m good at other stuff, like turning a cardboard box into a rocket ship with nothing more than crayon scribbles and imagination. I’m good at saying yes to Pop Tarts because cooking is also not my forte. I’m especially good at hugs and validating their feelings, all while teaching them how to handle big emotions.

Our handmade cards might look like garbage, and that wreath is definitely crooked. We don’t use glitter because it’s straight from the devil, but we have perfected painted hand prints, and walking away when it’s no longer fun. Our craft supplies are slim, but they get the job done – when the job is distraction.

If you aren’t a crafty mom and want to join my anti-craft club, come on in. The water is lukewarm and free of homemade bath bombs. If you are a crafty mom, we love seeing all of your projects, so keep posting that stuff, and if you’re feeling extra generous this holiday season, we wouldn’t be mad if you made us a wreath that didn’t fall off the door every time we closed it.