This is how we Christmas at LSSNY!
No holiday party would be complete without our fearless leader making the rounds, ringing his bell, thanking the staff, and dancing with the team.
This year, his executive assistant Ruth contributed her considerable creative talents to add sparkle to the festivities.
Here is how she did it:
Mrs. Claus (from bottom to top!):
Her inspiration was turning an object into something wearable. First, she thought “ornaments,” then “candy cane,” then a Christmas tree!
She shopped at Amazon and Dollar Tree, where she procured ribbon and ornaments. She purchased the wig at a $1-$10 store.
The skirt is a hoop skirt. She purchased all the garland from Amazon for just $25. She cut the garland into 7-inch pieces and used a hot glue gun to stick the garland, ribbon, and ornaments to the hoop skirt.
True disclosures:
- It was easy to trip on the skirt, so she had to tip-toe when walking in it, she couldn’t sit down unless it was on a stool, and the ornaments and ribbon would fall off from time to time.
- As far as eating or drinking, she avoided both as much as possible so as not to remove the gems and glitter from her mouth.
- The Christmas tree skirt took about 12 hours to complete.
Anything for art!
Makeup:
- Ruth purchased “gems” from Amazon and stuck them on with eyelash glue. She bought the eyelashes from Amazon.
- She painted her eyebrows white with Mehron’s’s Paradise water-activated paint, then topped them with eyelash glue and gems (for the Foster Care holiday event, she replaced the gems with glitter from an eyeshadow palette).
- Her mouth has red lipstick as the base, topped with eyelash glue and gems (for the Foster Care holiday event, she replaced the gems with glitter from an eyeshadow palette).
Headpiece:
Ruth purchased a pack of headbands from Amazon, used leftover garland and ornaments, and glued them on with a hot glue gun.
The Snowman:
Frosty is made of three balloons, paper-mache, a mixture of shaving cream and glue — topped with glitter and fake snowflakes.
Full disclosures:
- The snowman took much longer to build than Ruth imagined it would (about three weeks). She says that it’s still a work in progress and that she plans to do some cosmetic work on it after the holidays.
- By the end of the party, Frosty’s head toppled over (Think “how it started” and “how it’s going!”)
The backstory:
Ruth worked with children for nine years, three of which were in palliative care. She says that everything had to be as sensory based as possible and that the artwork by the teachers and assistants was at a level of 10 out of 10 for holidays. She adds, “Decorating the office brings me back to those days when I worked with those very special children who still hold a place in my heart. It brings me back to the only time in my professional career where arts and crafts were absolutely necessary in an educational environment.”
The spirit of Christmas, in full force!
Merry Christmas