The Christmas spirit was strong at the Boulder Community Library last Tuesday as 10 children aged four to 11 joined librarian Krystal Lange to make holiday-tree ornaments.
At the end of a bookshelf, a white board posed the key question of the season for little ones: “Have you been naughty or nice this year?” Children’s responses ranged from the cheeky “naughty! >:)” to the sweet “very nice!”
Nearby, a Christmas tree was strung with multi-colored lights and handmade decorations from past Christmas craft events. As the kids gathered around two long tables, their moms settled in to work on a 1000-piece Christmas puzzle in the adjoining room.
Several young attendees were visiting the library for the second time that day after spending the morning listening to Santa read The Night Before Christmas.
“We love the library,” declared 11-year-old Quinley McCauley.
The children made two sets of decorations. The first prepackaged ornaments required some simple assembly, while the other was more DIY, with the kids using construction paper and toilet paper rolls to create a bright set of train cars.
The prepackaged ornaments were meant for the library’s “Fairy Godmother”, an anonymous donor who funds the craft events, while the others would decorate the library itself. Once those ornaments were finished, the kids were free to make a third to take home.
Lange said she wanted to emphasize creating ornaments for the community because she wanted to impress upon the kids that “Christmas is less about you, and more about giving”.
Receiving the first round of ornament materials, the kids began speculating as to the identity of the Fairy Godmother. When interest in the mysterious benefactor faded, the kids broke into a scattered rendition of Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”.
One little girl felt too shy to sing, so the others encouraged her to join in by telling her she had a nice voice. With that, she sang the loudest of the bunch.
Finally, it was time for their next creation: the Christmas train! The kids cut bits of construction paper to wrap around a toilet paper roll, which they could then decorate however they pleased. Finally, they glued on wheels made of tightly-rolled black construction paper.
“You are the mastermind,” Lange told the kids as they discussed their creative plans.
As they colored their trains, the conversation turned to wishlists. Harry Potter was among the more popular options. McCauley and her friend Brianna Park have been reading the series together and fallen in love with the wizarding world. McCauley is hoping for a Hedwig Lego set, while Park wished for a levitating golden snitch.
McCauley and Park are so familiar with these items that they know the prices, which are in the hundreds of dollars. “That’s why we ask for it from Santa,” they said, explaining that their parents need not worry about spending all that money.
Throughout the event, the children all seemed to support each other, enthusiastically responding to each other’s ideas. It felt like a scene that could warm even the heart of a Scrooge.
As the craft hour ended, kids hurried to their parents to show off their creations. Bubbles McCauley, 6, showed her mother an ornament she had made and was free to take home.
Yet Bubbles decided against keeping it, saying she would give it to a teacher instead.
“She’ll love that,” her mother told her little girl encouragingly.
