Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

Our Holiday Traditions: Paper chains and Uno

Rejecting the tyranny of Pinterest through handmade crafts for the holidays

As owner of Drygoods Design, a Pioneer Square shop and crafting hub, Keli Faw’s workday is centered on helping people make elaborate homemade crafts for the holidays. But when she gets home, Keli checks the time-consuming, Pinterest-worthy projects at the door.

“When I’m at home I try to keep it simple so I can hang out with my kids and husband,” Keli said. Christmas has “always been a focus on family and making it special for them.”

That means stringing popcorn and making paper chains with her son Mac, 6, and daughter Waverly, 3½. The kids enjoy bending pipe cleaners into candy-cane ornaments or finger-painting butcher paper with red and green paint to make gift wrap.

Keli welcomes low-key traditions such as family games of Uno or visits with friends and relatives. The kids don’t mind if activities aren’t fancy — they just enjoy the pattern of predictable events that define the holiday season. But there is a downside to the easy adoption of Christmas rituals. 

“You have to be really careful when you do things, because you want to be sure you want to repeat it,” Keli said. “You do it more than once, and it becomes tradition.”

Get into the crafty Christmas spirit at drygoodsdesignonline.com

Silly or somber, elaborate or simple, every family creates their own unique ways of finding joy and warmth in the midst of winter. Our annual Seattle's Child tradition is to share your holiday traditions so we can celebrate and rejoice together that every family in our community is a one-of-a-kind creation forged from the past and building a brighter future for our kids.

Read about more of our family holiday traditions and holiday happenings here.

About the Author

Lisa Stiffler