DIY REINBEER

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. 

But do you recall, the most famous REINBEER of all ... 

Rudolph the Red Nosed ReinBeer.

On December 17th, my fellow co-workers and I had a small celebration for the up and coming holidays. Apart from the typical carry-in, we wore our Ugly Sweaters and had a Secret Santa! To assist our Secret Santa, we filled out a short questionnaire with questions such as favorite color, favorite food, favorite drink, etc. The person I chose happened to write "beer" as her favorite drink.

Even though this project can be found on Pinterest, with a few modifications, I was able to make this project my own! Rather than the traditional six-pack of beer, I purchased a twelve-pack, as I wanted to re-create the nine famous reindeer! Also, I tried to find beer that did not have a label around the mouth of the bottle, as I thought it would take away from the finished product.

For my rendition of ReinBeer, you will need 9 bottles of beer (root beer), a glue gun, 18 googly eyes, 9 brown pipe cleaners, 8 brown pom-poms and 1 red pom-pom, twine, and name tags.

Directions:

1. Take 1 pipe cleaner and wrap it around the mouth of the bottle, beneath the cap.

2. Form the pipe cleaner to look like antlers. 

3. Glue on 2 googly eyes and 1 pom-pom. 

4. Take a piece of twine and tie a name tag to each ReinBeer.

5. Repeat ... and voila! 

BIRTHDAY x2

On November 27th, a man near and dear to my heart turned another year older. That's right, my dad is 56 years old! 

After work, I drove straight home to celebrate. I arrived just in time for dinner, which consisted of pizza, breadsticks, and wings. Yum! For desert, I brought home a slice of Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Even though it was nothing too extravagant, my dad seemed to love it! For three reasons: 1. He didn't have to cook, 2. He didn't have to pay for it, and 3. He had his favorite ladies by his side ... and my boyfriend.

Of course, no birthday is complete without a gift or two. My dad enjoys watching Duck Dynasty on A&E, so I decided to surprise him with a new shirt! I choose a shirt that featured the four main men of the Robertson clan (Jase, Si, Willie, and Phil). I'm fairly certain he liked it, as he wore it to Thanksgiving the following day. Also, since I planned on bringing my chalkboard home for a fresh coat of paint, I drew a design in honor of his birthday - Duck Dynasty theme, of course!

I wish I would have snapped a photo of my dad with the chalkboard.

Oh well, I guess this photo will have to do.

Storytime: Inspired by Little Baby Garvin, I had to have my very own chalkboard to draw on for holidays and special occasions. Surprisingly, my boyfriend's parents had an old chalkboard in their basement. Since the chalkboard required a bit of improvement ... ok, a lot of improvement, I took it home to my dad. He created an entirely new frame, striped the metal board of all old paint, then primed and painted it. I decided to paint the frame in white and grey chevron, which my dad sealed. Considering the amount of time and effort that my dad put into this chalkboard, I felt this was the perfect way to show my appreciation!

..........

Not only did we celebrate one birthday, but two. It just so happens that my boyfriend's mother was born on November 27th. This year, she turned 50 years old!

Since the McDermitt men had joined together to get a gift for their loving wife and mother, I wanted to show my love and support too. I remembered that she wanted to try Rodeo Red from The Winery of Versailles. So, I thought that would be the perfect gift! However, an ordinary bottle of wine would not do for such a momentous occasion. I asked my dad if he could engrave the bottle of wine for my boyfriend's mother. Of course, he said yes :) 

My boyfriend's mother seemed the love her gift! She couldn't wait to pop the cork and give the wine a taste. But more than anything, she was amazed to discover my dad had engraved the entire bottle of wine by hand!

He did such a beautiful job!

I hope you all enjoyed your time with family and friends.

Oh, and got some great deals Black Friday Shopping!