Reindeer Games

Don't throw away those old, worn out wooden Christmas decorations. They can be updated and repaired.

Here's how!


Many, many years ago, I bought myself a reindeer.

It was before I had kids to coo over him and before I had my own home to decorate, but he was so cute, staring at me from behind the glass, I just knew I had to have him.

It was our first Christmas as a married couple, our first with a shared space and apartment all our own.

We bought a tree, some discount ornaments, a few strands of lights and a pair of stockings, but as far as holiday decor went, that's all the budget could bear.

We had new jobs, rent, car payments and student loans. We had gifts to buy and wedding expenses to pay off. Things were tight and, honestly, way back then, while I enjoyed decorating, it wasn't really my thing.

Crafting, yes, always, but I hadn't been bitten by the decor bug just yet.

So it was kind of shock when I fell under this little guy's spell. He was sitting in the window of a shop in the village. I was picking up dry cleaning, but my feet would not let me pass.

I had to go in for a closer look...and while I wasn't in the habit of buying presents for myself at $14.99 it was a done deal.

I remember showing him to my mom, unwrapping him from the tissue paper, with a wide smile.

Isn't he cute?? I swear I was beaming. I felt like a grown up and a little kid all at the same time.

That was over 25 years ago and that wooden reindeer has been displayed in each of our homes for every Christmas since.


He's been pawed at by kitties, wrestled with by small boys and dolled up by small girls. Over the years, he's taken quite a beating.

So much so, that this year, when I pulled him out of the bin, I put him back in. Gasp. The end of an era.

Then the sentimentalist in me remembered the conversation with my mom, the pawing, the wresting matches and the stroller rides and thought, there's got to be something I could do to help.

Special pieces should be saved.

Which is why I'm sharing this with you today. Consider it Christmas food for thought.

Perhaps you have a favorite tattered treasure that's sitting out the holidays this year in a dark corner of the basement.

Or maybe you're looking at something right now that got a reprieve from death row for just one more season, but is on the list to get tossed in January.

Maybe they deserve a permanent pardon.

Like my reindeer. And most of the time, it doesn't take much.

With O Tannenbaum playing in the background I dug out my supplies and got to work. After all, if Charlie Brown could save his tree I could certainly revive this guy.

I started by removing the crushed raffia ribbon and old garland. So much cuter already...


Next, I dug it out my bags of ribbon. I seriously have way too many spools and I rarely ever use them.


I've accumulated tons of spools over the years, so my reindeer had many choices. I tried them all out and picked my favorite. Who doesn't love a good fashion makeover?


Just about all of the ribbons I've collected have wire in them. It makes it much easier to work with and the finished products hold their shape much better and much longer.

When I pack items away for the season, whether it's a door wreath or a holiday item, I flatten them a bit.

The wire makes it easier to fluff them back to life when I need them the next year.

If you get them on sale, they're generally no more expensive than those without.


Once he was properly dressed in a Happy Holidays bow, I noticed that his face was a little worse for wear, as well.


That was easy enough to fix.

I used a furniture marker <---these are my favorites...to fill in the dented, scraped and damaged spots.

I've use these markers before with great results so I knew they do the trick here, as well.


I simply colored in the spots that needed help gently with the marker and then we went over those spots with a paper towel with a paper towel to blend.

If the spot needed more coverage, I went over it again. The markers work like stain, several light coats work better than one heavy one.


When I was all done, I placed him to the living room where he's spent the last 15 or so Christmases.

My sweet old favorite.

With a brand new bow.

Making me smile all over again.

Perfect.

Do you have any sentimental favorites in need of repair?