Friday, December 08, 2006

'Tis the Season To Lose All Reason


Working in retail, I have found myself completely done with all Christmas shopping & nearly done with all the wrapping...just waiting on a few internet purchases to arrive in the mail. I really over-did it this year, as I often do, but I enjoy it. Co-workers, neighbors, friends & family are all bought for. I'm done. I've been shopping all year long so that the Holidays don't take too great of a financial hit on us & of course, there is Pass the Trash.

Pass the Trash...a family tradition that has been going on since the mid-seventies.

Pass the Trash...taking something from within your own home, wrapping it up & passing it along to someone else near & dear, with the hopes that they will 'get it.'

Pass the Trash...taking things from within your house, from your yard or from the streets & creating something else, something different, something unique & special to pass along with the hopes that the recipient will enjoy.

Over the years I have seen empty cigarette packs transformed into building blocks, nurses uniforms turned into quilts, balloons & newspapers take the shape of piggy banks, straws & eggs made into musical instruments, bullet shells, elephant ears & tin cans take shape of windchimes. The list goes on & on & on.

This years feature Pass the Trash item from me will be these authentic 1970's disco-mamma platform shoes. They have made the rounds from aunt to neice, mother to daughter, from sister to sister & now they may travel another generation from aunt to neice. they have been in our family since the 70's and hopefully they will continue to stay in the family. I have sat on them many years, waiting for the right time to pass them on to the next generation. I have worn them out probably 10 times & have loved them so I am hoping that this years recipient will be able to do the same. These shoes began our family tradition of Pass the Trash thirty years ago & I wonder (hope) that they will still be fluttering around us in thirty more years. (They are so cool)

Much of our Pass the Trash goodies are made from things around the house. One night I was talking to my DH about all the marbles we find in the yard & I had an idea. I asked him if he'd walk with me after supper through our old neighborhood in search of a good fallen oak limb. I wanted to make a coat/hat/towel rack with a branch of oak. He said no problem & we suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound. We jumped up, leaving our plates of warm food, to rush outside & identify the source of the strange sound. We didn't have to go far...one of our own large oaks had dropped a huge limb. We laughed, ran back in, gobbled our food down & raced back out front with saws in hand. 'Ask & Ye Shall Receive' sometimes rings true! I took marbles from the yard & found a drill bit similar in size. I drilled out notches in the wood & sank the marbles in with some help from elmers glue. I then mounted some Dollar Tree funky copper hooks & walla... the trash has been passed!

In our world, Pass the Trash is more valuable than any PS3 could ever be. In our World, we are careful what we give because we know that one day it may be what we receive. In our World, we Pass the Trash & love it.

25 comments:

Anne said...

Thanks, ((Skinny)). You're such a doll. Now I'm in suspense. :) I love your platform shoes and the pass the trash thing. That seems to put a bit of the meaning back into Christmas. What a great story.

skinnylittleblonde said...

LOL, this pic cannot do those shoes justice...they are very KISS COMES ALIVE.

vicci said...

Pass the trash sounds fun to me! I love the shoes!!!!! I'm always looking at things and thinking ummm....what can I turn this into???? I am jealous!!! I can't believe you are all done shopping!! The only thing about getting done early..is that it's too easy to go back out...and shop some more!!! and I always see things that somebody will love...including myself!!! love ya...

Anonymous said...

What a great tradition! Love your story~ Years ago in upstate N.Y. my kids and I were going to make Dream Catchers for some extra cash but didn't have any feathers. Next day in our travels we found a huge wild turkey on the side of the road dead just laying there waiting for us to take home and make Dream Catchers. Needless to say we made many. Still have some feathers left over. The universe always takes care of us~

Spadoman said...

Cool story.... We don't do it in the family, but last year, with a bunch of friends, we had a holiday party and everyone wrapped up some trashy item from the places you mention, the yard, the closet, the junk drawer, the trash:-), and the trick was to do the WRAP as desireable as can be.

We all took a playing card from a deck. The hostess used another deck and turned the cards over. When our card was drawn, we could either open our gift, keep our gift, or trade it with someone who had a gift that looked better because it was wrapped nicer.

Of course by the end of the gift circus, we were all laughing so damn hard at the eagerness to get a finely wrapped gift only to find it was the trashiest piece of white elephant junk around. All just great fun.

Lotusblossoms.... Great story about the turkey feathers, you too Skinny, about the oak branch. If what you want to do is good and from the heart, the means with which to fulfill the dream will eventually come to you. It is the way.

Peace.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Vicci ~ I have seen the magic your hands can do... you must be the Diva of Trash to Treasure!

Lotus~ That is wonderful & too funny, much like that falling oak branch...things do have a funny way of coming to fruition...don't they Dear Lotus? At the Veterans Indian Pow Wow that we went to a month or so ago, they had dice made out of deer antlers that were too cool (yes, I also collect die) but I bought for others & not myself, so I came home without the dice. I told my hubby how I wished I had gotten them & the next day he was driving down the interstate & saw two policemen pulling a hit deer to the side of the road [yes, roadkill:(]Needless to say, he pulled over, with saw in hand & was able to get one antler for me (the second one was damaged terribly in accident) so soon I will be sawing & drilling again!

Spado~ LOL, I love it! Great fun! The thrill is the ride & the destination is bonus :) I like what you said in your reply to Lotus & know that you speak with wisdom.
We did a very similar thing as you with our neighborhood block party, but instead of drawing cards we drew numbers...I was able to get rid of somethings I never could quite throw away because I just knew someone somewhere would value them. All of the gifts were too funny...my favorite was a little troll doll, one from the seventies that looked like it had been tortured & loved for thirty years. Nobody else wanted him. LOL.

P&L to All of You...

Anonymous said...

The pass on tradition sounds wonderful and those shoes are lovely!I admire the way it is still looking like a new one even though it has passed on so many hands(or should I say legs:)).My shoes become unrecognizable within a year of usage.Everyone of you has surely treasured it and preserved it well.It's a keeper!it's so much more than a shoe since it's from your mom.

You have a talent Skinny to turn that oak branch into something lovely.I'm no good with such stuff and admire all you guys for that.My grandmother was also very good in that.Sadly none of those good genes ever got passed on to me:(The closest thing I have done on my own are handmade cards or some silly wall hangings with cardboard and decorating paper,but I'm good at wraping things well,so in my family I was always the official wrapper.

We don't celebrate christmas but I have lots of friends who do and I have to do some shopping for gifts for them but haven't yet even begun,its amazing that you are already done!You must be looking forward to meeting your family soon,have fun!!Tell Singleton my Hi!

Anonymous said...

Another typo not the legs,the feet!I ought to recheck my message before hitting publish!:(

Me said...

I love this idea!

Nihilistic said...

I under did it this year...Cookies! My kick ass cookies are what I'm giving out!! My cookies are like crack!!

skinnylittleblonde said...

Fuzzy~ Those shoes, unfortunately, look are far cry from new in person... however, that affects their value none. :) BTW~ handmade cards are quite the treat! TY, I do look forward so very much & yes, I'll share all the love w/ Singleton & Kimbies.

Orhan~ TY :)

Nihilistic~ Mmmm....cookies...yum,yum. The value & worth of cookies should never be under-estimated! :)

Anonymous said...

Ihate Xmas shopping. it puts a massive hole in my wallet.

=(


but i really love those slver shoes. prettyyy

Kim's Hand Me Down Levis said...

No Doubt Ashley...if I didn't shop all year, I could not even afford it.

Those shoes do rock!

Mel said...

Ah, the infamous 'white elephant' gift exchange happens around the workplace.

One mans trash is another mans treasure, dontchaknow.

I'm now contemplating climbing a tree and sawing off a branch. LOL I'll blame you! ;-)

Anonymous said...

You know, we don't really have any traditions like that. But it sounds fun. I would like to have some things that had been passed down in the family for years....you know.....old hippy things. Maybe I'll have to start doing it.

Baron Ectar said...

This looks fun - can I steal this idea?!

skinnylittleblonde said...

Mel ~ You silly monkey...climb away, just don't fall or drop a branch on a passer by.

BBE~ Traditions start somewhere... might as well be with you!

Baron ~ Welcome back & yes, by all means , steal away!

Unknown said...

I generally never ask for much. Sometimes I don't even ask for anything at all. I've always had the opinion I'd rather get nothing at all than some crap I don't want or need. Then after receiving whatever it is I'm forced to figure out what I should do with it. Do I throw it out or how long do I keep it? Maybe I should just give it to good will. So inevitably I try to figure out what the proper etiquette for the situation is. I don't have that many personal possessions, well at least when you compare it to the rest of our country. I'm somewhat a believer in the less you have is the more you have

sammyray said...

Um, those disco shoes are NOT trash, momma!!!

The branch is too cool. I need to go outside and find one like that for my house.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Doug~ The best gifts are often those not anticipated. I can't imagine asking for a gift, although I know it is commonplace for some.

Sammy~ that's why they've been passed around this family for 30 years...lol.

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with you people!?

mist1 said...

Some of my guy friends play pass the trash. No one calls her trash to her face though.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Matt~
Consumerism consumed us.

Mist1~
LOL, She would never survive our family for 30 years!

Pixie said...

That is so cool.
I love that coat hook, and so much more thought has gone into the gifts.

skinnylittleblonde said...

TY...we love our trash & yard debris too! ;)