En route to the supermarket earlier today, I came face to face with a life-sized Hallmark Keepsake Ornament. It was glaring at me through the window of a card store, reminding me that Christmas isn’t that far off. Ah, retail…I can’t even buy my Halloween candy before you start pumping me up for Santa and his elves. With this in mind, we bring you the latest incarnation of Shrinky Dinks: a 3D Christmas set of ornaments
. If you grew up with this name in your house, you have already experienced the magic behind popping your creations into Mom’s oven and watching your creations miniaturize themselves before your very eyes. If you didn’t have the luxury of playing with Shrinky Dinks (and that would be me), now you have to re-create your childhood with your own kids. This new set follows the same set of instructions as the original Shrinky Dinks: color and trace the included drawings of a stocking, Santa in his sleigh, a candy cane and other seasonal staples; line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil; carefully lay down your renderings and place in your already warmed oven…and let the fun begin. Because this mom is not a seasoned Shrinky Dinks pro, I couldn’t believe how quickly our ornaments could reduce in size! Faster than you can say “Rick Moranis,” these creations are ready to remove from your oven. Once they have properly cooled down and are ready for handling (about 5 minutes or so), with a little glue–and patience–you can assemble your ornaments into stand-up models that look great under a tabletop tree, as a playful addition to your Christmas village or on their own. We don’t know which one we love more: the Christmas tree that gives Charlie Brown a run for his money, or the gift tag that will wow any person on your list this year. Even Scrooge.
Wild Walnut Special: To get you in on the pre-holiday cheer, we’re giving away one 3D Shrinky Christmas kit to a randomly selected reader. To enter, e-mail The Talking Walnut between now and Friday, October 21 at 12 p.m. EST, and we’ll contact the winner next week. Good luck!
