Family Togetherness: A Tradition of Handicrafts

A tradition of family handiwork has a long history. In centuries past mothers passed on the art of sewing to their daughters. Fathers taught their sons to hunt and fish. In today’s society there is a plethora of resources available for instruction in every facet of handiwork.

The term crafts should not be limited to the stellar works on Etsy or the cute projects our preschoolers bring home from school. Crafts can be anything from constructing, knowing the details of a car and how to repair it, fixing electronics, to baking, art projects, woodworking, knitting, stamp collections, drawing or polishing gem stones. By definition a handiwork is “something that one has made or done.”

Our hobbies are essential to our wellbeing as well as our kids for they give us a sense of accomplishment. They also provide a means to bring families together. Crafts passed down from generation to generation provide the roots that join us to our ancestors. In our family my Aunt taught my brothers to work with leather. My dad taught us the basics of carpentry and mechanics. My mom taught us crochet and candy making. My brother shared a few tips on drawing. Learning new styles of handicrafts as a family help to expand our interests in addition to building memories and lasting bonds of friendship. Sitting down together as a family to make valentine’s generates conversation. We can laugh at jokes. We can tell stories. We may even start singing.

A scheduled family handicrafts time can be a once a week thing, once a month or just around major holidays. Decide as a family what you would like to work on. Sharing completed crafts with area hospitals or nursing homes is a great way to teach our family about serving others.

Examples of Handicrafts:
Flower arranging
Electronics and motor repair
Metal/iron works
Leather work
Gardening
Instruments
Jewelry
Bead work
Sewing- blankets, clothing
Knitting/crochet
Spinning
Weaving
Embroidery
Cross Stitch
Quilting
Paper crafting
Origami
Scrap booking
Wood work- doll house furniture, cars, blocks, chess set
Stain Glass
Clay work
Painting
Drawing
Making cards
Making ornaments
Photography
Writing songs/stories/poems
Sand art
Puppets, dolls
Other craft style projects