Be Festive & Smart – Recycle the knick-knacks

The toran is like a celebratory pop up on your front door – it denotes festivity and puts up a warm message – “welcome to our home”! Children get especially excited with this decorative item, so here’s an idea that they will simply love: Get together with your child to craft a toran out of some knick knacks that are readily available at your home.

Almost all of us have a carton or a shelf full of leftover decorations or an old bag of potpourri. I say it’s time to open those dusty boxes – trust me, a treasure of ideas is waiting for you in there!

How to make the toran:

​STEP 1: Ask your child to sift through all the trifles and choose what they like – and what they think would be fit to make a toran. Let them use their imagination – you are in for a surprise! From leftover potpourri, Christmas bells and gota collected from wedding cards your child can come up with anything.

STEP 2: This is the step where you would need to help. Take a thick needle and a strong thread.

Tip: Bright coloured wool like red or pink (instead of thread) lends a nice touch and is sturdier too.

STEP 3: Measure the wool according to the door size and start putting the pieces together one-by-one. In just a few minutes, your recycled toran is ready to be put up – that’s how easy it is!

Things to keep in mind:

• Adult supervision is advised at all times.
• Don’t give the needle to your child, no matter how much he/she insists.
• You can also use the same method to make side wall hangings and so on.
• It doesn’t have to be a 100% recycled toran – you can use fresh potpourri will not only make the toran look good but also smell good!