A mum has decorated two trees - and cleared out her kids' toyboxes - for just £12 using mostly old Happy Meal toys from Mcdonald's. Rachael Harrison, 31, came up with the idea to make the toys into a decoration after looking through her kids' toy bin for ones to recycle or keep.
The mum-of-two went through the box with her daughter Madeline, six, and Drake, two, picking out which they each wanted to make into an ornament and which they still wanted to play with. Rachael then used a pack of 300 eye screws, which cost £4.23, a small screwdriver, which cost £7.88, and black ribbon, which she already owned, to put together the decorations.
Madeline and Drake each have a little tree in their rooms which they now have decorated with their childhood favourite toys. Rachael, a stay-at-home mum and small business owner, from Florida, US, said: “I’m very sentimental as a mum and I was cleaning my kid’s toy bin and it was like a light bulb went off.
“I just thought why do I not make them into ornaments? It’s all toys that were once their favourites and I like to keep them for the memories. The kids were so excited.
“Making the ornaments and keeping memorable toys gives parents what Christmas feels like. I sat with Madeline and Drake and talked through my idea.
“Madeline understood so I would hold up each toy and say ‘do you want this one to make into a Christmas ornament?' She'd say yes or no and Drake started to get it too.”
Rachael used eye screws to put a hoop into the toy, using a small screwdriver, and then thread ribbon through so they could be hung on the tree.
“Lots of them are the Disney collection from Mcdonald's,” she said. “One is a little cat that my daughter was attached to when she was younger – she’d always pet it and have it in her pocket.
“It means a lot to me to keep pieces from my kids childhood. It’s sustainable and they are not expensive to make. They are shatterproof too. The kids love it. They have a little tree in their bedrooms and can take the ornaments on and off.”
Follow Rachael @just_goldendesigns
