Make, Bake, or Buy

When I was growing up, my mom had a “someday closet.”  It was the place where all her creative materials and fun projects sat for that “someday” when she had the time… time that she most likely would have when her four children were grown and her evenings and weekends didn’t involve shuffling kids out to church activities, music lessons, baseball games and dance practices.

I can remember somewhat scoffing that I would never have a “someday closet” of my own when I had children… somehow I envisioned my scrapbooking and paper crafting hobby happily coinciding with raising a brood of my own little ones. (What was I thinking?!) Then I got married, had two busy little boys and, lo and behold, developed a “someday closet” of my own! All my intentions of scrapbooking Baby’s first years and darning socks by the fire somehow haven’t panned out. I look at my closet fondly, thinking of the day when I will have hours to make something special for others or maybe make an heirloom album to pass along to a future generation. But until then, the boxes stay put away in their nice little space.

With this in mind, you can imagine my excitement when I found out my friend Emily was hosting what she called a Make, Bake or Buy Party two years ago. As the name indicates, each guest has the opportunity to make, bake or buy five like items to bring to the party. Once all the goods are laid out, everyone is grouped into teams.  Each group takes turns scoping out what’s displayed, and by the end of the evening, each person gets to take home five different items—along with a bit of inspiration, maybe a new favorite recipe and the memory of mingling with good friends and discovering some of their hidden talents.

I knew with great certainty that I wanted to make something for this party… I’d been looking for an opportunity to get my craft on and I had all those supplies just calling my name from the closet!  After some deliberation, I settled on making paper wreaths, a project I found online that took pages from old books, pleated them and hot glued them one on top of the other. As I arrived at the party, I was eager to see what everyone else had brought. I knew just about everyone there; most of us were all wives and moms, in different seasons of life, who had shared coffee and conversations about marriage and parenting at one point or another. What I didn’t know was where these friends’ creative strengths lie. Imagine my surprise when I found out Kim, a mom of seven, is a wonderful seamstress or that our hostess, Emily, can make homemade vanilla extract!

That party was a success and has become somewhat of an annual tradition for our church’s women’s ministry. Emily’s home can no longer host our get-together, as it’s grown to require a fellowship hall. But large or small, a Make, Bake or Buy Party can be a fantastic way to get to know your girlfriends better, take some supplies out of your own someday closet and gain some inspiration for future projects.

Why not host your own Make, Bake or Buy Party? These are great get-togethers for long-time friends, but they also make fantastic ice breakers for meeting new people in your community (and what better opportunity to get to know those neighbors you’ve been meaning to introduce yourself to?). Make, Bake or Buy Parties can be simple or elaborate, but perhaps one of the best features is that they are versatile. Consider having a themed event, where everybody brings something that relates to the upcoming holiday, season or season of life (student, mom, empty nester). Think outside of the box! But by all means, remember to keep things simple and stress free. In a busy month full of graduations and weddings, this should be a welcome reprieve and a time to focus on the blessing of relationships, good food and great fun!  And on a side note:  those that are not creatively inclined are very welcome to join in. Those $5 gift cards to Starbucks are typically one of the hottest items!

            Lauren Greenlee still dreams of scrapbooking and paper crafting one day, but finds great joy in finger painting and coloring with her two little boys in this season. She and her family reside in Olathe.