the dilemma of the second birthday gift

Yesterday the Little Man turned two, and gifting for a two-year old is not in my wheelhouse.

I told his parents very early on that I would not contribute to the spirit of excess that so easily creeps into the life of a child. Toys that take up a lot of space and cost a lot of money and entertain for 2.2 seconds would not be in my gifting repertoire.

I would be practical: books, clothes (not designer), or anything helpful to his parents. He won't remember these gifts anyway.

This year, his parents' wish-list included "something to keep him occupied or engaged." I searched all over the world wide web, and trust me, there are thousands of toys out there that fall under the "cognitive skill development" category, but honestly, my pride was just too powerful to overcome.

They all appeared just like everyone else's and threatened my reputation as the most creative gift-giver. I couldn't risk giving that one present that really did only entertain for 2.2 seconds. (Did I really say those things out loud? Maybe.)

None of them would do.

One dear friend finally heard my cry and suggested, "Why don't we just make something? It'll be fun."

Famous last words.

After I reconciled the fact that I spent a Friday night struggling through three craft stores to procure my supplies (do craft stores incite anxiety in anyone else?), with the fact that I consider myself to be a cool single girl, I got excited about this crafting venture. Only thanks to my creative friend, though, is this project worthy of sharing.

We started with a piece of canvas -- a 4' square, to be exact -- and a dream.

We envisioned a little town, where Little Man's cars and trucks could travel about. We sketched it out with sidewalk chalk.

Then we got about the business of painting this little town, with basic acrylic paint. It took us awhile to realize that watering down that paint made the coverage go much faster.

(I sure did wear an apron. I know my cool-single-girl-factor continues to abound, but seriously, don't judge.)

About 5 hours later, it started to take some shape.

I loved that we included a church, a school house, a firehouse, a hospital, and the homes of all of Little Man's closest family members.

Then came the all-important, high-impact detail work, which meant buildings got their doors, shutters, and windows, roads got their stripes, and water got its waves.

Have you ever seen such a cute little church?

Nikol, the ultimate artist, put the finishing touches on the playground.

And in the end, 8 hours after we began this project, voila.

I was dang sore the next day from hunching over that play mat. And maybe UGA's football stadium could stand to be bigger than the grandparents' house. (Scaling wasn't the priority, people.) And I owe Nikol something big.

But this was so worth it! We giggled, listened to tunes, and have a very impressive second birthday gift for a special little guy.

I'm hopeful he'll play with this until he goes off to college. But if, God bless us all, he is only entertained with it for 2.2 seconds, maybe his parents will frame it and hang it in his room for all eternity.

That should be enough gratification for this girl.