On the day before my kids went back to school a mysterious box arrived from a courier. Upon opening we discovered a crate filled with items- some crap (an empty plastic milk carton) and some useful (colouring pens and scissors) and a challenge was issued: Find a way to upcycle the things held within. “Challenge accepted!” I declared – and I held a crafty tea party with the kids!
The box was sent to me by the folks at Energizer and it was a ‘Re-imagination Challenge’. They have recently re-imagined the battery category with the new EcoAdvanced high performance battery which is made out of 4% recycled battery material and they are aiming for their battery to be made of 40% recycled material by 2025 so they wanted to see what fabulousness we could create out of recycled stuff.
The idea was that I take their box of random recycled items and some stationery items and create something new using one or two bits from home if I need to.
This is what was in the crate
After scratching my head for a minute or two then mulling it over whilst I had a cup of tea, inspiration struck from the random items laid before me and I decided to occupy the kids in a craft activity. I wanted to use the crate itself as a table and we could use the green cotton napkins we were sent to act as a tablecloth. The specimen jar would be the centre-piece to hold some flowers that the kids make, and we would have a tea party! So we got to work.
First the kids each got a paper plate and some colouring materials. My son wanted to do a sunflower so he set about painting his plate yellow and my son wanted to do something leafy with some paint colours she mixed herself. They both took a pipe cleaner to act as a stalk and used the scissors to cut a design. The PVA glue was used to stick a button to the centre of the flower and they used the small glass jars to clean their brushes!
Once the flowers were done and the paint had dried, I laid the table for tea. Earlier in the summer I’d been sent a new personalised mug from Tick Tock Tea along with some samples. Tick Tock Tea is a new naturally caffeine free brand so it’s perfect for the whole family. We tried a cup of Honey, Lemon & Ginger Tick Tock Tea along with an Elizabeth Shaw Lemon Flute to go with it as chocolate always goes down well!
We sat on cushions around the crate and enjoyed our tea and chocolate and chatted about school the next day. This summer has been really enjoyable with a mix of family days out and chill out time at home, so it was nice to spend our last day before the routines start again by doing something crafty and fun.
We took part in Energizer’s Re-imagination Challenge and you can too. They are asking young budding inventors or creative upcyclers to take part in some creation at home for a chance to win an overnight stay at the Science Museum in London and a GoPro camera! There are two prizes up for grabs and all the details are here. You have until the end of September to get your entry in so ask your kids to start thinking about what they can upcycle now – maybe our tea party has inspired you?
Disclosure: For taking part in this blogger challenge to announce the competition, Energizer are gifting me a voucher to spend at upcycling site Remade in Britain but all opinions and craft ideas within the post are my own.
a crafty tea party with the kids · Parenting · Sponsored Content
