Disclaimer.

When I bake  or craft or wrap presents, I have an ideal in my head of what said baking or craft or wrapping will look like.  Delicious, perfectly decorated baked goods; crafts with no extra globs of glue, presents with crisp corners and coordinated bows. I am not an artist, and I am an amateur baker; but I can often achieve pretty decent results.

Until my two children decide to help.

I want them to help, I really do: I want to foster that sense of confidence, that feeling of involvement, and that happiness that they get when they achieve a goal. But that ideal in my head?  That gets immediately erased and morphs into something that is more grammar school that culinary school.

Baked goods still taste delicious... even if they are lopsided or overly frosted.  Crafts are made with love, if not skill.  And forget a crisp corner on a wrapped present.

So in your minds eye, imagine what it was supposed to look like.  And in your hearts remember that all those extra sprinkles and folds are made with a child's joy and unconditional love.