One of the nicest things I've done with my children when they were smaller is creative activities. We lived for a long period in England, where children do not have the same opportunities to go to preschool and explore clay, wood, beads, sewing machines and everything else exciting, so I had to do preschool myself on the dining table at home in the kitchen.
One of the things that my girls really liked were pearls. All kinds of pearls. Both pearl plates with pearls to iron on and pearls to make bracelets and necklaces from. In 2005 I established my company, handmadeliving, and I ordered the first plexiglass beads home from China. I had come up with some pearl kits that I could sell to shops that made party bags (this is similar to the candy bag that Danish children get home after a child's birthday). In each pearl kit there were fine pearls in a specific design, 1 meter of elastic and some specific color nuances. Each bead kit had a name to match the color shades and I sold many thousands of bead kits while we lived in England. It was fun.
As mentioned, my girls loved beads and they loved the little bead kits. They helped pack the first pearl kits at the kitchen table, sort pearls and come up with ideas. From an early age, they have had a good insight into what it means to be an entrepreneur and start from scratch.
Now I've made the little pearl kits again and this time I've put them in the same metal boxes that the quiz games from Box Quiz also come in. The design is the same as 15 years ago, but I think the metal boxes are a nice way to wrap the fine pearls. The box can also be used afterwards as a jewelery box or for the tooth fairy. Perhaps I am lucky that there are also Danish parents who want to give pearl kits for children's birthdays or use them as an activity for a party. The children have a lot of fun with creative activities, and because a pearl kit is a limited, small project, it is easy to manage, even if there are maybe 10 or 15 girls who have to make pearl bracelets at the same time.
