Holiday Sled Project

 

Ever since I brought my old sled home from my parents' house three years ago, I've been hoping to outfit it for Christmas. I've enjoyed seeing all the sleds with big bows, greenery, pine cones, and skates on porches and hoped I could turn mine into something similar. 

My plan is to put the sled out on the front step on the days when we have holiday gatherings but otherwise it will sit in our entry way. Sadly, vintage items can get stolen from porches and I sure don't want to have that happen! :)

My sled didn't get a huge amount of use when I was a kid. I can remember my dad taking me sledding on just a couple of occasions. We usually slid down the road in front of our house since there was almost no traffic. The last time I remember using my sled, I went down the hill with a girlfriend and lost control, hitting the phone pole at the end of our driveway. We hit the pole so hard that the metal sled front made a big dent in the wood. I wasn't injured but was very shaken up, and my friend recently told me she still has a scar on her leg from that accident! In retrospect, it could have been much, much worse! To this day, I am scared to go down hills!

Unfortunately, I sold my mom's ice skates at our auction (not sure why I made that decision...I've regretted it since), so in order to outfit my sled I needed to find a "new" old pair. Because many people are looking for them, they tend to be pretty pricey these days, so I was very excited to finally find a pair in good condition for $5.99 at a local thrift store. With the skates in hand, I was ready to start on my sled project.

 My good fortune continued when the owner of the store where I teach gave me a big wired bow she had made but no longer needed. It was the perfect size for my sled! Of course, I thought I'd first put it on Lily for a photo shoot. :)

  Obviously that didn't go well...

So it was back to the sled project. The sled has been in the garage for three years and was covered with dust and cobwebs. Still, it cleaned up pretty nicely. I applied some furniture oil to the wood parts and the color improved considerably. (A quick check of Ebay indicates that "vintage" (haha!) sleds like mine in similar condition are selling for around $45.)

As projects go, this one was very easy to do. I looked on Pinterest for a few ideas as to where to place the bow, greenery, and skates.

First, I tied the skates onto the sled using the laces. I found that tying them separately allowed me to control the placement a little easier than tying them together.

Next, I added two pieces of greenery which I had on hand. I attached them to the sled diagonally with twist ties. 

Finally I attached the bow using a twist tie in the back.

I'm really happy with how the sled turned out! It's a fun and meaningful holiday decoration!

jp