When I was about 8, we had a secret santa gift exchange in my 4-H club. The only rule was that it had to be home-made.
The girl whose name I drew loved cats, so I spent a long time making her a jewelry box with a cat collage on it. Inside, there was a pair of earrings that were kitties.
I was beaming when she opened her gift- she loved it! Even her mom thought it was cool. I totally nailed it, and I was giddy that I had made her a gift that she liked.
Then, I was told to get my gift.
It was the only one wrapped in newspaper instead of regular wrapping paper, but I still had high hopes.
When I picked it up, it seemed to be….oozing?
With some trepidation, I peeled the paper back and there was… peanut butter.
Everywhere.
I looked a little closer and saw that there was a pine cone tucked amidst the gooey-ness. And a piece of string.
Awkwardly, I looked up towards my mom and my 4H teacher for some sort of direction. “Help me” my eyes begged. My still-developing brain did not know how to handle the suddenly awkward situation I’d been thrust into.
Finally, one of the other kids’ moms said “It’s a bird feeder!”
