Every once in a while there is a small pink plate that is just the right size for whatever snack I am serving. When I pull it out I start counting in my head and within seconds one of my girls shouts out "remember when we made that and I/Caroline drank the bubbles?!" Don't worry they were non-toxic and I think "drank" was an over exaggeration, but my middle who was probably two at the time and is now six definitely sucked in instead of blowing bubbles while we were working on a bubble plate as part of a storytime at South Shore Pottery Shop. I love the plate because she made it, but what I love more about the plate is that it has magical powers. This little, seemingly normal, pink plate has memory inducing powers. It reminds us all of a day we spent together. A time we put away our phones, connected with each other, and spent time being creative together.
More than anything memory making is my number one goal of publishing Macaroni Kid. I want to help local families find fun things to do together and our sponsors at South Shore Pottery Shop are no exception. So, when Deanna, the owner of South Shore Pottery Shop, invited us in to create a personalized holiday gift for a family member who recently moved away I jumped at the chance. I have known Deanna for years and love listening to her stories of having flour fights in her kitchen with her kids when they were little. Deanna gets memory making and she is helping families from all over the South Shore make memories at South Shore Pottery Shop.
There is a seemingly limitless amount of options for creating personalized gifts at South Shore Pottery Shop. There are so many choices that it can seem overwhelming, but the staff is always willing to help steer you in the right direction. With Deanna's help, we settled on a handprint wreath platter that will be perfect for my kids to give their Godmother at Christmas. Deanna helped us through color selection, showed us how to paint our hands and the best technique for transferring our painted hands to the platter. I know the kids' Godmother will cherish the gift because it contains the handprints of her Godchildren and she will know they took the time to create a special gift just for her, but the memory making doesn't stop there. Whenever we see the platter we will be reminded of the afternoon we spent together. How difficult it was to agree on the perfect gift. How much my oldest didn't want to get her hand covered in paint but came up with a solution on her own and created the piece her way. How we worked together toward a common goal. How much we enjoyed spending time together being creative.
Now, was our piece perfect? Nope! But sometimes the best things in life aren't perfect. One of my favorite things about South Shore Pottery Shop, after memory making, is that with a few details the staff can turn your platter from some hand and fingerprints into a work of art! I can't wait to pick up the fired piece and see the end result of our handprint wreath platter.
I just might send my kids back to South Shore Pottery Shop with my husband to make me something special for the holidays because knowing that they all spent an afternoon together, connecting and creating may be even more special to me that the special personalized gift they make me - just maybe. (Hey honey - a set of kid-created coffee mugs would be great! 😉) Getting creative at South Shore Pottery Shop is about so much more than creating art and it's an experience everyone should have for themselves. Go create some memories with your family while you create some great personalized gifts for the special people in your life!
South Shore Pottery Shop is located at 1209 Bedford Street (Rte 18), Abington, MA 02351. In addition to creating personal gifts, it is a great place to pick up a gift card for future creativity, grab a pottery to go package to paint at home and return for firing, order a custom piece or hosting a holiday gathering or birthday party. To learn more stop in or visit them online at https://www.southshorepotteryshop.com/. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram too!
