My days are usually filled with politics and behind the scenes stuff that it was good to step away and spend some time fixing Santa.

We bought Santa the other day in a pretty banged up condition with drawer knobs missing and upon further inspection once we got home, a big bend at the back of Santa's head.

Poor Santa.

This is him

As you can see he looks like he's just hanging on (probably from that bump on the head), last thing he needs is to struggle with the drawers, which, btw, aren't even in order.

My OCD was having a field day.

There's just so much going on here I just had to do something about it.

Step 1 - Strip it!

Ahhh.. Instantly, I felt much better seeing it bare rather than in the state it was in.

Step 2 - Line them up!

Because my OCD said so.

Step 3 - Assess the situation.

Upon a closer inspection I noticed there was a hole there and looking at the other boxes the knobs are like small wooden pins.

Well I don't have anything like that and to make it worse they're all glued on so there goes my super DIY ideas and changing all the knobs to clear quartz crystals. That idea went down the drain fast.

What I do have though is:
Paper, Super Glue and Beads.

Step 4 - Get creative!

In an instant I had a plan.

Roll up some paper to fill the holes and to act as a base for the super glue and cross fingers the paper soaks up some of the glue so it doesn't leak out the other side.

See how I did it to 19?

This is all of them done.

Step 5 - Time to party!

What I forgot to include in the photo was my gloves.

Please wear gloves when working with super glue. For your safety, your fingers and the water bill from you trying to scrub that glue off. It comes off when it's ready.

1. I poured a bit of glue over the rolled up paper.
2. Waited a little bit then poured a bit more on top.
3. Placed the bead carefully over the paper.
4. Repeat until all the boxes were done.

Now the hardest part.

Step 6 - Wait

If you, in the future, find yourself doing something like this...

Don't, for the love of god, start messing around with the thing and trying to get the bead (or whatever) on another way. With super glue you gotta be quick, so really the wait isn't long, but to be on the safe side, when you've gone diy like this with a rolled up bit of paper as your base, best just wait it out.

In the end it will turn out ok.

See?

He's now back in action and won't have trouble dropping presents off.

And the boxes are in order!

Seriously, he looks much happier 🎅

Today's lessons?

• Take time and step away from situations you can't control and do something uplifting instead.
• A can do attitude and willingness to fix something is half the job done.

I'm glad we took Santa home despite the state he was in. No matter what he is still a beautiful piece and one I will be using every year for a long time.

What were your lessons today? Have you ever bought something to restore or fix it?

I'd love to know.

❤ Arly