When two feet of snow blanketed the Washington, DC region this winter, my family was set for entertainment.  We shoveled, we sledded, we watched movies, we shoveled some more, we played board games, we frolicked in the snow, we made things with perler beads, and we shoveled yet again.

But by the time the schools had been closed four and then five days, we were casting about for some new activities.

So, we made giraffes.  Seriously, we made giraffes!  And then we emailed them to a Norwegian guy named Ola and got to see them online.

Backstory:  in 2009, a Norwegian man named Ola Helland bet his friend Jorgen that he could get people to email him 1,000,000 pictures of giraffes by January 1, 2011.  The giraffes have to be hand-made.  No computers, no snapping pictures at the zoo.  However, outside of those parameters anything goes.  The bet was for a case of beer, but neither of my kids even asked about that.  They just loved the idea of making giraffes.

And we did!  We drew giraffes, we built giraffes from LEGOs, we arranged string in the shape of giraffes, we manipulated random household items to look like giraffes and, yes, we even attempted to sculpt a snow-giraffe.  Except for the last one, they all turned out pretty well.  Then we took pictures of our creations and uploaded them to www.onemilliongiraffes.com.  Within 24 hours I received an email saying that our giraffes were available for viewing on the website, and updating us as to how many giraffes were still needed.

It was a great way to pass the time, and the kids and I really got into it.  I knew it was successful when — during Spring Break 2 months later — the kids suggested, “Let’s make giraffes!”  And so the fun continued!

NOTE: As I write this, the website currently boasts 839,661 giraffes.  Just 160,339 more.  What are you waiting for?