kidding around

It’s funny how quickly time passes and when you write yourself reminder notes, you ignore them and then later regret it!! Well, in years past, I always want to make most of my gifts and then get things going around Thanksgiving weekend and go crazy until Christmas.

This year I have refused to live like that…some people ask, why do you do it? (make gifts, that is) I think that living in the culture we live in, we do not appreciate handcrafted items. Who cares if the seams aren’t straight? Who cares if you have to handle it with extreme care? I absolutely detest the commercials already on TV and I detest the whole rush of it all.

Since reading “Little House on the Prairie” to Ellie- we were both reminded of the simple pleasures of the upcoming holiday. In fact, I won’t be decorating a tree until Christmas Eve day (or a day before that) and we will leave all decorations up until Ephiphany. As Orthodox Christians, many families do this and I love the tradition (as well as fasting before the 25th). Actually, my grandparents didn’t even decorate their tree until Christmas Eve and their boys woke up in the morning with a great site…I like that.

Now, I will not go totally handmade…Simon wants an accordion, so I will have to employ “Back to Basic Toys” for that.

I do have a few challenges…3 kids, a busy husband (he helps me with the 3 while I “create), and my job is busy…being a baker at Christmas makes you popular!

Below are some Christmas projects I am working on:

Sorry for the bad photo (using our video camera for this shot). I am making a tree and will begin adding more elements, specifically one of Simon’s creations. This will go to a specific person which will remain anonymous. I will post this again as I make more progress…I’m eager to add more exciting pieces.

A bowl of “dots”. They will be used for various projects. I cut out about 175 of these babies…now I need to get stitching.