My children, whom I am sure to speak of frequently, posed for pictures in their Christmas outfits this past weekend. Seeing how this post pertains to the upcoming Holidays and how you the reader have very likely never met my children I thought this would be a good time to make some introductions. As previously mentioned, I have three wonderful children. Avery is six and in first grade, Clara is four and Oliver is two! My children have played a large part in my decision to have a handcrafted Christmas this year. That is not to say the current state of the economy had no bearing on this decision. It did! But more importantly I want to show the children that Christmas is not about consumption or Santa Clause but about the gift of love manifest in a tiny infant boy. Spending money with reckless abandon does not seam to be in the spirit of the season! 
Giving, however, is in the spirit and I want to do so creatively and thoughtfully. So, you may ask, what is a handcrafted Christmas? Well, I think the definition will evolve throughout this process as I have never done this before. I am setting up some rules at the beginning to follow. I will craft gifts myself, thus the handcrafting distinction. I may purchase supplies with which to create the gifts. I anticipate shopping at both the craft store and fabric store. I will attempt to craft most of the gifts myself. Those gifts that I do not craft and I must purchase will be second hand from ebay, consignment stores, garage sales or flea markets. I find this exception is necessary because all though I am capable of crafting a dollhouse for my daughter I can not create the furniture to outfit said dollhouse. That is far beyond my expertise! needless to say, this approach to Christmas giving takes considerable planning and time. I started creating gifts in early October and I am thinking now that I should have begun even earlier. I am nearly done with the aforementioned doll house and 
I will post photos and a narrative of the process when it is finished. I am curious to know if anyone else is crafting any or all of their presents this Holiday season and what those handcrafted presents may be. I hope to encourage a dialog on the subject sharing ideas, tips and expertise!
Giving, however, is in the spirit and I want to do so creatively and thoughtfully. So, you may ask, what is a handcrafted Christmas? Well, I think the definition will evolve throughout this process as I have never done this before. I am setting up some rules at the beginning to follow. I will craft gifts myself, thus the handcrafting distinction. I may purchase supplies with which to create the gifts. I anticipate shopping at both the craft store and fabric store. I will attempt to craft most of the gifts myself. Those gifts that I do not craft and I must purchase will be second hand from ebay, consignment stores, garage sales or flea markets. I find this exception is necessary because all though I am capable of crafting a dollhouse for my daughter I can not create the furniture to outfit said dollhouse. That is far beyond my expertise! needless to say, this approach to Christmas giving takes considerable planning and time. I started creating gifts in early October and I am thinking now that I should have begun even earlier. I am nearly done with the aforementioned doll house and 
I will post photos and a narrative of the process when it is finished. I am curious to know if anyone else is crafting any or all of their presents this Holiday season and what those handcrafted presents may be. I hope to encourage a dialog on the subject sharing ideas, tips and expertise!
No comments:
Post a Comment