The holiday season is almost here. Can you believe that? I’m already behind. Usually I try to have all the Christmas gifts, Christmas cards, and other stuff like that completed by the end of October so I can sit back and enjoy the holidays without most of the stress.
This year we are doing everything handmade – well almost, I decided about the handmade pledge several weeks after buying Scentsy Warmers and some wonderful scents for my mom and sister, Nessa. They’re gonna love them! Anyway, there’s only so much I can actually do by hand. For instance, I wanted to make all of us girls matching scarves for the winter. One problem, I can’t knit worth a darn. So I headed over to my favorite online marketplace and did some searching for the perfect scarf that we would all love. I found it at David’s Knits. Half the girls’ favorite color is lime green, the other half like a raspberry pink. We decided to have David make a custom order of mother/daughter matching scarves in the Burgundy/Chartreuse Malabrigo Scarf. He knitted all seven scarves and got them done a month ahead of schedule. How’s that for service?
I finalized my master list of gifts last week. Whatever I can’t do myself I plan on buying from someone else who can. Etsy is one place to look. Another great list of shops is over at Tip Junkie. She has a Mom-Prenuers Holiday Shop-a-thon listing shops from a wide variety of talented women and mothers. With the state of the economy nationwide and worldwide wouldn’t it be great to support other families while you Christmas shop?
Thanks for the tips, Cocoa. I am also trying to stick to mostly handmade, and simple. I’ve found most of what I am going to purchase on Etsy…I LOVE Etsy!
I am also attempting to make most of our gifts for family and friends. Some will get handmade candles, created by a good friend whose profits support the Chinese orphanage from which she adopted their daughters. So, support and a great handmade gift. Love it.
You rock Cocoa! I’ve been working on some handmade gifts myself, we’ll have to see what the budget says about buying handmade… that gets pretty spendy sometimes & that’s going to be a problem this year. Good for you for supporting them!
I was just thinking about the holidays this morning and then I read your post. I’m going to check out your tips and see what I can purchase homemade from others. Plus I will do lots of baking for family and friends. Those types of gifts….homemade with love are always the best kind to get…..=) Thank you for posting the tips and links to check out.
Growing up, my husbands family typically always did handmade (the kids) gifts for each other. We thought that it would be great to carry on that tradition. So each year we think of at least one gift we can make for each other. (This year the boys are getting a ton of wood blocks and handmade felt Christmas stockings from my husband and I. We have yet to finalize their gifts to each other.) Some of the other things we’ve done are quilts, hats, blankets, etc. But, thanks to my husband, I do knit and it makes life a lot easier! I didn’t think I’d be able to learn either, but it really was quite easy! Try again…maybe you can do it! I do like the idea of buying homemade gifts, though. Especially when you can’t do it yourself. In fact…I’ve had my eye on your crayon thing for quite a while…I’ll have to think of who to give that one to! 😀
Now how do you or ‘Santa’ get all the handmaking done with lurking children….That gets so tricky for me.
I am doing recycled (garage sales/swapped toys) for christmas and hopefully have one handmade item for each individual. Its time to start brain storming.
One question though. I love your book plates but our books are passed around and handed down I wonder if it would be a good to label them. Are your children building their ‘own’ libraries now or do you pass your books from child to child until favorites are replaced 1, 2, and 3 times?
WOW, those scarfs are terrific! We are going all handmade this year too, using my things I made (and sell on etsy) and trades from other sellers on etsy! I think If the focus of christmas is Jesus, then gifts from the heart are the only way to go!
there is an actual little button you can get for the handmade pledge.. I wont take it because I know I will buy somethings from the store.. but I have handmade about half the girls christmas presents.. YAY!
Great idea!
what a gorgeous scarf. those sound like wonderful gifts.