Handmade gifts

It's been a few weeks since my last post.  Things on the farm are finally winding down for winter, and on those cooler inside days I'm working on things like Christmas presents.

A few years ago I changed my thinking about Christmas.  After spending another afternoon trying to find gifts for my family members, I looked.... REALLY LOOKED... at what I had purchased.  Gift cards, CD's, DVD's, toys, clothes, kitchen gadgets.  The usual things.  And I guess that's when it really got me.  I was buying them things.  Things they could probably afford on their own.  Things that were trendy and in.  Things that six month later would be forgotten, discarded and/or still unused.

Sure, sometimes we get a gift and its something that we love and use like crazy.  We may add it to the list of things that we just couldn't imagine living without (like my compound miter saw, courtesy of Mom and Dad  a few years back).  Mostly though, who gave us what is lost in the shuffle and likewise forgotten.

So after this realization I started making at least some of the annual Christmas gifts.  I like to sew, so one of my firsts was a lap sized quilt for my mother-in-law.  One just big enough to crawl under and get cozy on those cold Colorado nights in the mountains where they live.  The next year I developed an interest in making aprons, and my mom, mother-in-law and husband all got one (and boy does the husband's save me from trying to get grill grease out of his clothers).  I've learned to crotchet in the last year, and I gave my mom the first scarf I ever made (even if it was a little short).  Of course, friends and coworkers get a box of homemade goodies every year too.

This year I'm making all sorts of things - afghans, scarves, slippers, quilts, etc.

There are hundreds of ideas out there on the internet.  Somethings are cheap to make, some more pricey, all are worth it.

I felt then as I do now, that those handmade gifts you give not only become part of your story, but the story of your family.  I have afghans made by my mom as well as my Aunt Brenda.  There's a fairly large collection of crocheted "Strawberry Shortcake Gang" dolls from when I was younger that owe their creation to mom, Aunt Brenda and Grandma Jane.  To me, these items aren't just dolls or blankets; they're my history.  I remember when I got each one, and each one brings back happy memories of the ladies who made them for me.

My mom was always making something, and I suppose I've picked up that same "crafty" bug. I enjoy the making of gifts.  I enjoy seeing that moment on someone's face when they realize how long it took you and that you spent that time on them.  That alone is the moment that makes it all worth it.

Until next time...