I've already spent a few hours on Etsy searching for original handmade gifts to give out this year, as I find myself once again wondering what to give everyone for Christmas and more and more drawn to a simplistic laid back holiday. This article over at Nourishing Minimalism kind of sums it up for me - I want something fun and relaxing and free of the gimme gimme gimme.
I have to balance this with my husband's desire to find the BEST PRESENT EVER for everyone he knows. He gets a lot of enjoyment out of trying to figure out what we can give that will put the biggest smile on a recipient's face. We are both especially vulnerable when it comes to buying presents for our niece, whom we adore and like to shower her with presents on her birthday and Christmas.
Plus, I've really come to resent how Christmas now starts before Halloween. I've seen the stores stocking Christmas items for a few weeks now. Really? Three months of any holiday is more than I can take.
I could honestly spend hours here elaborating on why Holidays are more tiring than fun and how much I don't like the clutter that accumulates but I'm sure you can find dozens of articles on those topics and I don't really need to go into it.
I am determined to enjoy the holidays this year and also avoid the yearly credit card trap, so towards that end I've picked out some useful, handmade gifts that I will be attempting to make to give away on Christmas day. I won't be posting a lot of my projects until after they have been gifted, so I am sure my after-Christmas blog post will be extensive.
It's when I see all the pressure and stress that I'm glad I don't celebrate Christmas. I used to for my daughter's sake when she was younger so she didn't feel left out, but my heart was never in it. Now she's grown up we don't bother. I do have my family over for the day and cook as my mum and dad are Christians and want to spend the day with us. They know I don't bother about presents so it takes the pressure off them aswell. I hope you have fun making your gifts, just try not to stress too much xxx
ReplyDeleteSounds like the perfect Christmas as long as you don't get stressed trying to finish all your handmade items in time!
ReplyDeleteI understand your desire to give handmade gifts- I feel the same. But it's easy to overdo- my husband jokes about "santa's sewing sweatshop". So give yourself plenty of time and definitely consider how many projects, estimated time for completion, etc.
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