Friday, November 21, 2014

The Every Year Christmas Crafting Crunch

The doll house wasn't
the best idea.
It happens every single year.  The slow creeping suspicion that I've bitten off more than I can chew when it comes to Christmas present crafting.  

Gradually, as we get closer to Christmas, the suspicion will begin to blossom into something like panic, although usually actual panic is staved of by the fact that I can remain in denial for a ridiculous amount of time, reasoning that if I stay up all night for the next dozen nights I can surely finish everything that needs to be done so that everything that I planned on making gets finished in time for Christmas morning.  

And at the very end I can at least proclaim "Christmas is a season!  It's not just one day!" which implies that that present that was being made on Christmas Eve will be finished before Epiphany, when in reality I probably will collapse on that first night of Christmas exhausted and not pick up that particular project again until the next year when I think "hey this could fit (insert the name of next smallest child here)" and finally finish it, thankful that I had something halfway done.  

I actually wouldn't be worried at all at this point if it weren't for the incredibly grumpy baby, who actually isn't all that grumpy with dairy eliminated from my diet, but who still thinks that the sound of the sewing machine being fired up means it must be Mommy and James time... and who can refuse cuddles like that, even if they do tend to be a little frown filled, because I'm not Daddy and Daddy gets all the smiles.

I'm not even kidding.  Paul picks up James and James beams at him.  Paul says "Oh look!  He's smiling at me for the bazillionth time today at ME!" and I rush over and get this look:


So today I will sit down to make the list of things to be made.  I'm a little behind.  I think usually The List is made in September.  I think James can take credit for the fact that it hasn't been made yet this year, because my to do list in September was heavily focused on what needed to be done before he arrived and so Christmas craft planning took a back seat.  

A more ambitious Christmas
when I sewed Sadie a
Sofia dress and built
that doll house in the
back ground.
Despite all the rush that usually happens at the end, I still love the homemade holidays we've had these last years since Paul started law school.  Because while there has been some stress when I think of getting things done, there's also been, by necessity, a sort of simplification that has helped us focus on the reason we're celebrating.  

Sadie's first Christmas was jam packed with presents.  I'd been shopping for the entire time I was pregnant with her and then through the six months until Christmas.  When I opened the closet and saw how many presents had accumulated, it was ridiculous.  

I love these homemade Christmases.  This year I'm debating whether or not to go with the three presents per kid strategy we've done in the past or the "something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read" strategy, but I guess I'll figure that out when I make the list today!  

Can you relate to the yearly feeling of a Christmas crafting crunch that always seems to sneak up on you, no matter how much you plan ahead of time?  

I sometimes feel that even when I do start sewing and knitting in September I still run out of time before Christmas morning!

5 comments:

  1. I start in July and still run out of time. :0

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do one Advent craft year for both kids. Because Christmas is sandwiched between their birthdays, there is no way to be crafty for them. This year I'm making cookies for the teachers and having HB create cards. Otherwise...not happening.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read"- that's brilliant! I've never heard it before, but I'll keep it in mind.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to ask- how did you build the dollhouse ? That would be a great birthday or Christmas idea for my girls!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Betsy! It was actually a kit that I found on sale at Home Depot when we were there looking for space heaters that I couldn't resist. It was plain wood and was really labor intensive, but it turned out really well (until the climbing started at least!)!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and I read every single comment that comes in (and I try to respond when the little ones aren't distracting me to the point that it's impossible!). Please show kindness to each other and our family in the comment box. After all, we're all real people on the other side of the screen!