While I try really hard not to get too caught up in the commercialism of Christmas gifting, I absolutely love the magic of Christmas morning with stuffed stockings and a good number of beautifully wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. In years past, I have purchased moderately expensive gifts for my family and thought nothing of it. However, the current economic downturn combined with graduate student loans and a car payment, has changed my ability to buy whatever I deemed to be perfect gifts for my family. This year we are doing something very different.
Unlike previous years, we set a Christmas budget (which felt very limiting to me anyway). We simply could not exceed that set a amount of money. This forced me to be more thoughtful about everything that I was considering as Christmas gifts. For our children, I purchased only a few high quality wood and recycled plastic toys. The biggest potential disappointment in my mind was going to be the lack of gifts under the tree. I sadly envisioned only four or five small packages under the tree. Anything else they would receive would have to be things made by my own hands with materials we already had around the house.
My husband and I decided that instead of buying gifts for one another that we would make each other gifts instead. I set out to make my husband a pair of hand knitted wool gloves (my first knitting project after I learned to knit three years ago). I was a little intimidated but I wanted to make them really nice for my husband. The first glove I made was too big so I took it out and started over. Having learned a lot from my first mistake glove, I completed both gloves more quickly than I thought possible and they both looked great!
(To be continued…)