We have had a very Merry Christmas and I’m pretty sure the kids have not missed out on a thing by doing the free Christmas challenge. When it began it wasn’t intended for everyone to jump on the bandwagon but it’s been fun for all of us. I want to do it again next year but I know now and won’t be starting to plan in November and that’ll make it easier. Astrid and I have already started planning things to make and I know other family members want in on the adventure.
My sisters even got in on the action and found free things to give our kids (Including homemade mitts that my nephews received from Nana several years ago.) She also passed on her smurf mugs she has had since she was a child. My kids think they have gold… They like the little blue people even though they have never seen them on the screen!
If there were awards being passed out I would give Nana the “Productivity” award and Astrid will get the “creativity” award. I will take the “Who started this crazy thing?” award.
Astrid made critters for all the kids out of little gloves and she dressed them accordingly. All too cute… Even an Elmo that was immediately recognized by Caitlyn. She made me a flower pin that I’ve been wearing on my jeans front pocket and on my sweater today because it goes great with another gift. She made me a cheque book holder that I needed and embellished it with buttons – I love buttons.
I made a bunch of hand warmers for my sisters families who all go to hockey and curling a lot… Out of reclaimed denim. I also made some magic bags out of the denim and made covers for them out of other fabric I found around the house. Dija likes her little princess quilt that i put together for her. Corey helped me put together a wind chime made out of silverware. Now I want my own – it sounds great and looks pretty artsy. My favourite gift will take a little explanation and it’s my all time favourite thing.
For Nana I made a book but she wrote it! I had in my possession letters I had recovered from my grandparents home that she had written to them from 1962 – 1967. I did the research to figure out the dates as best as I could to put them in order. I typed it up and then had my little sister help me put it into a book. Thanks Tanya! When Nana opened it we lost her… She had her nose in that book the rest of the morning. 43 pages of our history… It was as if Nana had started the blogging back then but there was no Internet to share it on. It was so much fun reading all those letters about my baby years.

Oh, picture blocks. Astrid made 3 large blocks for Justin with pictures on them. Pictures of them and their baby boy on each side of each block. Again – art. Justin had fun in his workshop (a lot like his dad used to do) and made this crazy puzzle of a tree with birds in it all attached with strings and the knots made eyes for the birds – very cool.

I wish I could show you everything! I loved not shopping more than I thought I would. Some of Nana’s projects included handmade skirts made from men’s neckties for Astrid, Dija and I – we wore them for Boxing Day dinner. Dija and I have matching aprons so we can cook together. Guys got some mittens that she knit, big boys got pyjama pants, Dija got some fluffy pyjamas, all the girls got special wreaths. Nana decorated these kitchen wreaths with rubber gloves, dish clothes, towels, scrubby things…. She is clearly telling us something! They made us laugh and we hate to take them apart to use.

Now I must confess that we did purchase the one toy that each of the kids asked Santa for. Trey wanted a lightsaber and Dija wanted a princess so those items came from the store and were in their stockings but they each cost less than $20. I then went shopping for stocking stuffers … Mostly consumable things we get each year and the kids expect it to happen. It took me one hour of shopping.

Things I learned from this challenge. I need to have hobbies again. I’ve missed using my sewing machine and paint brushes. I need to slow down and have more fun in my kitchen too… I used to do that a lot but have not been doing much at all lately. My kids are really easy to please and I never want that to change. They would rather hang out with us than play with an expensive toy. Trey loves technology but is happy with a new free app on my iPod. Dija loves to be stylish but it can be a one of a kind outfit and not the latest trend. She will be the trend setter! Justin and Astrid are really good sports and so are their friends. Fun like this is contagious. I’m proud of my family for making Christmas fun and creative on short notice… Oh, and for saving a truckload of money! I joked about buying a huge tv with our savings….but that kind of goes against the idea I had started with.

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