I had some great intentions starting out this holiday season. I had a plan written out in April, I think, of what we would buy for each person. I really wanted to avoid spending all that money at one time. This plan sort of worked. Unfortunately, I lost 2 of the gifts…. they’re around here somewhere…. so whenever I find them, those will be moved to bday gifts for the recipients 🙂
I wanted to give more handmade gifts this Christmas, but I just didn’t know what to make!! Literally 4 days before Christmas, I came up with a plan. I do not like to be this rushed on things.
My sister suggested getting a canvas print from our wedding for mom (2 years later and apparently they didn’t have any full sized prints?? I didn’t realize I only gave them the books :/). Unfortunately, these things take a few days to order and sometimes cost over $60 :/ Walmart does same-day canvas prints for $30 (yay!!), but when I went to pick up the order, they handed me a canvas roll and said they didn’t have the wood to stretch it. WHAT?? WHY DID YOU TELL ME THE ORDER WAS READY IF IT WASN’T???
New plan – Walgreens also does same-day prints. found a coupon on RetailMeNot. phew. done.
For my fathers, I knit some hats 🙂 I made a hat for my dad when I was 14 and he didn’t take it off for 2 years… and since he and Eric’s dad are buddies, I made them matching hats. They love them. I was working on these 2 days before Christmas. I’ve never knit so fast in my life.
I also made this really cool weaving for my sister’s new apt 🙂 more on that later.
Now, what was my plan before all the frantic days of DIY-ing you might ask. I was going to make candles. Please see list below of posts explaining how cool and easy handmade candles are.
- Design Sponge – vintage tin candles
- Making New Candles from Old
- Paper and Stitch – I just love the jars she makes the candles in
While I still love all of these, no one mentioned how expensive the bag of wax is. One candle can cost over $13 just in supplies. I left Michael’s empty handed (sort of, they were having a Christmas sale on Washi tape) and went to HomeGoods to buy candles for $7 each. I bought several….
Anyway, everything turned out fine and my family loved the candles I gave them, I just wasn’t able to say that I made them.
Most of the gift-making happened within 4 days before Christmas… but the point is that it was finished. And now I’m prepared for next year.
Did you have any dramatic gift-giving experiences this year? Please share 🙂
