Handmade for the Holidays

Nearly every bit of my free time is being used to prepare Christmas gifts these days.  

And I am loving it!

If you think you're on my Christmas gift list, be forewarned, you are likely going to receive something handmade.  

There are numerous reasons we chose this route for gifts this year.  However, foremost among them is our desire to buck the consumerist tradition of obligatory spending and the frankly awkward and impersonal "tell me what you want so I can just go buy it for you without a whole lot of thought" phenomenon.  

And I love creating.

But little did I know how much I would enjoy this process of creating Christmas gifts!

I feared feeling cheap.

I feared feeling creatively vulnerable.

I feared my craftsmanship not being valued.

But the more I work on various pieces and consider the people I'm creating them for, the more those fears fade away.  

I may end up feeling vulnerable and our gifts may not be fully appreciated, but the enjoyment of putting truly personal energy into each gift has made the anticipation of gift giving so much more joyful.

And they don't feel like cheap alternatives to the store-bought norm.

They are handcrafted with love, creative passion, and significant time.  

I'm excited to give them.

And you better believe I'm excited to blog about them (after Christmas, of course).