I know. I know. Christmas already does matter. Jesus was born. Santa brings presents. The Elf on the Shelf makes the long trek down from the attic and magically reappears somewhere new every morning. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
As with most holidays, it can get a little overwhelming and is more than a touch commercialized. The Halloween candy was barely clearanced out before the department stores started blaring Christmas music and displaying a wide array of trees in every shape and size. (Did you know they even have upside down Christmas trees?! Forgive me if you have one, but come on…really??)
In quiet protest, I decided to do Christmas a little different this year. I’m still decorating a tree…or two. I’ll still have at least four family functions, a couple ornament exchange parties and will probably bake enough sweets to feed a tiny tribe in an underdeveloped country. But I also have decided to give more meaningful gifts.
While I did fall prey to a bit of the Black Friday madness, most of the gifts I’ll give this year will be handmade…if not by me, by somebody.
A beloved soul once eloquently said, “handmade gifts just make you feel worse when you throw them away.” Since that’s not exactly what I’m going for, I set out to try to find unique gifts that still carry meaning and purpose.
Spoiler alert, if you’re a member of my family you should probably stop reading now.
Here are a few of the gifts I’m most excited to wrap this year.
* Felt Car Mat
This one was a beast. I love the concept, and once I settled on using a glue gun instead of exploiting my less-than-awesome sewing skills, it wasn’t that difficult at all. But it certainly was more time-consuming than I imagined. I was also a little upset when I spotted a mass produced version in the toy aisles next to the trains for only $10…so, pick your poison. It’s still a great concept. Plus it was so fun to add all the extra little details. I hope a four year old appreciates the gas pump and Texas flag as much as I do.
* Old Fashioned Rag Dolls
Wish I could say I made these myself, but as per my aforementioned sewing skills, I decided my nieces would get more use out of a doll that didn’t fall apart and become an instant choking hazard. Rag dolls are making a comeback in a day where only vintage is cool, and it seems every girl should have something to nurture that doesn’t involve a 39-18-33 body ratio. I bought these on A Button and A Stitch Etsy site and just love the way they turned out.
* Photo Mug
This particular mug came from Shutterfly, but there are all sorts of photo hosting sites that make it super easy to design your own custom gifts. Granted, not everyone wants to look at your children first thing in the morning as they sip their cup o’ joe, but for parents and grandparents, this one is a no brainer. You can customize your photos and your text, pick your size and color. It’s incredibly user friendly and generally ships within a week.
* Beyond Ourselves
One of the things that has been nagging at me the most about the way we do Christmas is a child’s propensity to unwrap a present and then look around as if to say, “OK, now what?”
In attempt to be more mindful of our many blessings, I decided to start showing my kids how to give to others less fortunate than them at an early age.
Pictured here are gifts that I purchase as part of our church’s Angel Tree program. Angel Tree is a charitable organization that provides gifts to children of prison inmates. The parent writes the age and gender of their child along with what gift they would like purchased. Even though these weren’t handmade (Ninja Turtles from Target are way cooler than Ninja Turtles made out of play-doh), these gifts have been an incredible reminder of what the holiday season is all about. And we’ve gotten to add the names of two little kids to our Advent prayers, believing that their Christmas will be perfect in unique and special ways.
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I’m still making my list (go ahead and sing it…and checking it twice) to finish up this year’s shopping. I’m curious about ways you’ve found to ensure that Christmas means more than discarded gifts and unnecessary credit card debt.
What’s under your tree this year?
