Friday, October 8, 2010

I challenge you...me?...myself!!!

I really hate thinking about the holiday season this early in the game, but the reality of having to buy gifts snuck up on me pretty fast and I had a slight panic attack wondering how I was going to pay for peoples Christmas gifts. Last year I spent a RIDICULOUS amount of money on christmas gifts for everyone, and seeing as how money is tight, I can't do that again this year.

So instead I came up with a plan. Why buy gifts when I can simply make them? Ok sure, maybe a knit hat isn't as fancy as a $95 GPS, but I'll spend a lot more time and energy into knitting that damn hat then I will in running to the store to buy a stupid GPS. So I'm challenging myself. I will make EVERYONE who is on my Christmas list something. EV-ER-E-ONE. I feel like I may have decided this a little late because there is only a little over 2 months left until Christmas, (can we please stop thinking about Christmas? I want to enjoy the Fall first!!!), and I have a pretty long christmas list. Sorry guys, you are just going to have to enjoy a hand made gift this year. The well is running dry, and I have a wedding I have to save up for (call me selfish...but it's true...weddings are expensive!!)

Who's on my list you may ask?
My parents
My sister
My brother-in-law
My nephew
My Fiance
All of my future in-laws...lets see...5? of them...wait no...6. That's including ones girlfriend.
The two kiddos who live at the end of my street L&J

I think that's it? Well...it may not be...but that's the extent that I'm going. Looks like I'll be knitting socks, hats, gloves, and scarfs for the next 2 months. I'm interested to see what I come up with though. I've already started on my moms and I'm knitting her a GORGEOUS scarf. It's got some serious CLASS to it!! Pictures to be uploaded soon :)

:Sigh:...To change the subject....Remember how I was so determined to get that scarf done by today? Well I actually finished it on Tuesday. I have to upload pictures after this weekend. Miles will be up, and he's pretty savvy with a camera. So I will have him take some shots of me with my scarf :) I also finished on of my mittens. I will be starting on the other one tonight. I'm so proud with how the first one came out!! I've never done mittens before, so I was REALLY nervous when it came to knitting the thumb. But it was a huge SUCCESS!!! HURRAH! Pictures of them to be uploaded soon as well. As for this weekend I will be busy...busy...busy! With very little time to knit :( I'm trying to get my mother and fathers gift out of the way first seeing as how I can't knit their gifts in front of them (I sneak in about an hour a night before I go to bed...the progress is pretty slow). As for everyone else I have to get started on those ASAP.

So...thoughts on all this? I hope this doesn't make me look cheap...but really, who can afford to buy things now...like food...thank goodness oxygen is free or else I would be screwed! Let me know the most creative gift you've made!! I'd love to hear about it!

5 comments:

  1. hand made gifts will certainly be appreciated, everyone will know that you have made them with love, rather than dashing around stores in a panic buying just any old thing. I have been giving handmade gifts for years, but I am fortunate now, several years ago we said, as a family, that trading gifts was expensive, so instead each one of us buys one thing that we really need, which then becomes a single gift from all the others, that way no-one spends a lot of money, and everyone gets something they want or need. (kids excluded, of course, they get gifts from everyone),
    joy xx

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  2. I handmade all of my gifts last year - everyone really liked them, and I think it made them all so special. The one thing to be careful about, though, is that by Christmas I was TOTALLY burnt out. So it's good that you're getting an early start!

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  3. Having been recently made redundant christmas has certainly been on my mind. Hopefully i will be back to work soon though (at the same place can you believe!) I will hand knit some gifts but most of the females in my family knit theirselves. Yarn is always a good prezzie for them though!
    Carol x

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  4. Carole Ann, I'm worried I'm going to get burnt out!! Right now I'm working on my sisters gift and I'm already burnt out from it because it requires me to cast on 200 stitches and knit that!! I don't like knitting that many stitches. It feels like the project takes FOREVER!!
    And Carol, I am the only one in my family who knits! Which is great because no one else will be knitting any gifts ;) Although I can't gift yarn, I hope someone gifts me yarn for christmas!!! It would certainly go to good use!
    And Joy! We have eased up on gifts a lot ever since my nephew was born. Now we only focus on him for the most part. He loves when he can come over to our house and see the tree filled with beautifully wrapped boxes all for him. He gets so many gifts that a couple months ago he showed me a closet where his mom and dad stash all his un-used christmas gifts! The closet was practically full!!!

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  5. I've tried knitting gifts for everyone, and it's been a huge failure Every. Single. Time. The way I figure it, the people I love (and who love the knitwear) are the recipients of my woolly love throughout the year, so it's not like I never give anyone anything, right? I just can't handle the stress of deadline knitting, it sucks all the fun out of it.

    That being said, when money's tight (and really - when is it not?), handmade gifts are a good way to go.

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