There's nothing like having a baby (um, the fourth baby, I might add) born just weeks before the holidays, to get a good ole lesson in 'letting go.' Yup, there was a lot of that this year. Letting go of all the things that just didn't fit into our need and desire for new-baby-mellow for the holidays.
I must admit that the letting go wasn't always so graceful on my part. There were a few evenings, after a long and full day, with three little ones in bed and the house finally clean-ish and quiet-ish, when I'd get a crazy notion in my head to get the sewing machine out and start a gift...at 10pm. You know...just something little....like a quilt. There may - possibly - have even been some whining on my part. Ahem.
But thankfully, each time, Steve talked me down off the Handmade Holiday ledge with the gentle reminder of how little sleep I was already getting. And that a sleepy, grouchy, tired, cranky Mama? Well, that's a recipe for a bummer of a holiday...no matter how much handmade goodness you surround it in.
And so the sewing machine sat quietly. And so did I. The matching Christmas dresses for Adelaide and I? Didn't happen. The quilt top I was hoping to back, quilt and bind for Calvin? It can wait. A stocking for Harper? Next year. A family gift like our bird calendars of last year? Not this year.
Letting Go. Tricky...but oh, so good. It leaves a lot more room for sitting. And staring. And breathing in all those good new baby smells (yummy).
{edited to add: The very life-like rabbit is from Imagine Childhood. And the pajama pants weren't made from a pattern, but using the tracing method I describe in The Creative Family.}
But wait! You didn't think I'd have a totally handmade-free holiday, did you? I did sneak one sleepless night in. I decided to spend it on the semi-matching annual Solstice Jammies for the kids. The ones wrapped up under the tree when we come in from a sunset bonfire...with the house all lit by candles and a 'feast' prepared on the table. The kids change out of their cold wet clothes and into the warm jammies before we eat and do our tree. It's one of my favorite moments of the year and it just wouldn't be the same without the pajamas. So the pajamas? They made the cut.
As did the gazillion (alright, just a dozen) pair of Toasties that I knit. Most of these were actually knit in the pre-Harper knitting frenzy. It seems as these were the go-to gift knit for so many this holiday season - and with good reason: they're super easy and fast to knit, and they're fabulously fun and cozy to wear.
So it appears that "simple", 'warm' and 'cozy' was the theme of the few gifts I did make this year. I guess that's pretty fitting, as it seemed to be the theme of our holidays this year. Simple, warm and cozy. Just right.
