Does it seem the shops put out their Christmas stuff earlier and earlier?

Ads offering buy now, pay later, the bigger pressie you buy, the better….. I have been so over this for years.

Growing up, there was the four of us. Father, Mother, Brother and myself. So we made a big deal of birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day and so on gift wise.

As I got older, I started to get annoyed at how ‘gift focused’ these things became. It’s not about me being a tight wad, I would like to think I am a generous person. We just have want we want and need, so why use a man made day to buy more stuff that we won’t necessarily use.

I am now married to a man with a large extended family, I have a birth family, extended ex in law family. If you buy for one, gotta buy for the other right? It just gets a bit overwhelming.

So we started making rules about what / how / who we would buy for. This did not go down too well with some, so I backed off. Another thing I really enjoy doing, moreso now I have the kids, is the widdle home made touches. So the kids and I started to make our gifts. My in laws (MIL in particular) would BEAM with pride at the gifts we made for her.

This year, I am taking a further step into the world of homemade Christmas gifts.

At the risk of sounding all religious, for me Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. People get spoiled on THEIR birthday, when they are the focus.

So I have been thinking of things to do, things we haven’t done before, rah rah.

I belong to a lifestlye block forum for us people who have a small piece of paradise here in Aotearoa. (For you non~kiwis, Aotearoa means ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ and is the indigenous name for New Zealand)

And I have some GREAT ideas now for Christmas things.

I am currently knitting my MIL a knitting bag. It has knitting needles on it. I have also bought her some knitter’s hand balm to go in it.

I have also ‘borrowed’ the clever idea of the Mistress and will be making these.

I was given an idea of getting the kids to make Garden Mosaic Rocks, someone else suggested writing something like “Dad rocks”. I had to laugh (and now I am going to reveal something personal) My FIL nickname is ‘Jock’ and I just sniggered at the thought of ‘Jock Rocks’

I want to be careful with baking, as my amazing MIL, sends out home made chutneys, etc. But I will do that for those SHE doesn’t send to.

I rang my Mother out law (called that because she never got to be my mother in law) and asked her if her hubbie likes chutneys etc. I find him so HARD to buy for, and am tired of the super original bottle of wine, pack of cigars, and running socks that I have spent the last 19 years buying for him.

I think I have enough ideas now to see me through the gift list.

No to get off my butt and get making.