A homemade Christmas

It’s not that I need projects to do. God only knows I have enough things to do between my kids (with a husband who travels all the time), my blogs, my book that I’m trying to get published and all the other daily household chores I’m expected to. But I need to feel the Christmas spirit in me again. For me, that means turning this Christmas into a homemade one, as best as I can.

So, I’m trying to balance getting more involved in the Christmas season with enjoying it more too. It’s been hard, but I think it might more a state of mind. Going against what I said back in October about starting Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, I decided to ease into Christmas even before Advent begins. [Gasp] That’s usually my official “green light” to start with the preparations, but then I get swamped and before I know it I’m days behind and deep into stress.

Since I’m making my cards this year, which I know seems crazy, I started them this weekend. Surprisingly it has taken less time than I expected, and I’m enjoying it more than I thought possible. But each evening while the kids play or watch a DVD, I sit with them and work on Christmas projects. Sometimes they craft at the same table, sometimes I have to run from them to keep yogurt-covered fingers from my red paper. It actually has turned into a fun thing to do with the kids. Perhaps some creativity will pass on to them. They don’t seem to mind that I’m working on something else as long as I’m sitting with them. So it works.

To add to my own craziness, I’ve decided to make a few of the gifts this year. And those that I don’t make, I want to personalize. Not sure how that will go, but I figured if I finish my cards this week that will leave me time for the rest. Since I enjoy the creative outlet, I’m hoping it will help engage me more with the season. I will do more baking and decorating since for the past four years (due to moving or babies) I have just let that slide.

I’ll keep you posted on how this goes. Come mid-December I might be frantic like I was back in October trying to make costumes.