My three kiddos that is. At least for the first present, which was owl jams.
By the time baby fits into these Grace and Jackson will probably have outgrown them, but oh well.
It sure was fun to make a matching set for three!
The next gift was these cooking bags. Grace and Jackson have started to help make dinner with me more frequently. And, unlike when they first started "helping", now it actually is helpful.
So I wanted them to each have a set of their own cooking tools.
They were pretty excited about this gift, and it has already been used a lot (especially considering we've hardly been home since they got them, this picture was from Christmas Eve as they helped us to chop and peel potatoes).
And the last gift, the one Ryan and I worked on together, were these bow and arrow sets. I made the quivers for them to keep their arrows in.
And Ryan made the bows (and he is now hooked on whittling).
They are loving these as well. Especially since they can be just like daddy now.
I often think about this gift making tradition that I love so much, trying to figure out exactly what it is that has me so hooked. After all, it is really time consuming. I'm not sure I can really put my finger on it except that to me it feels like love. As I am creating these gifts with my hands I am lovingly holding their spirits in my heart. I think as the beneficiary of many handmade gifts as a child, I was able to feel that love that was put into the gift, whether it was a dress my grandma made me, the playhouse my dad built, or the cookies my mom made. And now I see it in my children's eyes when they receive one of the gifts we made them. There is something just a little extra special about receiving such a gift, and I can sense their joy in it.
I'm sure next Christmas my gift making will slow down considerably with an almost one year old running around to keep me busy, but I sure am thankful for the time I had for it this year.
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