The Gift of Giving

I've always loved presents, who doesn't?! I've always loved finding the "perfect" gift for someone...something you know they'll love but aren't suspecting you to buy for them. That's the kind of gift I like to find. Often times, I can't find what I want. Not the right colors, too expensive, or I want something a little more personal. Well, this year all three have been true and I had a great and wonderful time making gifts for people. I am already planning for next year so I can start earlier and make things for more people.
One of the most fun and girly things that I made this year was this doll bed for Sophia. No, I've not taken up welding, so I didn't make the bed frame! The frame was given to me several years ago, but I've just held onto it until it was "the right time". I was able to make a new canopy, pillow, and comforter that would coordinate with the colors in Sophia's room. I was also able to make matching nightgowns for Sophia and one of her dolls named Savannah. Savannah also received a fleece blanket and a jumper for Christmas. Sophie says that she was very happy.
For Caleb and Ethan, I made them some dinosaur printed flannel pajama pants. They're not too exciting, for boys to get clothes as gifts, but they were happy with them. The good news is that after making one pair into a tube skirt, I was able to take them a part again and make them into pants. I was sewing right along and they were turning out great! Then I sewed the last leg seam and held them up... "What did I maake?" For the life of me I don't know what I did or how to make them right again. I had to show them to my Mom and she did something and they were right. I'll have to practice soon if I'm going to make them another pair for next year, without needing help from my mother! :)
Since my parents were going to be spending Christmas with us, I realized that I needed to get their gifts made first so I wouldn't be working on them after they arrived. I saw a pattern for a quilted bag that was made by a friend and knew that would be the perfect thing for my Mom. It was a very simple pattern that used "fat quarters" as the fabric. It turned out really nice and she was very happy with it. So nice, that I've bought fabric to make one for myself!
Last year, I made a fleece tied blanket for my parents for Christmas, but I have heard since then that my Mom hogs it all the time. :) So, the perfect gift for my Dad would be his OWN fleece blanket that he wouldn't have to share unless he wanted to. I had a bit of trouble getting it pieced together because of sewing machine troubles and then the thickness of the cloth, but in the end it came out just fine. I even got to use it for a while on one of the colder evenings while they were here.
Even though my brother, Kyle wasn't able to come out here for any of the holidays, I still made him a gift. Brother's are hard to think up gifts for! When they're little, you can just buy them some sort of toy and they think it's great! Now that he's a bit bigger (almost 30!), his type of toys are much more expensive, so that just doesn't work anymore. I ended up making him a fleece blanket also, in very masculine colors so he wouldn't think it was girly.

It was soo much fun to make all of these things! The Lord provided marvelously for all of the supplies that I needed for everything. I was truly trying to save a bunch of money while doing this and it was so exciting to see how the Lord blessed my pocketbook! This was really one of my favorite years of Christmas gift giving. Now if I can only come up with some great ideas for next year! :)