1. I used to work in the hospitality industry. I've spent 98% of the Thanksgivings and Christmas Eves/Days of my adult life at work in either a restaurant or a spa. While there is something to be said for 'being there' for strangers on a holiday, there is also a lot to be said for being with your own family. The fact is that if you work in customer service, you do not have a choice. You work.
2. We married young, and my husband's family lives in another city. That means that since we were still considered the kids, if we did (by some miracle) get a holiday off, we were expected to travel to see them instead of beginning our own family traditions. This was fine while we were still young married folk (and I love to see them), but we aren't the kids anymore. In fact, we have our own kiddo now, and she deserves her own traditions.
3. I suffered severe emotional trauma around the holidays two years in a row. For the last one, I was pregnant. While there is nothing bad going on these days, I'm still mentally girded for battle. Apparently my brain refuses to be caught off guard again...
Well, reasons for me to act like a lunatic aside, we began to start our own holiday traditions last year and we've continued that trend this year. I hope to have a groove that suits us started by next year. Mostly, this means that we're going to stay in our own home and invite others to share in our joy... on our terms :-P We're just going to hole up with each other, good food and a reasonable amount of alcohol.
I've also been busy crafting to ward off any lurking holiday funk. I made a bag for Lily Ruth to carry CeeCee and all doll associated items.
It's basically the same as her felt bags, but I used fabric on the outside, turned the seams inward and added a flap. I should have measured better as it's too big for Lily Ruth. I thought that I was being super-duper careful, but I second-guessed my original measurements and added inches where they were not needed :-/ She still uses it to carry CeeCee, Elmo, Ernie, Grover and Abby all at the same time soooo... mission accomplished!
I started a set of holiday felt toys/ornaments for Lily Ruth so that she has Christmas stuff of her own to play with... since she's not allowed to play with 99% of the ornaments on the tree... and I don't want to feel like the grinch who won't let the baby touch any of the cool stuff. I'm not done with them yet, but here are the templates for the first 15. I hope to have 24 by next year to use as an Advent calendar.
 |
| candy cane, Christmas light, stocking, snowman, wreath & holly |
 |
| angel, jingle bell, santa hat & various trim |
 |
| present, snowflake, ornament, tree top star, gingerbread man, tree, gold star |
I finally ordered all of the prints for the photo project that I've been contemplating for over a year. They arrived yesterday, so I should have them ready to give as gifts!!! I can't tell you about them yet. It would ruin the surprise. I'll post pics of the toy/ornaments and the photo projects when they're done :-)
Oh, and I found Lily Ruth's yearly ornament! Last year's was a rubber duckie in a Santa hat (because of her love of baths). Today I found a coffee cup that looks like a to-go cup... because she adores coffee -
That's my angel with her BFF Henry. She's drinking actual (cooled) coffee while Henry pushes her along.
Ahhhhhhhh the Holidays. Thank you Lord for the many blessings in my life. Please help me to remember how truly loved and lucky I am when I start acting like an ungrateful jerk. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment