I promise, this is the last post of the (now long past) 2009 holiday season.  I just couldn’t quite let it go without sharing some of the gifts made by others.  And I know, if I was a very good blogger, I would have rolled all of this out the very week after Christmas.  Three years worth of back posts confirm the fact that that is just not how I work.  I’m ok with that.  And well, you’re kind of going to have to be too!  I’m going to trust you to do your best with envisioning images of holly and mistletoe and whatnot….are you smelling fresh pine?  Good, here we go…

Up first is actually a set of birthday gifts, given during that whirl-wind two day Christmas-birthday visit with my parents…

Mini-scrap books, from my mom, for Iain and I.  The picture on the left is my sister Rachel holding baby Iain.  The one on the right is my favorite part of the book.  That’s my mom and I on my first Halloween.

And another birthday gift, this one from my sister Rachel, who has grown a bit since that picture above!

She says you put it on and tie it in the front and it’s just like being in “Little Women”, which may well be what inspired my recent re-reading of that venerable classic.

And yet another birthday present, this one from my other sister Tina to Iain….

His new toboggan hat.  There is also a combination Christmas/birthday shawl in the works for me.  Having gifted many a somewhat finished present myself, I understand completely.  I got a peek at it though and it’s going to be just lovely; off-white in a super soft merino.

I have to say, I love how crafty my family has become, where hand-made gifts are a fairly regular thing.  I remember suggesting that we exchange home-made gifts the year that I was pregnant with Iain.  I think the notion was fueled by a great many things; a desire to simplify, some glimmer of a belief in the meaningfulness of a hand crafted item….and not least of all, being utterly broke!

Looking back at that first year is kind of a hoot!  I think everyone looked at me like I had three heads and went about their shopping as usual.  While I, spurred by my deep convictions…and empty pocketbook… cobbled together some of the most ridiculous gifts ever given.  I believe my mom got this goofy jar with potpourri and Christmas lights in it.  I tried, and failed miserably at making my sisters these lard and berry bird feeders that I had seen on some Home and Garden show.  And for my father, yes this is possibly the best one of all, I managed to tape some TV shows that he liked but rarely got to see because they didn’t have cable at the time.

Now who would have thought that from these humble beginnings I would become a person who makes things for other people on a very regular basis?

But the truly wonderful part is that everyone else found inspirations too.  My mom picked up her crochet hook again, after a 20 year hiatus and found a new passion in scrap booking.  My sisters’ grew older and have branched out into everything from painting and sculpting to knitting.  And as a result, we have a house full of beautiful and unique treasures that are ours alone.

And in my own little family…

Iain and Elijah got together (with some help from the mama and papa) and using kool-aid and food coloring, they dyed up a bunch of silk scarves from Dharma Trading Co. to make a rainbow for Galen.  We keep them hung so, with some scarves that we already had for easy access.

After they were gifted we needed something to hang them on….

and so the above, 15 minute project, involving a crochet hook and two different rainbow colored yarns, was undertaken.  Which is really something so minor that it doesn’t deserve any attention at all accept to note that I get positively giddy whenever I can just whip something up to fill a need instead of always having to go buy something.

And with that I officially put the 2009 holiday season to rest!  (but I’m not quite done with the January birthday’s yet…)