My homemade Christmas list

backyard hardy cyclamen

No, I’m not gilding pine cones or constructing elaborate replicas of our house in gingerbread.  Family can rest assured I no longer have a video camera so they are safe from painfully coy but darling children performing to holiday carols.  I haven’t knit everyone matching sweaters or forged loose change into beautiful jewelry.  Frankly I can’t even think of a thing to do with the hundreds and thousands of bottle caps we have – and don’t think I haven’t tried!

lil' Chris & Lori

Aside from my children – who would never speak to me again – this year I have tried to give something I already own when gifting friends and family.  This is NOT “re-gifting” of Seinfeld scorn.  But the offering of something I have, that I enjoy, that I want to share…oh yeah, and it has to be made with, or grown from stuff already around the house.  Due in part to finances I suppose, but I’m grateful for an “economic incentive” to look at my belongings with a fresh eye and an open heart.  I can lighten my holiday carbon footprint while I lighten my load as well.

garden encyclopedia turned wreath

this old sweater never looked better

Anyone who has visited our house can tell you, I have plenty of fodder to work with. This has been good motivation to sort through boxes and “liberate” goodies I’m keeping for… well, for just this sort of thing.  I’m thinking outside the basement as well.  I’m shopping my bookshelves, art supplies, pantry, even the garden in my effort to match up gift and recipient.

my flock of sweater birds

I know it’s getting late in the shopping game but maybe my list will inspire you to stay home and shop rather than hit the stores for one last frantic acquisition.

1. Seed saved from the garden (Are you a Lazy Housewife?)
2. Pickles, preserves and PORK – yes, there’s a story there but I’m afraid it will have to wait for the new year.
3. Mature hardy cyclamen corms.  Clearly delighted with my garden’s sandy conditions, my plants have multiplied giving me dozens of huge, fantastic, corms way larger than anything you could purchase at a nursery.  Pure garden wealth.
4. Garden books – I have a LOT of garden books, and no, I’m not talking about anything I’ve written.
5. Family photos long hidden away.
6. Sweater birds.  Still working the “empty nest” angle, I’ve crafted simple birds from old wool sweaters I felted in the washing machine.  Adorned with buttons, beads and the only needlework I know how to do, my flock continues to grow even if my children have flown the coop.

By now, I’m sure everyone on my gift list is thoroughly alarmed by what they might unwrap this holiday.  Just for the record – this is an incomplete list.  There have to be some surprises on Christmas morning.