Top Five Holiday To-Do List Items

I am so EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even though my plan to work on something Christmas-y every week during 2009 didn't exactly pan out, I am excited to say I've already knocked a couple of things off my to-do list. I hope this helps inspire you and get everyone excited for Christmas. Woo! Sorry in advance for the boring, bossy post, but I LOVE making lists!!!

1. Order or buy your holiday cards. There are tons of options for photo cards (the best kind in my opinion!), from fancy pants places like Tiny Prints to your local drugstore. You can also sign up for Kodak Gallery or Shutterfly and get 50 free photos just for signing up, which you could stick inside regular store-bought cards. Just do something! It's an inexpensive way to keep in touch and spread cheer! Hand addressing is nice and of course more traditional, but I print address labels on Office Depot brand labels and just stick them on the envelopes. Most of the big-name labels have instructions for downloading the label templates on their website. Go ahead and get your label templates made now so all you have to do it print them out when the cards arrive. Also, get your stamps NOW! The pretty Christmas ones sell out! I did my labels and ordered my cards on November 1. PHEW! CHECK!

2. Use your computer (or pen and paper!) to make a spreadsheet of everyone for whom you want to buy/make a present or give a holiday tip (hairdresser, babysitter, trainer, etc.). Brainstorm ideas for gifts -- look at those holiday shopping guides on the websites for your favorite magazines and stores. Check out the Etsy gift guides. See if your giftees have Amazon wish lists. Surreptitiously ask for suggestions from the giftee's spouse or close friends. Your list should have several colums: Name, Gift Idea, Gift Purchased, Wrapped, Delivered. Just check off as you go.

3. Plan your FOOD! What events will require you to make/bake something? A school party? Open house? Family dinner? Plates of goodies for your neighbors or office? Make a list of what needs to be made and the deadline for doing so. Gather all your recipes in one place and start gathering your non-perishable ingredients every time you go out. Figure out what can be made in advance and frozen (like undecorated sugar cookies and shortbread). Most important: once you've decided, consider not adding in other treats that you see in magazines, blogs, etc.! You'll get too bogged down! Save them for next year!

4. Make a plan for decorating. Even write out or sketch your thoughts for how the outside of your house and each room will look. Determine whether you need to buy anything and go ahead and order it now before everything is picked over. Also, places like Hobby Lobby already have Christmas stuff for 50 percent off. Or use your Michael's coupon! Look at catalogs for decorating inspiration -- one of my favorites is Ballard Designs. Don't forget to check out thrift shops and consignment stores for decorations. Lots of places save this stuff in the back and then haul it out onto the sales floor before the holidays.

5. Get your schedule in order NOW! Make a list of every event you want to attend, such as family gatherings, parties, open houses, holiday concerts, church events, lights displays, caroling, living nativities, artist markets, Santa visits, etc. If you don't have a big calendar that lays flat, tape several pieces of scrap paper together and draw a big November and December calendar and write in all the events. Make sure you have plenty of time for these activities by getting all your shopping/decoration planning/etc. done early! Like asap!

I'll be back later with some more holiday stuff! Also One Pretty Thing has up what appears to be the FIRST CHRISTMAS POST of craft ideas (including my faux-quilted stocking tutorial). I want to make everything on there! Thanks for including me again Rachel!

Instant Gratification

Inspired by these fabulous dish towels I spotted on Flickr user Willy-Nilly's photostream, I decided to whip up a couple myself. It seriously takes about 15 minutes to make one, and that's with junky TV (Top Model marathon) on in the background. I took four pre-cut, 4" x 4" charm squares (of course you can cut your own) and sewed them together. Then I pressed the seams flat. Then you just attach your nice fabric strip to a dish towel using whatever method is easiest for you. I sewed the fabric strip along the bottom, right side facing the towel, and then folded it up (so the right side of the strip is now facing out) and pressed it flat against the towel. Then I ironed quarter-inch seams on the other three sides and pinned everything down. Then I top-stitched all the way around. I used a zig-zag, but I think a straight stitch probably would have looked nicer. Super easy, and almost instantly gratifying. A nice gift idea too, I think.

Meet The Behemoth

This is the little one's future Christmas present: a gigantic, nearly four-foot tall bookcase that I am turning into a dollhouse. The fun part will be painting, wallpapering, making little curtains and rugs, etc. The harder part will be getting together the furniture without spending a lot of money. Have you seen how much dollhouse furniture costs!? Holy cow. Anyway, here is the starting point, and I will update as I go along. If you know of any great dollhouse furniture sources, please let me know!

Prezzies!

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Christmas. Here are some of my favorite prezzies of the day, courtesy of my sister. First up, this fab, oversized and much needed pin cushion, with vintage fabric on one side and cream colored corduroy on the other, by Etsy seller Blue Hair Knits.

Second, an adorable birdlike creature by Jellycat, which my sister bought my little girl during a stopover in Paris on her awesome Hungary trip last month. Ooh la la! (You can also find Jellycat plushies at Monkey Bean Toys online).

Last but not least, an item that encompasses two of my all-time favorite things: gummi candy and Smurfs. There is no way I am eating them. Despite my sister's reassurances that we can have more sent in from Hungary. (UPDATE!!!! You can order a whole tub of these babies from German Deli online).

Delightful (FREE) Gift Tags

I don't think I've looked at Better Homes and Gardens in years -- until this weekend. The December issue had some excellent Christmas ideas for decorating, gift-giving, etc. AND my favorite: free downloadable gift tags on their website. You have to register to get the downloads, but I just printed them, and they are adorable.

Wrapper's Delight

You are going to get sick of seeing pictures of presents I have wrapped. I love it. These are all going to be mailed, so I tried to make them flat. The "monogram" presents have initials cut from scrapbook paper. The "for a good girl" hang tag gift is wrapped in craft paper with twine and rick rack. My favorite is the one with the raffia tie. I used a rubber stamp to make my own design on craft paper. Let it dry and then wrap. Voila -- couture wrap.

Creative Christmas Fun

Oh how I love Christmas gift exchanges. Here is one of the things I made for one of my secret giftees. It's a peasant dress/tunic made with Michael Miller fabric. I made some clips in complementary colors with crocheted flowers, but I forgot to photograph them prior to wrapping. I'll post pictures of some of the gifts I've been wrapping tomorrow. I'd love any wrapping ideas you want to send me, too. I am obsessed with wrapping. I would do it for a living if I could!

Gift Guide Roundup

Here are some of the holiday gift guides I like: lots of presents under $50 and lots of online resources: Cool Mom Picks; Real Simple; Indie Love; Mighty Junior; Lucky Magazine; InStyle; Domino Magazine; Indie Shopping. Happy shopping!

Random Gifts For Husbands, Part I

No, this is not a post about electronics of any kind, computer games, awesome sporting equipment, etc. It seems like they buy most of that stuff themselves anyway. Here are a few less expensive, seemingly random gift ideas for husbands. Some I have bought with great success, and others I will be buying this year.

The Zapi Toothbrush Sanitizer, from The Container Store, about $30.

Weather resistant grill and outdoor furniture cover from Lillian Vernon. About $20 per item, and almost as nice as the fancy covers from places like Frontgate.
Peppered pork tenderloin from Bearcreek Smokehouse. Yummy. $25 per for one pound.

Ew. The grossest picture you will ever see on this blog, I'm guessing. But delicious peppered turkey jerkey from New Braunfels Smokehouse. $34 per pound.

Even if your man is not the metrosexual type, he will love this citrus shaving foam from eShave. About $20 for a big ole tub at Dermstore and other online retailers.

Really nice looking wood CD cabinets from Lillian Vernon with pull out drawers. Compact enough to set on a desk or on shelves. $40 each.

GG Bailey makes car mats to custom fit almost any make and model of car. They come in several colors, in rubber (my preference) or carpet (shown below) and can be monogrammed for the flashy type. Prices vary.

Apparently, Bliss no longer sells the Big Blue Bar soap by itself, so you may have to keep the "Super Slough Scrub" for yourself. BUT, I know lots of men who secretly love this soap, and it has scrubby nubs on the back. Available from Bliss Spa for about $44.

Two Of My Favorites: Paper And FREE

The lovely Amanda at Vintage Glam opened my eyes to the wonderful world of Gift-Wrapit, where you can download free giftwrap on your own printer. The patterns are awesome (some of my faves are below), and you can also download a matching card and gift tag to coordinate with each one. I am so excited. Except that it makes me want to buy a better printer. Thanks, Amanda!

Itsy Bitsy

Here's a little flutter sleeve top I made for a baby shower gift. It's a smallish 3-6 month (ish -- I had no pattern) size, so hopefully the baby can wear it first as a dress over a onesie and later as a tunic over leggings or pants. The primary fabric (with the birds) is On A Whim by Robert Kaufman, which I got at the awesome fabric store Craft-o-rama here in Austin. I can't remember what kind I used for the sleeves and bottom, but I love it because the green is so muted and the background is cream, rather than white. Here's the "full view" -- I had to crop it to a square for etsy and somehow deleted the pre-cropped shot.