As the economy has seemed to hit everyone's Christmas budget hard this year, my mother-in-law decided to encourage everyone to make their gifts this year.  True to form, I latched onto this idea and ran for miles with it.  I look back on it and wonder if I have masochistic tendencies, but I must admit that I think this was one of my favorite Christmases ever.  I must have threatened my sewing machine a million times, but the look of joy on my girls' faces when they received something I made for them was priceless.
Here in Colorado we share Christmas with extended family as well - 5 on my side, 28! and growing on Eric's side.  I should have recognized this as mission impossible from the start.  I can sigh in relief now that we managed to pull it off and now it's over.
This is just a sampling of the gifts made from this year.  Plush toys, nursery watercolor paintings, paper dolls and t-shirts illustrated and designed by me, zines, potter's tool belts, nightgowns for the girls, kids' bathmitts, chemical-free soaps, picnic sets, kids' magnet games of long and short (using watercolor illustrations of various animals), calendars, travel art kits, picture books... a monster sized migraine.  I just can't thank Eric enough for being patient with me through this madness, for all the dinners he cooked, all the kitchen duties he picked up where I slacked off, and especially all the wrapping. (He hates wrapping.)  I love you!