Is it too early for a Holiday Thread?

[frogguruami]

Am I the only wacko already thinking about the Holidays. I really wanted to make EVERY gift by hand last year but I started too late and ran out of time, energy and creativity.

So I want to start early this year. So am I the only one or there other out there thinking about Christmas already?

[1growingsprout]

its always in the back of my mind... i shop sales during the year... i wish i had time to knit and make things...(maybe in another 25 yrs lol)

we just had hannah's b'day... now im focused on easter baskets and new spring/summer stuff for us... summer is our indoor time due to the heat ;(: :

[rosie_plus_one]

We've talked a little about trying to buy gifts throughout the year when we see good prices, but we feel like by the time we get to Christmas, the person may not want the gift anymore, may have bought it for themself, etc. We're hesitant to do it.

We also talked about making gifts instead of buying things, and I think for my in-laws at least we can do that. We're not sure what to do with everyone else though.

[greenegirl]

Not too early. The next year's gift thread was started on the Yarn Crafts board on 12/28. And there is already a thread for Holiday Helpers Knit Along also (there's a link in my sig).

[AngelBee]

:

[scrapadoozer]

Yeah, I've already bought some Christmas presents and am trying to think of homemade gifts I could get a start on now. I just find Christmas so overwhelming if I wait until the last month or so to shop/craft!

[tarheelbaby]

I haven't bought anything yet, but I have been thinking and planning for the holidays. I've been putting money back each pay period that is designated specifically for Christmas. I've been doing this for years. I'm hesitant to buy ahead, because as another poster mentioned, people's taste changes, or they may go ahead and buy the same thing for themselves. At least if I have money saved up, there's not a financial burden come the holidays.

[Squirt]

I've been thining about handmade things for the holiday too. I found a neat book at the library on how to make natural beauty products. One of the recipes is for rose lotion, which sounds delightful. Now I just have to figure out where to get rose water (although I did find a recipe for how to make it) and beeswax.

For my mom, I'm thinking about crocheting her a poinsetta tree skirt. I found a free pattern on www.crochetpatterncentral.com.

I'm going to check out the other holiday post that was previously listed. It's never too early to start on the holidays, and since I'm expecting a newborn in July, I better get busy now if I plan to get anything handmade finished in time.

[Belleweather]

We're not buying anything, but we're thinking about Christmas funding already. We always have had a cash christmas, but we've generally done it by the skin of our teeth. We're hosting the family this year, so we don't want to be stuck donating plasma to buy the tree, you know?

[newmom80]

This probably sounds crazy but we finished our shopping on February 1st. I've even wrapped and labeled all the gifts and my husband boxed them up so that don't get dusty between now and December.

I spent $110 and bought for 35 people.

It all started when my husband and I ran into Borders to pick up the January issue of Mothering magazine. He has a Border's Rewards card and had like $4 free to spend, so he said I could use it towards a copy of Mothering. We are thrifty people and I made my usual demand that we buy nothing else!

However, just after we paid and were walking out, we saw this wrack of nice holiday books all marked $1! Ok, I'm not talking paperbacks here - There was a $35 illustrated Nutcracker book for $1! A lovely hundred-page Holiday Cookbook with a picture of each recipe.... Boxed sets of three board books with sing-along holiday CD for the kids... each just a $1. I didn't believe it, but the manager assured us that just the night before she had marked everything Christmas/holiday related down to $1 for immediate clearance, and she was even willing to go in the back and look for more items for us. I must have bought more than 25 items, and at only $1 a piece I was psyched. The kits I bought for kids are more than enough for the little one's on my list and with a price of $15+ normally, I don't think they will think I'm cheap! I'm giving cookbooks and a book on the history of Christmas in the US to grandparent in-laws. Awesome.

Next, we were in Famous Barr a few days later, and they had marked all ornaments $1. I bought these beautiful $35 Santa ornaments for $1 each! Great for most of the ladiess on my list. There were even some glass bulb ornaments that worked great for the anti-santa women on my list.

I needed something for the men - so I told my husband be on the lookout. One night at JcPenney's we found these beautiful leather wallets in wooden boxes, regularly $25 for only $5! Yep, bought one for each fellow on our list.

At this point, I thought we were done and it was still January! Then on February 1st, at Bergener's we found these beautiful Pyrex glass baking dishes (13x9) boxed up with a holiday snowflake holder so you set the pan in it on the table for a festive look. We picked up 4 of them, and officially ended our Christmas shopping for 2007.

At home I wrapped them in leftover Christmas wrap from last year, and when that ran out, I sewed reusable bags from $1/yd marked down holiday fabric from Joann's.

I am most happy because I plan to be very pregnant with our first child next Christmas and shopping and wrapping will be things I won't have to worry about.