Happy Holidays!

Well, we have survived our first winter holiday season as a family with an infant. I stayed up very late more nights than not sewing, painting and gluing. V was very patient and let me use her tiny hands to stamp shirts and press ornaments without fussing. Everyone had a wonderful time and no one went too crazy with the gift giving, except my father, who gave us a very nice digital camcorder to record these precious moments. Of course V refuses to roll over on camera now that she's been rolling for a little over a week. :)

I hope everyone has had a nice and comforting holiday and that they are looking forward to the new year with hope and positivity.

Holiday giving on a budget

So as you have probably figured out, I don't like to spend a lot of money. Especially on things I can't guarantee the recipients will like. So this year I decided to make, or customize, every single give I'm giving.

I am a huge fan of Michael's craft stores.  I know, not very eco, but if you hit a good sale, it can be very frugal.  I found some amazing jewelry supplies this year that I swear I've been waiting for.  I snatched up several pieces for the women in my family and have made them all little pieces of wearable wonderfulness (details after they receive them).  Then there was the three for $6.00 photo ornaments. I had to have those. And there are going to be wearable pieces of baby related stuff for the men... It was a very nice way to create keepsakes for the family of the first baby holiday.  So I've (obviously) been staying up very very late the last few nights playing with scissors and glue and paper and model magic and my baby girl.

For wrapping paper I intend to snag a newspaper from my parents and use leftovers that my husband has hoarded over the past year. I am not spending any money on fancy holiday paper ever again. Maybe I'll dip her hand in non-toxic tempera paint and make baby print paper. ;)

Tea for four

As part of my UU Church's annual Service Auction, I offered up a
Saturday afternoon tea and two people signed up. It turned out that my
Gram was going to be here for the event when she came down to meet
V for the first time.

I was lucky that my hubby has been paid well for some jobs recently but
I also wanted to have this event without spending a lot of money.
I ended up buying tea using my husband's employee discount. I baked a
simple, few ingredient cake and chai tea biscuits, and made cucumber
sandwiches. Not expensive, but well presented. What mattered most wasn't
what was on the plates (even though my food was awesome), but what
happened around the table. We had four generations of women sharing tea
and snacks and life stories. It was wonderful.

Fun with friends

V and I had a wonderful, and affordable, day with friends
yesterday. My Friend Jess and her daughter Grace came over and we baked
cookies using ingredients I've had for ages, assembled a gingerbread
house and played with V. She even got to experience her first
snow.
This gem of a day was proof that you don't have to spend a lot of money
to have a wonderful time. All you need is good companionship,
conversation and if you are lucky, cookies.