Start on Christmas.... Yes, Christmas

So in an attempt to not be a mad crazy woman around December 20th, I have been very determined this year to finally start my Christmas crafting well ahead of schedule. Right now I can hear the groans and moans. "But it isn't even Thanksgiving! We haven't even gotten through Halloween! Why are you rushing things!." For those of you who hate the pushing up of holidays to unrealistic selling schedules, I am right there with you. I hate seeing Christmas stuff in stores before Thanksgiving. I think it is totally inappropriate and hated it when I worked in retail in high school and college. However, when you hand make a majority of your gifts and have a big family, it is a necessity to start early, and that is always my goal.

I always intend to start the minute I see Christmas and winter themed items in the fabric stores. This, however leads me to a depressing idea that I am starting Christmas way early in the summer and not long after the last birthday gifts for the nieces and nephews are finished. Usually I then avoid working on planning, purchasing, and crafting until around October, when I start to say, "Hey, I really need to get on this!" By then I realize that I can still put it off further and wait until the beginning of November. That still leaves me with two months right? Once November hits, I usually find myself suddenly prepping for the Thanksgiving dinner we usually do at our place and wondering where all my time went for starting the Christmas present making. Then I decide that I need a few more days of recovery after the party and find myself on December 1st really up the creek!

This year, finally, is different. I have started my planning now, in September! I have also made several purchasing trips. This is nice because I can actually look for sales and use coupons like I always plan rather than panic buying. What a concept! It is one I have wanted to follow through on for a while, and this is the year! I even started one of the first gifts yesterday.



I thought it was oddly appropriate that we are around four months out, and I was doing numbers that counted down to four. Today I need to finally get around to finishing up the choli I am making for myself. I would love to have it for class tonight. I need to focus on finishing up all these projects I pick up and then drop quickly, so the tassel wrapping is also on the list. Those need to hang, so I can trim them and get that belt finished. Those are the goals. short and sweet for today.

Tomorrow is another canning party with Annie. We are looking to do pickles, peach and lavender jam, and perhaps some plum or pear. I am voting for plum as the season is just about over. I will take pictures as usual and give you the update.