This is the first year I've crocheted most of my family's Christmas gifts, and as the holidays get closer, I'm starting to get nervous, and it's not just because I haven't finished my dad's hat yet. (Maybe I should start being more nervous about that, but that's not much fun to blog about.)
It's hard enough trying to come up with suitable gifts, especially for family members who 1). already have most everything they want and 2). really don't need more crap. (Apparently everyone who knows my mom gave her a suncatcher for her birthday... seriously, she's going to run out of windows.) I hit upon the handmade-just-for-you idea a while back and tested it on my family back in August. To my pleasant surprise, my brother was the first one to say he liked the idea. I figured he'd be the one trying to hold out for a "real" present. Then again, he knows I can't afford to get him any really cool toys. When you have a GTO, I guess everything else is gravy?
Someone recently on a board pointed out that knitted gifts (of course they don't even show crochet!) get mocked in all the commercials around this time of year. Of course they do; commercials are trying to sell things. But because there's so much of me in these gifts, I really want them to be appreciated and valued.
And isn't that the rub? We yarners spend so much time and love on our projects, and the rest of society shrugs and wonders why we didn't just buy a sweater at Target. Not that I need society's approval, but this is why it's so important that we knitters, crocheters, and crafters in general stick together -- because we know. We understand.
My dad is a woodworker. I have a feeling he will be the one who likes his present the most, because he understands too. He'll sit there and watch me crochet and say things like "I could as soon walk on the moon as do that." And I could as soon walk on the moon as I could make his beautiful wooden bowls. It's nice that in an abstract way, we share this.
So all this is just a long-winded way of saying, if the Mad Family doesn't gush properly, they're getting crappy gifts next year. Like, I'm talking Chia Pets here! :P
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3 comments:
For the person who has everything, this is the chia pet for them... http://www.jeiusa.com/simpsons.html
Honestly, I know you're going to get that gift sewn together, and you're going to amaze your family with how great it looks.
Woo-hoo! Bring on the chia pets!
I've just about decided that even though I take my family into consideration as to their likes and dislikes etc. That if they don't like the gift that I crocheted/knitted them, then oh well. At the very least it provided me with a few hours of entertainment.
That and I try to only craft for people who really do "get" it.
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