We had a crafty Christmas here in Cali too. Now that presents have been dispersed, I’m happy to share.

First, we had an extra special package of family Christmas crafts arrived on our door. Years ago, when my mom had the first little ones in her house, she created a felt animal barnyard ornament set. I remember it adorning our tree many years during my childhood when we’d decorate and redecorate as we saw fit. Now that her kids are grown, my mom has passed this along the line of grandchildren visiting each of our homes when the kids are big enough to get into trouble but not quite big enough to really understand why they can’t touch the tree. Luke and I had fun unwrapping each animal and practicing the sounds. Of course it would figure that he was a dream around the tree and barely bothered it. He put some legos inside on a few occasions but really just wanted to look at the lights.

Next up, is one of my favorite half hour projects ever. By now, everyone has seen the felt Christmas tree for toddlers on Pinterest but it seemed like a great thing to try. Less the $5 of felt from JoAnns and a small assist from Eric to draw the tree and we were in business. I used our Christmas cookie cutters to make the shapes I had several more drawn up but it seemed to be overkill with that many. Luke liked this craft but mostly just liked taking off all the ornaments and throwing them about the floor.

The final two were fiber projects that I’ve been busy working away on.

The first one you’re familiar with: A knit baby blanket that you saw when I was visiting in October. I know you’ve been sweating it this whole time too but I did have enough yarn for a stroller size blanket and a 2 inch edging. I even had yarn leftover. The knitting gods were on my side with that one.

The second one was actually a crochet project. I really believe there is great applications for both knitting and crochet even though I most often knit. This project was one that solidly belongs in the crochet camp. When I saw the mermaid blankets making the rounds on social media, I knew that our four-year-old niece needed to have one. The first week of November I ventured out to pick up the yarn. When I mentioned the project to Eric, he said “Do we have time?” and it made my smile because it’s really true with all the things we have going on how a project with a deadline can affect our whole household. But,  figured it was worth a shot. I stayed up late the night before we flew to PA doing the last rounds of the body. One of our first nights home, I seemed everything. And another night was for weaving in ends and attaching the fin.

All in all, I’d say the blanket was a hit. On Christmas day I got a text from my sister-in-law that said Jovie asked “Can I use my blanket, my feet are cold…now I’m a mermaid!!!!” definitely time well spent and worth the work that goes into making a crafty holiday.

I love crafting but it goes to a whole different level during the holidays. Especially now, I think anyone can get a gift card or a nice bottle of wine so doing something handmade with a personal twist means even more to me than ever. Here’s to many more city/country Christmases in the future!