Christmas: Buy or Make?
I was just thinking about Christmas presents from years past that I still have and still work. Nearly all of them were handmade by somebody. We still have the quilt that Aunt Becca made the year we got married. We still have all the baby blankets that Grandmas and Aunties made for our boys. We still have scrapbooks and collages and kindergarten crafts and all the other precious Christmas gifts that our son created for us.
But most of our other Christmas gifts have fallen by the wayside in one way or another. Clothes fade and get torn and stained. We just threw out a malfunctioning microwave that was a gift from my parents a few years ago. The TV that we got our first year of marriage still works, but it’s now in our son’s room hooked up to his Wii. Most of our kids’ toys have been lost, broken or given away. But those handmade gifts. . .they seem to stick around. I think we take better care of them because we know somebody put a lot of time and love into making them.
This makes me feel a little weird because I’m not exactly the “crafty” type. I would much rather earn money and spend it on gifts that I don’t have to make. But for those of you who do enjoy making your own gifts, please know that you have a special talent and that the rest of us really do appreciate your creations. Spending a lot of money isn’t what makes a gift special. It really is the thought that counts.
Make for sure! Save money and make everything you can for everybody!