Making Christmas (and other holidays)

I love this time of year. The weather starts cooling down. Evening walks are pleasant, morning walks are brisk and even though I don't live in a region where the colors REALLY change like areas in the Midwest and back East, I still love the colors here. My kitchen colors were even chosen to reflect this. So I can live in a fall Meditteranean kitchen all year long.

Last night I pulled out some of my most recent holiday purchases from Michael's and Current to start organizing my holiday decorations. I bought the stuff weeks ago, but resisted even opening the bags and boxes because my house would be Halloween in August. And that is just too soon.

But today is September 15th, which means that it is really only 6 weeks till Halloween and the decorating can start. Tonight, if I have time, I am going to pull out the boxes of Halloween items from last year and go through them. Many need to be tossed, some of the old plastic stuff like Lavorpse the Corpse. Plus, he is just too scary for my very impressionable son. ;-) (He likely wouldn't even notice nor have any idea what it was.)

I made little wooden pumpkins ornament things with LJ's handprint on them. I just need to get them in the mail to the lucky recipients. I also discovered today that LJ's costume is out the window. He was going to be yoda, the kid was born to be yoda with those big eyes. Welp, they are out of stock and no more production before Halloween. I can search for another supplier, but recently I noted that many places were out of stock.

I am thinking that I need a trip to Hancock Fabrics this weekend anyways. I want to make a cushion for a bench and have some Christmas ideas in the works (more on those later), and so I am wondering if I can find a toddler yoda pattern. It wouldn't be difficult. A little tan robe, brown pants. What WILL be difficult is the cute little hat with the ears. But I can sew. If there is a pattern, I can do it.

Also at Hancock I want some Christmas fabric. I am planning on making some little bags that close with ribbon to hang on the tree. 25 of them, a la Advent Calendar style with numbers on them. The idea is that the child (yes, I do realize my son IS 13 months and does not know his numbers yet...) will find the day in order and there will be a goody inside on the countdown towards Christmas. And maybe someday... we will actually be home for Christmas to open the little doors on the Advent calendar and to find bags number 24 and 25... someday...

Tangent warning... I remember when AB and I were married and our parents said, "when you guys have kids we will travel to you for holidays, it will be easier that way". Doing and saying are two different things. Yes, we have the choice and this year we are choosing to go to Alaska because AB really wants his grandparents to meet LJ. But someday... someone might offer to travel with us instead of us traveling with little one(s) outside of our house, while the little one(s) hope that Santa can find them at someone elses house... No packing/sending back humongo gifts that don't fit in the bags (not that I am complaining, thank you for the gifts...). We won't have to haul Santa's gifts to grandma and grandpa's so that Santa DOES find them when they aren't home. Soon, very soon, my kid(s) will enjoy waking up to Santa's visit in their own house.

(The (s) are in PLANNING for the future... don't read into anything here!)

Ok, enough of a tangent. Suffice it to say I love the holidays, I love decorating for the holidays and I want my children (present and future) to enjoy Christmas in their home and take in all the joys that I had as a child on Christmas morning.