'Tis (almost) the Season!

This is a trying time of year. Holidays zoom up, money woes turn to nightmares, consumerism peaks, people get stressed. It can be scary. It doesn't have to be. Rather than rush the malls to buy things that will end up in the trash by February, why not donate money to a small, obscure charity, or volunteer your time, or write individual holiday cards with personal notes of gratitude to whomever you give them, or MAKE gifts, or give movie tickets or season tickets to the local playhouse? A gift from the heart is a much grander gesture than a store-bought, possibly unnecessary, bauble. I'm just passing the idea along, here, folks.

I'm making 'green bags'. I'm sewing up muslin grocery bags for each person on my list and filling the bags with handmade goodies: lotions, potions and brews. Maybe a bottle of organic wine for the older set; bottles of skin potions for those who are younger. Food is good. I'm thinking of printing the receiver's favorite recipe on card stock and decorating it with glitter and glue and rubber stamp art and yarn tassels. Fun stuff. Homemade cookies and candy are always a hit. Arm warmers are easy to make and can be decorated to suit the receiver's tastes. Simple things. Made and given with love. I'm even making dough art tree ornaments this year, something I haven't done since 1994. My 4-year-old grandson will be 'helping' ~ ha!

Wouldn't you rather be at home on a Saturday afternoon baking cookies or gingerbread men or blending up a wicked lovely smelling skin potion than being elbowed and pushed through the teeming crowds at the mall to buy things you can't afford? You can bet your buhdunkadunk you won't find me within 100 feet of any mall this year. You might find me at the fabric store or the grocery store, though.

It's still early enough to plan a day or two of at-home time to put some simple, inexpensive things together. And who knows? You might even have some fun.