A Very Homemade Christmas

One of my favorite things about Christmas is making presents for each other; a trait that has been genetically passed down to Hailey and Nora. Here is some of the fun we had. (Although, for the record, it was all a tad too ambitious for two months post-baby.)



To: Family
From: Hailey

She was so excited to give this ornament, and it was exciting to open- an explosion of glitter came out of the package at the same time. I am still vacuuming it up.



To: Dad
From: Hailey

All Hailey's idea. I help her print and cut, but she was the director of this project from beginning to end.



To: Dad
From: Nora

Okay, I did most of the work on this one, and it isn't super crafty, but Nora wanted Dad to have pictures of them to take to work.



To: Nora
From: Hailey

Again, COMPLETELY Hailey's idea. She wanted to make a sleeping bag for Nora's stuffed dog, so she picked out some of my scrap fabric, and SEWED this BY HERSELF! (With me watching carefully over her shoulder.)



To: Hailey
From: Nora

Nora strung this for Hailey, but I help with the bead-order.



To: Charlie
From: Nora

I thought it would be fun to have Nora help me make a word book for Charlie, but she had other ideas. She said, "I want to make a book for Charlie of all the things I think he needs to learn." And she listed them off, and I helped her find pictures and put the book together. It's hilarious. Hilarious.





Here's the full list:
Jump
Brush your teeth
Reach high things
Rake leaves
Turn on the lights
Rock on a rocking horse
Be nice and polite
Get the mail
Shut the door
Take turns
Pretend to be a monster
Pretend to be a ghostie
Spread out a picnic blanket
Play the piano
Pick up toys off the floor
Get dressed by yourself
Play Hullabaloo
Play follow the leader
Mow the lawn
Cook pasta
Win a golf trophy



To: Charlie
From: Hailey

I know it looks like he's next applicant to the Island of Misfit Toys, but Hailey drew a pattern for a toy for Charlie, and we followed it's specifications exactlly.



To: Hailey
From: Mom

I made Hailey a letter-writing kit. Hailey loves writing letters to her friends and relatives, so a made a kit for her so she could write and send letters all by herself. It includes stationary, envelopes, cards, decorative items, and stamps. It also has address labels with pictures of her friends and family so she can address her letters herself and a book of helpful words and phrases she can use. The only downside is that I never get to see her outgoing mail anymore. boo. So if you get a strange letter from Hailey in the future, you can rest assured that I had nothing to do with it.






To: Nora
From: Mom

Nora spends most of her day playing with little figurines. Mostly they like playing on my stacks of books in the living room and tipping them over. So originally I was just planning on making a wall-hanging with pockets, but I thought it would be fun for her to have a little city for her figurines, so this little project exploded into a massive project. But it was fun.







We also were lucky to have other family send us awesome homemade gifts:



To: All the Girls
From: Anna

Anna made these cute felt flower pins which have found their way onto coats and headbands.



To: Hailey and Nora
From: Äiti (my mom)

These hedgehogs are completely knitted and so cute. They each have a place in the girls' beds.



To: Jenni
From: Äiti

Knitted socks I wore from three straight days.



To: Jenni
From: Äiti

Knitted fingerless gloves are awesome.



To: Jenni
From: Äiti

These HAND EMBROIDERED Christmas pillows are exact replicas of pottery barn pillows. See for yourself:



Straight from the PB Catalog.