Christmas in September? (Part 1)

Yup you heard me right: Christmas in September! If you're anything like us, we always say we aren't going to go crazy for Christmas, but then come the end of December, we are flabbergasted at the amount of money we don't have due to gift splurging.  You have your kid(s), your family, your spouse's family, your friends, your spouse's friends, you kid's friends, your co-workers, your spouse's co-workers, teachers, babysitters etc.  With all the madness, I typically start my lists before Thanksgiving and then begin the actual shop during the black Friday rush (I mean who doesn't love spending the whole day with family, then staying up all night planning and the rest of the night and all the next day elbowing people to find that perfect gift at a perfect price.  I know paradise right?).  This year I decided to start now, squirrel presents away, and be able to actually enjoy the holiday season.  I don't want to have to worry about who we are getting what, where we are on the budget, and oh the dreaded, who did we forget.  So, my neighbor, also known as my partner in crime, came up with the idea of making the majority of our gifts this year to say on budget, we call it "DIY Christmas".

 

STEPS TO YOUR DIY CHRISTMAS

• Step One: Who are we buying for?  Are we buying for just parents and siblings?  Are we buying for friends?  Are we actually buying gifts or making hand made items?  For me, I decided to mix store bought and homemade gifts.  First I grouped people into different categories, for instance I have three of my daughter's daycare teachers, four younger cousins under the age of 12, three older cousins 16, 18 & 27, parents, siblings, and of course the few close friends we are doing a little something for.  Lucky me, I have mostly girls to buy for !  

• Step Two:  Find ideas that would work for more than one person.  For the girls, I found a wonderful recipe for a salt scrub, and that inspired my spa themed gift baskets for the older cousins and teachers.  The local AC Moore craft store ran an ad highlighting their sale on infinity scarves, and seriously can you have too many of those?  And while dropping my daughter off at day care, I noticed that all the teachers had a death grip on their coffee cups and I thought coffee and chocolate, the two things women can't live without. (Tutorials coming soon).

• Step Three: Make your supply list.  This is the most important step.  You need to know how many of each thing you're making so you have enough.  I took this time to scour the internet for coupons from Michaels and checked their sales.  I have a local fabric store that had a great sale for Labor Day weekend that I was able to use coupons with.  I love me some savings.

• Step Four:  Get crafty!  I enjoy a craft night, either by myself or with a group of friends.  So, if you're in the mood for company, plan a "Pinterest Party".  Nothing beats a group of friends, some unhealthy snacks and crafting.

I currently have a ridiculous amount of projects to work on, but here are a few of the ideas I came up with: spas sets (nail polish, files, clippers, pumice stones, nail brushes, etc.), infinity scarves, personalized totes, personalized mugs, personalized Christmas ornaments, personalized clipboards and of course, coffee coozies from my Etsy Shop.  Now that I have all my supplies, I need to sit down and actual begin my crafting.  In my upcoming part 2 post, you'll be able to see some of the hand crafted ideas I've mentioned along with the how to.