The Christmas Challenge

The challenge is the one I spoke of yesterday. The challenge to keep Our Lord's birthday holy, fun, and safe, and not support retailers that ignore the Feast Day that it is. It also helps if we don't break the bank.

Yesterday I said I would post some of my children's favorite Christmas gifts. I have been mothering for 18 years, and I currently have children ages 5 to 18. The fact that I've been mothering that long at least gives me the advantage of experience, but the age range makes keeping everyone happy at little more difficult. I certainly can't keep them all happy with the same type of gift, the way I did when they were little.

But, many of you still have littles, so I'm sharing a few ideas for the littles and a few ideas for the big kids, two homemade, and two store bought.



✯ This first idea is seasonal pillowcases. A couple years ago, I made so many pillowcases I could make them in my sleep. My three oldest children received them, as did all the nieces and nephews. For a month or two before Christmas I started collecting fabric -- much of which came from the clearance shelf at the fabric store. I bought fabric from holidays that covered the entire year -- Easter, Halloween, patriotic fabric, fall fabric, Christmas fabric and winter fabric. I also bought some non-seasonal fabrics -- pretty florals for girls and some favorite character prints. Then I made each child a set of six or eight pillowcases to cover most of the year. This picture is a short stack of some I made and three that are on pillows right now. The nice thing about this idea is that you can also add on to the set when you find new, fun fabrics. Can a kid have too many fun pillowcases?

To make the case is easy -- all you have to do is sew a straight line. Buy one yard of each fabric, wash it, iron, and trim the edges. Then iron a 1/4-inch hem on one long side and then another three-inch hem on the same side. Then stitch on the hemmed edge, close to the inside edge so that you create the open edge of the pillowcase. Then fold in half, so that you have a pillowcase-shaped piece, right sides together and stitch the two rough open edges (do not stitch closed your hemmed edge). Then zigzag over the rough edges, turn right side out and iron. That's it. That simple.

I can tell you that these pillowcases, while well-received, did not receive the reaction that a new Wii would. However, the fun has lasted much longer than any video game or toy. Several years later my kids still love it when they find a fun clean pillowcase on their bed.

✯ My second idea is homemade pajamas or nightgowns. This gift, like the pillowcases, lasts for a very long time, and is popular long after the toys have been stuffed under the bed. For Christmas I use flannel fabric, but if you're not in a cold weather area, use a comfy cotton. I make my daughter nightgowns, but the boys get jammy pants. They don't wear full pajamas, so I make a couple pairs of pants to wear with t-shirts. This year I'm buying the older nieces and nephews Old Navy t-shirts and making matching jammy pants. They might not scream with delight (like they would opening a new cell phone), but when they put their comfy jammies on at night, they'll appreciate it.

✯ My third gift idea is not really an idea as much as a resource. My older kids love video games and movies, but, I'm pretty picky about what they play and watch. I can't rely on the information printed on the package to tell me what a game or movie is really all about or what objectionable material may be on it, so I do my research and I recently found this website. This site reviews movies, in the theater and on DVD, games, music, books and web sites. I find the the information they give me is just enough to give me a pretty good picture of the content. They also offer lists of games and movies in different categories, so I was able to check out some titles that I wouldn't normally have thought of (click on More Lists in the Top Picks box and you'll get a whole list of different categories.)

✯ My last idea is books. Books not only offer hours of enjoyment for years, they can be passed down to younger siblings. There are not a lot of toys on the store shelves that you can say that about. There are many resources to help you find books for children, and I can recommend a few. The first is the site mentioned above, commonsense.org. Use the Lists tool again and check out the different categories. I also like this resource and this resource, as well as the side bars of many other mom's blogs -- a like-minded mom is a one of the best resources.

I hope that these ideas help you a little, and I hope that you will share your best ideas over the next few days. If you do, be sure to let me know so I can link to your post.



Yesterday, Kimberly left a few suggestions. They are definitely worth repeating, so I am:

Kimberly: "Here are a couple ideas our family has enjoyed in the past:

*A box full of family DVD's, complete with microwaveable popcorn, M&M's, etc. A theater in a box!

*Family memberships to our favorite places: the zoo, science museum, whatever interest the family has.

*A box full of family board games. We are always loosing pieces! Everyone is excited when we get "new games", even if they are simply "upgrades" to the old ones.

*A "no-battery" Christmas: we have made real efforts to abolish battery powered items. One year, we were completely battery-free. Last year, the boys had small remote control cars...I believe those were the only battery-powered items received.

*Hand-made gifts: it has been a little tradition of mine to knit one small item, per family member. Pocket dolls, mittens, drawstring bags, needle-cases, rosary cases, fingerless gloves...quick knits! Two seasons ago, I sewed two of the loveliest satin lined velvet capes, for my two youngest daughters. The pattern was very simple, the fabric was inexpensive and the resulting garments were exquisite. These remain their very favorite gifts...they wear them every Sunday to Mass--this will be the third season (capes fit much longer than coats do!)

Gifts my kids have loved? Legos. Wooden blocks and Dominoes. A dollhouse built and furnished by Dad. A large wagon with pneumatic tires (a perennial favorite, no matter the age of the children). Computer games for multiple players. For the teenager: anything that helps her photography career. Trade magazines. Lens cleaner. Tripod."

.