Holiday Planning

In my younger years, I would have thought that early October was too soon to start planning for Christmas. When I say that now, it amuses me. I was always in awe of my best friend, who for at least the past twenty years has had all of her Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, most of it finished by the end of summer. I've done better in the last five to ten years -- by which I mean I'm not hitting the mall on December 15 or ordering gifts online around the same time. This year, I'm way ahead of the game. I know we are going to have one last Christmas at my mom's house (which we'll probably sell next year), and I have made a list of what I'm getting for everyone; I've even ordered most of it. The one area in which I'm lacking is holiday crafting. Since my intention is to make something for each of my kids and granddaughters, I should have started these projects a long time ago. Honestly, though, it's hard to get excited about crochet when the temperature is in the nineties.

Fortunately, I will have the chance to choose some unique presents when I travel next month. My plan is to get a nice New Mexico item for everyone and pair that with a handmade gift. Today I started a pullover sweater for my youngest granddaughter. As I chose the yarn from my vast warehouse -- aka an entire corner of my bedroom -- I was reminded that I have some skeins I know I will never use. To reclaim that space, I'm going to get rid of some. I paid too much for it to just give it away, but I'm going to sell it cheap. I'll take some pictures and give my Facebook friends first shot at it. If it doesn't sell there, I'll put it on eBay. My goal is to clear out that stash, both by using and selling yarn, and designate a use for any that's left over. Not only will this get me closer to my goal of clearing things out of my house, but my family will end up with some (I hope) nice things.