After a particularly overwhelming gift-giving Christmas, my family looked at the 3 garbage bags filled with wrapping and packaging and decided to go on a hiatus from giving gifts to one another. That was two years ago. Instead, we decided to spend time together making breakfast, volunteering at a soup kitchen and talking. Not great for all the stores trying to sell us stuff to give away, but great for our budgets and our sanity. I am in a constant struggle between wanting to sell goods to customers and trying to preach restraint. After all, my business depends on sales.This year we set a minimal budget and are hand making gifts. I won't tell you what I'm making for my boyfriend because he might read this, but I will tell you it has made me rethink the whole idea of giving gifts. And believe me, I love giving gifts. But I don't think they need to be given out all at once in mass quantities. Next year I'm going to buy or make little gifts for people when I want to give them something, or when I think they need cheering up.
As for myself, I need a sweater stone. That's it. Some of my sweaters are in dire need of a little TLC. Besides that, I feel very fulfilled, and am looking forward to Christmas breakfast with my family, sans-presents.
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This Holiday Corner was brought to you by Tara St. James of Study NY. Tara also has a great gift idea if you still need to buy something for someone (or yourself): for the whole month of December, she's donating absolutely everything she makes from her Etsy shop to The Uniform Project. Amazing.
Don't forget to read my interview with Tara here.
