Let It Be Christmas

Elfing: /ˈɛl‐fɪŋ/, verb. a. to be enthusiastically engaged in various Christmas preparations, including but not limited to, shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking and caroling. b. to give a gift anonymously. c. to spread Christmas cheer.

The Christmas preparations are in full swing. I've made lists. I've checked them twice. I've lost my little list notebooks and had to start over again. I've got yards and yards of fabric to sew. There is a never ending supply of ideas to try. The only thing I haven't got is enough time. Christmas will come whether I've got everything finished or not. I guess the trick is to prioritize my list and work hard to get everything done.

One of my favorite traditions is to get a new ornament for the tree for each member in my little family. I have brass ornaments. I have silver ornaments. I have porcelain ornaments. I have cute little molded resin or plastic ones. I make sure to have the name and year for each person put on their ornament somewhere and somehow. Sometimes I get an ornament to commemorate a special event or occasion. The years that LadyBug and Grasshopper were born, their ornaments were little baby buggies. They year we all went to Disneyland for Christmas, I got teacup {like the Teacup Ride} ornaments with Mickey for the boys and Minnie for the girls.

Last year, I was not in the mood for Christmas and didn't bother to look for ornaments. I'm going to get last year's ornaments this year and back-date them. I'll probably just buy something for last year, but I am making this year's ornaments. I thought something in fabric would be fitting but have been stumped for ideas. Herein lies the beauty of the internet. Barb over at Bejeweled Quilts posted these Christmas Balls the other day, and I've decided to make those for our ornaments this year. I'd like to make some for little neighbor gifts too, but they are a little bit time consuming. I'm still not done with the first one, so I think making them for neighbors will have to go at the bottom of my list. Perhaps I can get a good start for next year.

This morning, instead of getting the grocery shopping and Saturday chores done, I spent a few minutes {read: hours} looking for other fun fabric ornaments. I blame Barb. She posted some cute Santa ornaments she put together and was kind enough to add a link. It spiraled out of control from there and I have ideas for the next five or six years. I'm not sure which I'll start with.

Christmas Ball by Bejeweled Quilts
Felt Bauble Ornaments by My Fantastic Toys
Felt Peppermint Ornament by PinkSuedeShoe
Felt Reindeer Ornament by PinkSuedeShoe
Half-Eaten Gingerbread Ornament by Elsie Marley
Matroyshka Doll Ornament by My Sparkle
Santa Ornament by Pinwheel Ponders

If you haven't found your Christmas groove yet, perhaps a little Alan Jackson will help.