This year Matthew and I decided to do something a little different for Christmas. Rather than buying the usual gifts, we decided to take a little post-Christmas getaway to reconnect and rest from the busy holiday season.

I still wanted to have gifts to open on Christmas, so I suggested we each buy a simple $20 gift…just to have a present under the tree. Then, Matthew suggested we make each other something. He loves to work with his hands, and I adore a good craft project, so this was a genius idea!

I’ll spare you all of the details, but eventually we had wonderful, handmade gifts to open. Matthew made me a coat rack from pallet wood and some of the vintage doorknobs he bought me for Christmas last year. We’ve desperately needed a place to hang our coats, and I’ve been anxiously waiting for a project to use some of my doorknobs. My favorite part is that the blank space can be used to switch out various artwork and seasonal decor. I think it’s adorable that he went to Hobby Lobby to shop around for the mirrors he hung there. I should also mention that he made the entire thing by hand…no power tools were used whatsoever!

For Matthew’s gift, I decided to try my hand at making some bow ties. First of all, I should admit that this was a much bigger undertaking that I thought, especially since it’s been 15+ years since I’ve really used a sewing machine…and that was with my Mom’s help! Nonetheless, several retakes, multiple machine adjustments, and lots of mumbled curse words later, Matthew got 5 new bow ties! (I used this tutorial and pattern if you’re interested in making your own.)

Overall, I loved the handmade Christmas project, and I think we might do it again sometime! I hope that you all received heartfelt gifts as well, but most of all, I hope you spent a lot of quality time with loved ones.

This Christmas season came and went so quickly, and while I’m happy to get back to a somewhat normal routine, I’m sad for the holiday spirit to fade. In an effort to enjoy the season more, I’ve made a few goals for next year. I hope to:

• decorate earlier. I love holiday decor so much, so I want to have more time to enjoy it.
• create more DIY decor. There are so many wonderful ideas out there for holiday decor. I want to reserve more time to create.
• use more thoughtful wrapping. I LOVE wrapping presents. This year I ran out of time and had to rush through the process. Next year, I want to really enjoy it. I usually feel obligated to use up all of the previous year’s paper before opening new rolls. Next year, I want my wrapping to match my tree, and I want to use more personal touches, like these photo name tags for example.
• consider more handmade gifts. I love the thoughtfulness that went into mine and Matthew’s gifts this year. Maybe it would be nice to pass that on to other friends and family. The idea of an entire handmade holiday sounds lovely…daunting but lovely!

How about you? Are you excited to see the holiday season fade or sad to see it go? What would you like to do differently next year? Surely I’m not the only one to set goals for the next year…let’s talk!