Christmas Wrapped

Rachel is an hugely active in the Austin craft scene and blogs at Average Jane Crafter. CRAFT and CRAFTzine: The first project-based magazine and website dedicated to the renaissance that is occurring within the world of crafts. Celebrating the DIY spirit, CRAFT's goal is to unite, inspire, inform and entertain a growing community of highly imaginative and resourceful people who are transforming traditional art and crafts with unconventional, unexpected and even renegade techniques, materials and tools; people who undertake amazing crafting projects in their homes and communities. CRAFT is the sister publication of and created by the same team of renegade thinkers who created MAKE and MAKEzine, coined "The Martha Stewart For Geeks" by Newsweek's Stephen Levy.

We’re down to crunch time now, right? All of a sudden, the holidays are staring us dead in the face, and no matter the amount of planning and prep we’ve done there’s bound to be a few last-minute gifts that pop up out of nowhere. The solution is simple: a gift card. With the post-holiday sales, the value of the card will go even farther, and you allow the recipient to get exactly what they want. 

And if you’re worried that a gift card isn’t personal enough, have no fear. There are plenty of ways to add a personal touch to any gift card. Check out what Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching did to add her special touch to this Target gift card:

With all the holiday parties on the calendar comes the constant need for simple, affordable and unique hostess gifts. There seem to always be a few standards – bottles of wine, plants, some kind of holiday snack – but why not give something that can be cool and practical? Why not give the hostess with the mostess some … coast-ess? Er…. coasters.

Coasters can be an incredibly useful and unexpected gift, and you can even break them out and use them at the party right when you give them! Here are some you can keep on hand that will suit a variety of hostess personalities and styles.

These Estate Coasters are great for a hostess with a more traditional style. I love that outside of their wooden holder, they look very vintage.

If your hostess has a more modern flair, try these sleek stainless steel coasters.

These photo coasters would work for any hostess, and you can score some bonus points by printing special pictures and inserting them in the coasters before you wrap them up to give.

The crafty gal in me is in love with this set of felt “placemath” coasters. The colors and designs are all kinds of cool, and I love the graphic quality of the mathematic symbols.

Finally, for the music-loving friends, try these Pink Floyd or Beatles coasters.

If you were to take a quick glance at your holiday to-do list (or visualize it if you haven’t yet started one) what would you see? Lots of shopping tasks? Party prep details? Scheduling babysitters? Scheduling extra work to cover the added costs of the holidays? 

A list like that can quickly induce stress and anxiety – things that are the exact opposite of what the holiday season should include. I remember as a kid, the holidays were so much fun for me. They felt light and airy and exciting. Obviously, my parents were doing a lot of behind the scenes work to make those feelings possible, but there’s no reason I shouldn’t still have that joy of the holidays without the stress now that I’m a parent myself. 

So this year, I challenge you to change your to-do list. And while there are details that certainly have to be covered, it’s equally important to include some items on your list that serve no purpose other than providing you with pure, simple f-u-n. 

Grab a piece of paper right now (or open up a blank document on your computer) and create a “Fun To-Do” list. Put down things that you loved doing during the holidays as a kid, or always wanted to do. As a kid, I loved our annual night of driving through neighborhoods to look at lights. My parents would make hot chocolate for us, we’d put Christmas music on in the car, and we’d drive around for a couple of hours “oooooohing” and “ahhhhhing” over the lights. And one thing that I always wanted to do, but never did, was make a gingerbread house. That’s something I’d love to try with my kids this year. 

Speaking of kids – if you have them, let them join in the process of creating your “Fun To-Do” list. What a great example you can set for them by showing that it’s not just the details in life, but that having fun is just as important. And they are most likely to come up with the best fun items on the list. 

Finally, think ahead to early January. How do you want to feel, and how do you want to remember your holiday season? Do you wan to remember a month of fun and excitement, or of stress and anxiety? Be sure to make your lists accordingly.

When it comes to holiday entertainment, you’re either a planner … or a procrastinator. I tend to fall in to the latter category, but this year I’m determined to remedy that, and a few fun visuals and tools are just the kind of inspiration I need to get me motivated.  I’ve broken the party planning into four categories and pulled a few ideas for each. Feel free to leave your own ideas in the comments section.

Save the Date!
It’s not too early to get a date for your party on your and your friends’ calendars. In the next few months, weekends fill quickly with office parties, family engagements and holiday preparation. If you want all your friends to be able to make your shindig, let them know now when the party will be. This way your party is at the top of their lists and you won’t be left alone with the chips and dip when party night comes along.

Keep Track!

I’m not a naturally organized kind of person, and it helps to have something fun and unique to keep me interested in an organizational tool. It also helps to have all my information in one central location so there is no scrambling around. This Christmas Planner from Marcia Ramsland looks like the perfect place to keep every detail in one place, and can be reused from year to year.

Eat Well!

Extend the holiday spirit to the dinner table with festive plates and bowls. These dishes are called “Snowflake” but their fresh, modern design could easily be used throughout the year. Plus, you can take inspiration from the colors and shapes in the dinnerware designs and use them to create decorations for your party!

Look Fab!

Maybe you’ve found the perfect party outfit, but you can’t come up with a fun accessory that captures the holiday spirit without being overly obvious. I love what Gina of doe-c-doe did with a simple plastic doilie she found at a thrift store. A few simple cuts, and she’s created a beautiful, unique necklace that I can’t help but admit … reminds me of a snowflake.

 

So this is where you come in. There was one area of my holiday planning thoughts for which I could never quite find what I wanted: party entertainment. Drinks and munchies will only take a party so far. Your guests want to have fun, cut loose and leave with some fond memories. What ideas do you have for some simple, unique, fun things to do at the party (games/favors/interaction) that you can share with us? Leave them in the comments!