Busy...

Presents. I love presents. I love wrapping presents. I love giving presents. And I would be a liar if I said I didn't like receiving presents too!

My parents don't celebrate Christmas or Birthdays (religious reasons) so they kind of compensate by making a big fuss of their wedding anniversary and turning into a celebratory family day when we all get together, have a nice meal and exchange gifts - and why not? After all the day they got married was the day they began their own family and 41 (41!!!) years later, with five children and three grandchildren, they have something worth celebrating, don't you think?



This year was a bit different as my poor mum is stuck in hospital recovering from her third hip operation (no, she's not some weird three-hipped woman but had to have the first replacement replaced due to complications with her arthritis.)

I also decided that this year I was going to make as many gifts as possible, using materials from my extensive and ever growing stash...

As ever I left it all till the last minute - well the end of February anyway - which left me about 4 weeks to make everything! 

A knitting needle roll for my mum; purple cabled knitted slippers for my sister; black fingerless gloves with long cuffs for my brother; a pink snood, just like the one I made for the Deramores knitalong, for my sister-in-law; pink name bunting for my niece; this month's MollieMakes cover gift, a lovely crochet flower brooch, made up also for mum; and the cutest stripey cotton summer beanie hat for my nephew! (OK so I cheated a little and bought a couple of gifts for other brother, other sister and my Dad)

The afternoon was lovely - we spent it in the garden - and after exchanging gifts, me, the Other Half and the Little Man went to visit mum in hospital to give her gift and some cuddles.

Making all those gifts was hard work (I came very close to giving up and getting on Amazon a couple of times...) but I'm glad I did it. Everyone was happy with their gifts (I think!) and I feel pleased with myself for being resourceful.

It also proved to the Other Half that 'The Stash' is neither a waste of space nor money and that's got to be a good thing...

And what lovely gifts did I get from my family?
Some lovely smellies (always good); a cafetiere, so now I can have proper coffee at home (thanks Mum xx); series one of 'Merlin' on DVD (for rainy days) and these two fabulous books...

I am already planning next year's gifts. I hope everyone is happy with a new bag...