Hey, guys! Since it’s finals week and everybody is basically walking zombies, I figured I’d blog about Christmas—shiny, happy, warm, Christmas (drool much?). And I’ll even throw in some rocking awesome puns—everybody likes puns! Can you tell I’m a little finals-slap-happy? We’re almost there. Just keep on keeping on.

Simon said sew

My friends and I traditionally exchange little Christmas gifts, and this year I wanted to give them something extra special and homemade. I just learned to sew on a machine over the summer (impressive, no?) and I decided I would use my new-found “talent” to make some little drawstring bags for four people. It didn’t seem too overwhelming, and it would give me the perfect opportunity to practice my sewing (which is not that good yet). So over Thanksgiving break I dove headfirst in to my holiday project; my mom helped me pick some cute fabrics and rope for the drawstrings, and I started measuring, cutting, ironing, pinning, and finally sewing what would become four (adorable, right?) drawstring bags.

Pockets are sew in right now

Because I wanted to make my bags extra special, I decided to add a pocket to each bag—pockets are fashionable and practical, and I thought they would add a little flair to each bag. And they turned out awesome, as you can kind of see in the photo! It was hard work, ironing and stitching such small seams in a straight line, but the final product was worth the extra time spent at the sewing machine. I filled the bags with little goodies and chocolate to help everyone get through rinals. When I got back to my apartment after Thanksgiving break, I barely made it five minutes in the door before I gave my roommates their gifts. I was just so excited that I’d made Christmas gifts, and I couldn’t contain myself for longer than five seconds!

Question of the Day:

Have you ever done “Homemade Christmas” (or Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc.)?

I loved making gifts for my friends—it just seemed even more special. I would love to do more homemade gifts for other people, but its hard when you’re in school—lots to do, and little time to do it all. Tweet me your ideas for homemade gifts, or homemade gifts you’ve received @MyCSU_Kelly #diyholiday.

Finish the semester strong, everyone, and have a warm and happy holiday season!