Whew - I have Christmas presents for the grand niece’s & nephews picked out! For birthdays, they get a dollar for each year of their age ... I think they like this more than getting an actual present! My one niece had her girls make 3 jars for their money: savings, spending, church - I like that idea. For Christmas, I do give presents, but NO junk.
So the girls (7 & 9) are each getting journals with all sorts of stuff to decorate the pages, do some scrap booking, etc They are being home schooled & really starting to write & both are crafty/artistic.
The country boys (2 & 4) LOVE to fish. They are getting a fishing themed alphabet book. Each letter (like ‘T’ is for tackle) has other fishing terms & tips. They are also getting ‘flash card’ type laminated cards of freshwater fish pictures, habitat, how to catch, etc. Dad will have to help, but these little guys are SO smart that I bet they have the fish memorized in no time. The presents will be ‘joint’ so I will give them each a cute Christmas card with a couple of dollar bills.
The City Boys are 3 & 10 months. The baby is getting a baby prayer book & the older one is getting some Dr. Seuss books. The 3 yo ‘city’ boy needs to visit his country cousins more often for some experiences with animals, nature, getting REALLY dirty, etc! :-)
For immediate family, I am giving foodstuffs and consumables, as usual. Also crocheted dish cloths and if I get ambitious, quilted hot pads. I have the quilted material - just need to sew them up.
I’ve also been looking at Mason Gift Jars. Some cute ideas here - and all over the internet, really.
https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/mason-jar-gift-ideas/
I told all the gals in the family that Beau needs flannel work shirts, socks and t-shirts. I always buy him some series of murder mysteries and all kinds of snack items that will last throughout the winter. I don’t buy ‘snacks’ on a regular basis. ‘Mrs. Santa’ usually gives him clothes from Duluth Trading Company or something from Carhart.
His birthday falls on Thanksgiving some years, so it’s pretty much a ‘present extravaganza’ for him for a whole month, Lucky Duck!
He needs to fire up that fancy smoker! Some smoked fish and meats would make great gifts, too.
Overcast and gray today - rain showers. I had to dig out some warm clothes to wear to run to town this morning - maybe hitting 50, today. I guess that’s tomorrow’s chore - pull out the warm clothes and my UGG Boots! Finally! :)
Got two more beds cleaned out, but it’s been so windy, I didn’t mulch them yet. 6 down - 10 to go! The leaves have hardly started to fall - and the big Maple usually mulches the first two rows of raised beds for me all by herself. Good Girl! :)