Handmade Christmas

When I got married in 2008, I instantly became an aunt to 6 (don't quote me on that number--I may be off). While most were already adults or on the brink of adulthood, I still had my now 13 year old niece to dote on. Over the last few years, I've made her dresses, jewelry, and even a stuffed kitty. This year, however, I will be doing gifts for all three nieces (13, 4, and 4 months), and my first biological nephew (also 4 months).

The newly-minted teenager is not entirely difficult; she never really has been. I'll send her a handmade card with a picture and a cute pair of earrings (maybe two). The younger ones really got me thinking. What's okay for toddlers and infants? What's a big no-no? After walking around the mall with my sister and nephew looking at baby hats (or the lack of), I decided to do fleece winter accessories. Winter is long and cold in Oregon, so it just made sense.

Not being a parent myself, I posed a question to friends and family who are: are scarves okay for infants and tots? The response was varied from no (choking hazard) to yes (parental discretion). After discussing it with my sister, I decided on a mini quilt, a fleece cap, fleece mitts, and a fleece scarf for my nephew. I'm decided on caps for my little nieces (with mitts for the youngest), and currently waiting on a scarf answer from my brother-in-law.

***to be continued***

What kind of gifts do you usually do for children? I've been trying to draw ideas from my own childhood, but being a kid nowadays is a whole different story than those of us who were kids in the 80s and 90s. I also never really had winter until I moved to Oregon from Southern California, and I still have issues grasping winter wear for me, let alone people who are nearly three decades younger than me.