A "Do It Yourself" Christmas

Thanks to the wonders of Pinterest, and a pretty empty bank account, I decided to make this year a homemade gift year for the adults in our lives. 

I spent some time looking through the ideas on Pinterest and then used a variety of resources to put them together. 

I like to think that they turned out well, and they were well received, so it was a very Merry Christmas. I was very happy to be able to do something creative and I'm very happy to know that my family is appreciative of those gifts I made. It took a lot of stress off of the holidays and off of our wallets.

Pinterest:

Mine (and Isabel's):

Pinterest: 

Mine: 

A few other crafts I made: 

I also made a wreath for my sisters in-laws that I think turned out well: 

And I made these for my coworkers (along with a scarf for each person), but I forgot to take pictures: 

I ended up saving a lot of ideas, so I'm all set to go for next year! I think next year is definitely going to be another do it yourself Christmas. And I'm really excited about it! I plan on starting a lot earlier so that I don't run out of time or motivation, putting more stress on myself. I also think spreading the cost out over the year will help a lot too. 

The kids were a little easier to shop for this year. My niece got art supplies, the big kids got sport stuff (including a basketball, football, volleyball, volleyball net for the front yard and ping pong table), and Isabel had a very Frozen themed Christmas. 

Patrick was beyond generous, giving me a treadmill for my gym in the garage. I am still speechless that he went above and beyond. I gave him a horseshoe set for the horse shoe pits he wants to build. Lots of activities for our family to do together now.

We were also extremely spoiled by our families and I will be forever grateful for the thought that went into making Christmas so wonderful for everyone.

After being in the Christmas spirit for the past couple months, I'm finally ready for it to come to an end and to start prepping for the New Year and all that it has to bring. Goals are being set and I am excited to see what adventures await us. 

It was a great Christmas and I hope yours was just as good! 

Let the clean up begin!!