Sunday, December 04, 2011

Seeking Gifts of Inspiration

The snow is falling, the air is bitterly cold (no longer the crisp chill of autumn) and we have had our inaugural fire of the season. I love this time of year (not as much as autumn,  mind you) because of the light hustle and bustle and energy. I enjoy searching for seasonal treats, baking (I made chocolate babka last weekend, it was definitely a great labor of love ... but the reward was worth it,) and spending time doing holiday activities with my boys.

Yesterday, we worked on a school project for K -- I am sort of surprised how much the school embraces "Christmas" without calling it Christmas. We decorated a "winter tree" with buttons, felt, ribbon and other odds and ends we could find. It was fun, and I could tell K enjoyed doing the creative activity.

I am also trying to find excellent Christmas gifts ... and I have to say, it's been a bit slow going. I don't know if it's because I am just finding the same ol' same ol' everywhere or what ... but I am having a hard time finding inspired gifts that make me think that people are going to love what they open and their eyes will brighten. Maybe I aspire to give perfection ... which would be an impossible task on its own anyway. I just want to put extra thought into what I select for people and surprise them.

At least D and I agreed to our edible gift creations this year ... but I fear we once again are picking things that should be left to culinary artists and pastry chefs  ... but if we didn't push ourselves, we wouldn't grow, right?

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