It is my sincere hope that everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did here at Hearth Haven (what we have named our home). The bounty of blessings that enveloped us all in the form of loving friends and family, the enticing aromas and flavors of home cooked food, the chatter of all the voices and soothing music in the background warmed us through and through.

And now, we are headed into December. We always begin the month with a birthday celebration for our oldest son, James. This year he is going to be 14. Still not sure how that happened, it has. And he is growing into such an incredible young man. Kind, considerate, empathic, caring, honest and loving. We couldn’t be prouder.

Then it will be into the homestretch as we approach Christmas. A great deal of thought and time goes into our gift exchanging. We used to find ourselves caught up in the ‘gotta haves’ but have learned  how much more special the holidays have become since forethought and care and consideration have become the norm. What would mean the most to this person? Is there something I can make for him/her? What are their needs and desires right now? It’s become not about how much but about how much thought.

Thanksgiving 2009

We need to be conscious this time of year of how deeply commercialization of this season has prevaded our society and we need to try to steer away from some of it and make the holidays more of what they should be. A time for being together, for sharing and for loving. And that does not have to mean breaking the bank or hurting our planet. Here are some ideas that I hope help us all.

Keep it simple. One thoughtful gift means much more than a pile of wrapped packages of unwanted gifts. Draw names or share the cost of a gift with a relative or friend.

Make your own gifts: knit, sew, paint, crochet, bake or make recycled art.

Look for gifts that are: durable; not overly packaged; reusable; energy efficient; recyclable; and not made from tropical woos like teak, rosewood or mahogany.

Look for gifts that are made of natural components, like sustainable harvested woods, natural fiber, or glass.

When choosing toys for children, choose items that won’t impact their health.

Purchase gifts from local vendors or that were locally made.

Give a membership or donate in the name of friend to an organization they feel strongly about.

Give a gift certificate of your time for babysitting, housecleaning, meal preparation, pet sitting.

Help someone start a garden. Give them seed and tools. Help plant, weed and water.

Plant a tree in someone’s name.

Create a recipe book from your favorite collection.

Create a photo book or make a calendar for the coming year using your own photos.

For Children

Box of dress up clothes

Makings for hand puppets

Homemade bird feeder kit.

Teach a child knitting or some other favorite craft of yours. (This will last a lifetime!)

Write and illustrate a story with the child as the main character.

Create a photo album of the year with photos of the child doing fun things.

Each year, my daughter, Paige, and I make a Tree of Thanks for our table centerpiece.  It’s a craft idea I saw on familyfun.com years ago when Paige was a preschooler.  She’s now 14 and we still make one every Thanksgiving.  Here’s an image of what one looks like:

To make a Tree of Thanks, you will need:

- bare tree branch
- small flower pot
- art sand
- your choice of colored foam or construction paper
- permanent marker
- scissors
- ornament hangers or straightened paper clip

Fill your flower pot with sand and insert your bare tree branch into pot.  Cut colored leaves out of your colored foam or construction paper.  Push an ornament hanger or straightened paper clip through the stem of each leaf and hang on tree.  On Thanksgiving Day before we eat, we sit around the table and each write down something we’re thankful for on a few leaves and share those things with guests and family members before hanging our leaves back on the tree.

I love this tradition because it helps us all to slow down for a minute or two after the frantic cooking and before we eat and watch those football games or take those naps to take stock of what the season is all about.

The kids and I are already working on making Christmas presents for everyone in the family. It’s great fun, choosing colors and patterns and deciding what would fit whose personality the best! And it’s fantastic bonding time for all of us.

In between Christmas projects, we’ve also embarked on our own family’s little community service project. Since four of our five children spent time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) after they were born, we’ve decided to give back. So we are crocheting up a ton (well, slight exaggeration) of little, teeny preemie hats to donate to the NICU here in Asheville at Mission Hospital. And we’re having a blast doing that, too. Doesn’t take long for each hat and it’s for a very good cause. If you are interested in patterns, please let me know and I’ll send some along!

Cross stitching Kane's

Today I am teaching Topher (Christopher) how to do counted cross stitch. The kids have watched me for years as I’ve made stockings, samplers, ornaments, and more. It’s always been with an audience surrounding me that I’ve worked on these pieces. They’ve been completely enthralled. And now, at eight years old, the triplets want to start doing it, too! I’m so pleased and excited to pass this craft along to them. Together we can sit at night and work on various projects. Topher started the trend and now everyone else wants to get into the game so as I am running my errands tomorrow, I must stop and get some more fabric so they can each have their turn.

I can see our Christmas tree being trimmed with countless handmade ornaments, made by our children. I’ve done many over the years, along with hand-painted glass ornaments but to have their creations hanging from the branches will make it all the more special. Teaching them something to do with their hands, something creative, something from yesteryear just warms my heart. But above that, I’m not teaching them because it’s something I want them to learn, I’m teaching them because it’s something they want to learn.