another green

Today in the "a handmade Christmas"  seriesI am having a chat with Clare from Green Valley Crafts.I'm sure you already know her, right? If not you should head on over to check it out, her blog is a lovely read, Clare has mad speed knitting skills, shares some great recipes, she does all this and more with two small daughters. If she lived closer I'm sure I'd be sharing a cuppa or two with her on a regular basis! 

Instead pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy this little chat........

So Clare, do you have a favourite thing to make and give at Christmas? 

It's hard to chose a favourite, but I do like to make fabric bags to pop other gifts into.  More useful than wrapping paper and less cleaning up!

image source: Green Valley Crafts

image source: Green Valley Crafts

Do you have any favourite Christmas traditions? Any that you will do when your children are older? 

 I like to make a new handmade decoration each Christmas, usually out of felt.  I add one as part of the wrapping (or gift bag - see Q.1.) onto the gifts of close friends and family.  My eldest daughter and I bake and ice biscuits, and she wraps them and makes cards and then gifts them to family, friends and teachers.  Also, we get a new Christmas themed picture book to add to our collection each year.  These books are only out in December, and then put away for the rest of the year so they are that bit more exciting and special.

Ooh I like that book idea! Have you received a handmade present in the past that really stands out in your mind? 

 My mum makes me a tiny Christmas cake all of my own every year (no one else in my house likes traditional Christmas cake!  What?!)  I love this and look forward to it all year!  Yum yum!!

I was wondering, do you have a gift making/buying philosophy for Christmas? 

 In our family, we mainly give gifts to the children.  They get a sweet selection of wants and needs, usually a mix of handmade and bought items.  Adults exchange small gifts (our max spend would be about $15-$20 per adult), and we try not to buy each other 'stuff' we don't really need.  I usually turn to our fantastic Saturday market for the adults gifts, or online (felt or etsy) and those hard-to-buy-for-blokes usually get yummy food/drink type treats.

image source: Green Valley Crafts

What is on your making list this year?

 This year I have to make my baby her Christmas stocking, that's priority number one!  I'll make a set of decorations for the year, I'm thinking this year will involve a bit of cross stitch again, like last year.  I'd also like to make my girls new outfits for Christmas day (maybe matching, maybe not!).  There will be some kind of foodie gift for the kindy teachers.  If time allows, I'll make gift bags, otherwise we'll paint/stamp some brown paper for our wrap.  I would like to make an advent calendar with pockets, but I don't think I'll have time for that this year.   Whatever happens, there will be peppermint bark (probably at least two batches, cause I usually eat at least one!)

image source: Green Valley Crafts

I think there will be several batches of peppermint bark here too! So have I missed anything? Last thoughts?

Thanks for having me Louana!  I can't wait to follow your Christmas series, and get some new ideas and hear about other people's family traditions!

No thank you Clare! It's been great gaining a little insight to your Christmas traditions, I hope you share some pics of your baby's stocking once it's done - no pressure or anything! I think I'm going to steal that Christmas book idea too. I love that you consider you mum's Christmas cake a stand out handmade gift, it goes to show that you don't need to spend a fortune to create a really good memory for someone near to you. Don't you think?