I’ve been caught up in holiday preparations lately. I was trying to finish making a hat for my dad yesterday. Completed it and it did not meet my quality control inspection, so I started over. The good thing about hats is that they are super fast to knit, for the most part. Usually a day or weekend project. I brought my knitting with me to my parents’ house, and finished the hat by 9pm, which is around the time we usually exchange gifts.
I am not sure exactly what year we started opening presents on Christmas Eve. The only thing I do remember about that decision is that my dad was working midnights at the steel mill so we opened gifts early that year, and it was so nice to sleep in on Christmas morning that we’ve been doing it this way ever since. I might’ve been in undergrad when we started doing it this way, but I really don’t recall. Odds are it was around then, when I was on the icky anti-convulsant that fucked up my memory so hard. But anyway, it was at least 10 years ago, I think. Not that it really matters when, I am just trying a little too hard to grasp a memory that evades me, perhaps.
I said to my mom this year, “Can we do away with presents entirely next year?” I just hate the obligation of it. But I do really enjoy making gifts for people, and I wish I’d made more things this year. I think the only thing I hand-made was the hat for my dad. And my point in starting this post off with mentioning knitting the hat was how awesome it felt to finish that project, and then give it away.
Even the tiniest sense of accomplishment was something I really needed. I have been somewhat tiptoeing around that thought. Though I might have overtly discussed it in a post earlier this month. With that thought to the forefront, I know I need to finish a creative project soon. So I am setting that goal for myself, to finish something by Sunday night. Also, I am making a box of writing prompts, and it’s looking super cute so far. I should post more about that in a few days.
In conclusion of holiday stuff, I really enjoyed getting to see my family today. I am going back tomorrow, and this time I won’t have knitting taking up so much of my attention. Hopefully, my dad and I can play some card games and maybe a board game or two. I will have to go through my closet and bring the ones he doesn’t hate. (He loathes cooperative games like Pandemic and calls them “Games by Committee.”) And on that note, I guess Happy Holidays to the spambots who read this.