Christmas Memories of Nan

     My mother was a crafter, knitter, crocheter, sewer and follower of trends in the do it yourself era when it was popular in the 1970-1980s era.  Of course there are DIYers these days but usually the crafts involve more industrial elements, lots of rusty relics and repurposing.   My mom never went by a yarn display or fabric bin that didn't beckon her with siren songs, so when she passed away, there was an array of boxes with unused "planned" projects to be sorted through plus endless supplies.  However, she also loved making things for her family at Christmas time so basically I never felt the need to be terribly crafty because there are only so many sweaters, mittens, afghans, quilts etc. that any one family could use, and more importantly, make room for.  Now, as I'm in the process of looking through Christmas boxes in search of particular ornaments to pass on to the next generation as part of their yearly bonanza of family treasures, I have to smile at several things that were revealed in some of the many tubs and boxes I pulled from the storage area under the basement stairs.  Now I have to say that I was an only child, grandchild, niece-----you get the picture so you understand my responsibility in preserving, or as my three sons say "hoarding" things that will be theirs.  I should mention that my mom always made things in triplicate so that all three boys would receive gifts of equal value-----in other words, handmade with love!  They know that I usually am able to find things that have been carefully packed away so as to preserve those items they enjoyed as children.  This also includes items I saved  that came from us, their mom and dad.   The nice thing about being able to share these treasures and memories of Christmas past are the stories which invariably arise and the laughter that results so now our grandsons can join in the fun of remembering and learning more about their daddy's childhood celebrations.  In my estimation this is lots more fun than unwrapping another electronic device........So, I hope you enjoy looking at the examples of my mother's loving hand-i

-work through the Advent style Christmas trees on felt banners, a few of the Christmas stockings to be filled with goodies, one remaining Wise man created from a plastic dish washing bottle filled with sand (!), and an honest to goodness ca 1940 hunting stocking (there are two) which I had used and later was filled with stuff for our first two children.  When the third son arrived my mom started making stockings from kits.   Merry Memories