On July 25, there will only be 153 crafting days before Christmas! Does that number make your crafty fingers itch? If not, try this: on the same day, there will only be 125 days before Hanukkah! How did 2013 become a year when Haunukah comes so early?

When it’s broken down that way, by days, I do feel a little panicked. I am old enough to know that we bring magic to the holiday season, and furthermore, that magic takes planning! I hate to admit this, but I usually intend to make many more gifts than I ever get around to making! Especially last year, I actually ended up buying a bunch of gifts. There’s nothing wrong with buying gifts, but as a crocheter, I LOVE making gifts, and I want to spread the handmade love to everyone I care about.

I had to come up with a solution for myself, so maybe you’d like to join me and make this a Crochet Spot community effort! Let’s start our holiday crafting now by following these steps!

1. Make a List. (Check it twice.) Make an exhaustive list of everyone who you’d like to connect with over the holidays. Next, sort these people into categories – who should receive a card with crocheted accent? Who should receive a crocheted gift? What should the gifts be? Who should receive something, but not necessarily crochet?
List Deadline: July 25, 2013.

2. Set Your Deadlines. Knowing your working style is important for setting deadlines. If you are prone to procrastination, build in an extra few days for your crafting time. If you are always early, then keep your deadlines tight but realistic. If you are a slower crafter, give yourself an extra few days for finishing, just in case. Bigger projects will take longer, of course! Don’t forget extra time for shipping during the busy holiday season! No matter what, set your deadlines, mark them in a calendar, and stick to it.
Calendar Deadline: August 1, 2013

3. Gather Materials & Information. Based upon your list, begin to gather materials for each of your projects. Which patterns will you use? What yarn? Hooks? Do you have cards, envelopes, and addresses for your shipping? It’s probably best to set a few deadlines for this step. Check in monthly to make sure you’re on track with this. Use clear, plastic storage boxes, and ziploc bags to store your materials.
Deadlines: biweekly starting August 1, 2013.

4. Get Crocheting! You can begin your crocheting as soon as you decide upon your first project, but just in case you’re having difficulty getting started, just make sure you have a hook and yarn and get going! If you need a little extra structure or motivation, look at your list of deadlines and work to meet them.
Deadline: Right Away!

5. Log Your Progress on Ravelry! Crocheting is much more fun with a community. I’ve set up a thread in the Crochet Spot Ravelry group, but make sure you log your work on your projects pages as well. (This is a great way to keep track of your holiday crafting materials and deadlines, as well!) Be sure to share your photos in the Crochet Spot Group!
Deadlines: monthly starting August 1, 2013.

6. Store Your Finished Objects. Make sure you store your lovely gifts in a dedicated location. True Confessions: I’ve made a few handmade projects only to misplace them later and not find time in time to be given! 🙁 Sad, but true. Don’t let this happen to you. I don’t personally wrap my gifts too far ahead of time, because then I am apt to forget what is inside of the box. I like to store my finished objects in a clear container until they are ready to be wrapped.
Deadlines: ongoing.

7. Wrap ‘Em Up (& Ship ‘Em Out!) When the time is right, wrap up your gorgeous gifts and send them out with plenty of time to travel across town, across the country, or across the world! I think that shipping most items two weeks in advance of the holiday should work. Don’t forget that Haunukkah starts right around Thanksgiving, so if you want something to get there before the first day of Hanukkah, then allow for a few extra days.
Deadlines: November 13, 2013 for Haunukkah and December 11, 2013 for Christmas.

So what do you think? When will you start your holiday crafting? What holiday production tips do you have to share?

Tags: Caissa McClinton, Christmas, crocheting gifts, Hanukkah, holidays

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 at 12:00 AM by Caissa "Cami" McClinton and is filed under Fun Ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.