My Life as a Christmas Elf

Time seems to fly by during the holiday season. And for that reason, I never seem to slow down long enough to write about all the things that are happening in my little corner of the world. Like everyone else, I am just busy, busy, busy, and I sometimes forget to slow down and enjoy why I am so busy in the first place. Therefore, in an effort to not let time slip away, today I'm slowing down to share some of what has kept me so busy.

First things first - Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know it is old news. But like I said, I've been busy and have not slowed down since before the Big Day. And a Big Day it was! My mom and Debbie drove down from Philadelphia to spend the afternoon with us while Lon and Norm stayed behind because they were working on a "project" - projects are a theme in my family and when we start one, we don't like to be interrupted by things like a holiday. But mom and Debbie were kind enough to step away from their project so that they could eat some turkey in Virginia. We had a lovely time with them and the day turned out perfect. Here are some of the pictures we took before we stuffed ourselves with delicious food:

Notice that Jeff is not in the photos. The reason he's not shown is that he was busy cooking while we were busy playing. He made the entire meal! My only responsibility on this day was to make the stuffing, stuff the bird and set the table. He did everything else, including clean-up. Yes, I know... I am spoiled. But in my defense, I did spend a week getting ready for the Big Day. I also sewed a whole lot of placemats and napkins to put on our Thanksgiving table. Therefore, I like to think that it was a cooperative effort on our part.

As soon as Thanksgiving was over and we said good-bye to Mom and Debbie, Alyssa handed me an order for more Greek letter tee-shirts. Last month I offered to make these tee shirts for any of her sorority sisters who were interested in owning one of the custom made Vera Bradley designs. At the time, I thought it was a nice gesture on my part and I figured that I would have to make maybe ten more tee's. Little did I know that those darn letters would be the hit of the year. FORTY tee-shirts! That's how many have been ordered so far. And they need them by January 2. FORTY! Oh my word. What a huge project (there's that word again) this has turned out to be. I spent all day Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday making tee-shirts. And I made even more on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. To date, I've only completed 14 of these little gems (I told you it was a HUGE project). But thanks to some brainstorming with my friend Pamela, I've since figured out a way to streamline the project a bit, and I am hoping that by the end of this month I will have all forty tee shirts made for the girls. Here is a picture of what 14 tee-shirts and five days of work looks like:

So... we've covered Friday through Wednesday of what I now refer to as My Life as a Christmas Elf. I spent Thursday and Friday working on a rag quilt (pictures will follow at a later date because I'm still snipping the rags). Then I spent all day Saturday making a Snuglet. The rag quilt and the Snuglet are Christmas gifts. I also hope to make some pajama pants to tuck under the tree.

About this "Snuglet" - this is the homemade version of the Snuggie. In the past, I have been the biggest critic of the Snuggies. I have gone on record as stating that I am not a fan. In fact, my favorite YouTube video is one that makes fun of the Snuggie (titled WTF Snuggie - not fit for young eyes and ears). So when Alyssa proclaimed that the one single thing she wanted for Christmas this year was a Snuggie, I almost choked. There is no way on earth I would be caught wearing one of those things. There is also no way I would pay good money to buy something like that because I know full good and well that I could make it for far less money. I also know that "my version" would be a lot more cute than what we are seeing in those goofy television ads, which is why last week I stepped away from the sewing machine long enough to go to the fabric store to look at fleece. I may hate Snuggies, but I would never deny Alyssa the one single thing she asked for this Christmas. 

Following is a picture of what I came up with - and NO, I am not modeling it... I still don't like Snuggies and I would not be caught dead wearing one, although I did test it out when it was done, and I have to admit it was very comfortable. But please...  shoot me if I am ever tempted to make one of these for myself. I am NOT a fan...well, maybe a little... but not enough to actually wear one :giggle:.

The actual pattern and original instructions can be found here: The Snuglet. This was a very easy project and I was able to complete it in a single day. The only thing that threw me off a bit was that the sleeves must be folded to make a 30" opening, and I sewed them the wrong way the first time around, so I ended up picking seams for two hours trying to correct that small mistake (keeping in mind that picking overcast seams is one of the things I like least in this life). This project would be simple for anyone who has inset sleeves before - without that knowledge, the pattern would probably be found lacking in that there are no illustrations for actual sleeve insetting. Other than the sleeves, though, it is just straight stitches all around - and there is a whole lot of fabric to sew around!

And that brings us up to date with My Life as a Christmas Elf. I've not yet put up my Christmas tree and I don't know if I will find time to mail Christmas cards, but I am sure having fun sewing gifts. And so even though I'm busy, busy, busy, I'm also happy, happy, happy. I'm thinking this Christmas Elf gig is one I could get used to.

Comments

[CAPlastic Surgeon]

I love Christmas. We have some great traditions.

[wendy cooper]

Love your sewing project. Going to go to the link for the snuglet to see if it is something I can handle making for my daughter. I love seeing pics of your projects

[Steph :)]

Alyssa will love it! And thank you for the instructions. :) I second that Mo saves the day, she can find anything you are looking for.

[pcsmart]

i clicked over thinking i would see a photo of you modeling it...(pout). i need to work on mine, they won't be as cute though. i am using some leftover fabric but i might venture out to pick up new stuff if those come out. so happy they were a success!

[slammie]

Sorry about the order for 40 but at least it's something you like to do! LOL! YAY for Pamela....she's always there to help save the day! Hope that you get pics of Alyssa when she's home modeling the Snuglet. LOL!