Big Eye Toys
Big Eye Toys. Very cute.
Toys were never what I was after for Christmas when I was growing up; I wanted what the adults had: I wanted jewelry {go figure}, I wanted CDs, books, clothes, but never toys. Now that I’m an adult, I love toys. Toys are somehow at the top of my list, but I’m trying to reduce the mass of my worldly goods, so I can’t really ask for them. That would be silly…right?
P&C Christmas Cracker
Holiday crackers are perfect: the pops, the laughing, the exclamations of joy after everything is collected, the fights over the better bits and pieces. I know people who still have their favorites stashed away in memory boxes. {Guilty} Crackers are designed to make you smile. ♥
I never had much use for dolls, but my inner child is apparently in charge of my adulthood. Non-sequitur: when I was little, a big, fat amanita mushroom grew up overnight in the middle of my front yard. It was surreal in a very David Lynch way. A couple of mornings after it appeared, my Dad & I went out to inspect it, & saw that there was an itty-bitty bite out of one side of the mushroom – & a very dead field mouse about a foot away. It didn’t make it far! I’ve been a little obsessed with amanitas ever since.
Amanita doll:
Momiji Dolls: Snuggle
Amaretti cookies. {Not amanita, much tastier & better for your health, given context.} In my experience, you either hate them & regard those who love them with newfound suspicion, or you love them & value them the way one might value bricks of solid gold. The crunchy, crisp cookie melts away into a perfect, caramelized sugar in your mouth, with sharp balls of solid sugar on top….you get the idea. The red Amaretti tin is one of the most coveted sights in my family:
Amaretti
This holiday, we’re limiting our gift giving to a maximum of $25/person, which started because the economy has stretched us all pretty thin, but I’ve come to realize that it might be nice to do every year. I haven’t spoken to anyone else in my family about this, but the budget has made me take more time with what I’m finding for everyone, and it’s made the whole process a lot more fun: I always get a little stressed out about the monetary value of everything associated with Christmas. {Ok, I stressed out a lot, I may have a history of holiday season-related panic attacks.}
But now we all have the same budget, & I hope it means that we’ll spend more time catching up without the pressure of the shiny boxes under the tree. {Gift giving can get competitive in my family.}
…I might add that a one pound shiny red tin of Amaretti cookies falls five cents below the maximum for our gift giving. Just thought I’d point that out. ♥
Wrapping paper! What’s actually inside the presents is only slightly relevant. I love wrapping presents. I would wrap empty boxes if the paper that I’m partial to weren’t so very expensive. {I really ought to get myself a job at the seasonal wrapping places around town, now that I think about it.}
Smock Wrapping Paper
Peppermint puffs:
Peppermint Puffs
Happy holiday planning; I wish you sanity & calm.
♥ Momo