Travelling On

Karmacat

Yep, I really get the sense that Christmas cards are on their way out as a thing - no one under 45 in my extended family sends them, and not for financial reasons either.  

I didn't do the finances yet - the fallen mahonia needed more help than I realised.  I got a lot of the snow off the leaves and branches (it fell in my pockets as a result 🤣) propped up a couple of the thicker branches with an old deckchair frame and a rounded plank of wood, then got going with the loppers on the box hedge, which had fallen into the fallen mahonia.  It fell a long way!  Not what I envisaged doing today, but it was needed.  

Being concerned about water damage is a thing!
- needed some clean clothes soon, so I've got the washing draped all over the bathroom, heating is on every so often and the bathroom window is open.  Sigh ... 
- the gutter has a little hole in, so I put an old flower pot container underneath it.  It will need emptying before nightfall.  Having seen what quite minor drips to houses on various property shows, this one will need fixing soon.
- it's snowing again! Small flakes.

apple_muncher

I love fairy lights! We have them on all year

peb

Just a thought, I understood that if there's glitter on cards or wrapping paper they aren't recyclable?

I admit I don't do cards.  I'm ringing people who aren't on social media. Doesn't work for everyone, I understand that, but it feels more personal 

Karmacat

apple_muncher said:

I love fairy lights! We have them on all year

Nice one I've got my shorter, red string up  

peb said:

Just a thought, I understood that if there's glitter on cards or wrapping paper they aren't recyclable?

I admit I don't do cards.  I'm ringing people who aren't on social media. Doesn't work for everyone, I understand that, but it feels more personal 

That's true about the glitter - I don't do glitter any more.  

It's also true that phone calls are more personal - even emails!  I've started to substitute emails for birthday cards for the nephews, and they're actually quite likely to send a short email in return, which as you say is much more personal.  I write by hand in my Christmas cards, but that's not the same, but I really hate talking on the phone, except with my brother and sister.  Email is better.  It's a failing of mine, I'm glad for anyone who can do the phoning.

Karmacat

There were no specific plans for today, and then I found them 🤣  I didn't buy any wrapping paper in the sales, and I finally used up the stuff I've got, fully intending to make "furoshiki", the cloth wrappings apparently used in Japan.    And here we are *very* near Christmas, and I haven't done anything.  

Shouldn't be too bad - the stash I inherited from my mum has a lot of present-sized pieces of Christmas material, and three teddy-type materials that I can use for the baby, for a few years anyway.  And I have a goth-type fantasy figure of a cat (with wings, holding a dead mouse in its teeth  ) that will work well for my niece   

The trouble is my sister!  We mentioned not buying anything and just buying tickets somewhere nice ... everyone else has consumables, and I can't even remember what sort of chocolate she likes    And between emergency roofers and emergency grandchild-sitting, she's quite hard to get hold of right now. 

I'm in so much trouble 🤣🤣🤣


ETA - sister will stick to the plan, and I've squared up all the materials I dragged out from the stash.  There's one that's had squares of a couple of inches cut out at various places (its imitation patchwork) so I've completed the process and I'll use them as accompaniments to gift tags.  Possibly not hemmed this year 🤣

themadvix

It sounds like a pair of pinking shears would be useful to save on hemming! Are you going to tie the fabric to wrap the presents? Very impressive! Mine didn’t get very far at all (I was also making a thermal ‘blind’ and both got called off for work).

Ramouth

I am curious about fabric wrapping - do you ask each gift recipient to return the wrappings for next year?  Or do they reuse for your gifts the following year etc?  There are a few Christmas ribbons my mother and I have been reusing for each other for several years but I hadn’t thought about extending it to wrappings.

themadvix

I will be retrieving most of mine - I'll use the last of the wrapping paper for the ones I know I won't get back. I may sacrifice a couple in the hope that they'll be reused/encourage others to join in. I have a drawstring bag that had bedding in it that I tend to  use for birthday presents - it's easier to retrieve when there's just one and you're likely to watch the person open the present - harder if you're not there when they do it! I also still have and reuse Christmas gift bags and will be using these again (although I end up with lots of bottle bags and rarely give bottles! Not sure what that says about me in terms of what people give me...)

Karmacat

themadvix said:

It sounds like a pair of pinking shears would be useful to save on hemming! Are you going to tie the fabric to wrap the presents? Very impressive! Mine didn’t get very far at all (I was also making a thermal ‘blind’ and both got called off for work).

Pinking shears is exactly what got used great minds.  I'll use ribbon, I think, to tie the fabric, I have **lots**.  

I've used single-use for years - and not got any thermal blinds either, so I'm really impressed at your set up, madvix.  I *will* get thermal work done well before the end of this winter.

Karmacat

Ramouth said:

I am curious about fabric wrapping - do you ask each gift recipient to return the wrappings for next year?  Or do they reuse for your gifts the following year etc?  There are a few Christmas ribbons my mother and I have been reusing for each other for several years but I hadn’t thought about extending it to wrappings.

In my case, Ramouth, yes, I'll take them back, because I'll be there when they're opened, barring unforeseen events.  The only exception *would* have been my brother, but we've decided not to send presents through the post this year.  I'm lucky in that my sister has already adopted the principle of cloth wraps for Christmas presents, so it's not unknown in the family, even though it's a first time for me.