Today I had my first Egg Nog Chai Latte. I think the reaction to that statement will either be disgust or delight, depending on your view of the whole holiday season thing. I feel that as a crafter and avid Christmas baker I have an excuse to start the season early: if I don’t, everything simply won’t get done. Over the last couple of years I’ve slightly improved my ability to pace my Christmas crafting and last year I didn’t even have anything to work on come Christmas eve. I gave myself a pat on the back and my hubby heaved a sigh of relief.

So now it’s that time again: time to choose my yarn and projects and the recipients of knitted items this Christmas. Since I’ve been baby knitting, the list of knitted gifts is actually a little smaller this year. I’ve made the list though, and I’m seriously sticking to it. Some key points of the list are that no one on it has said a bad word about my knitting and actually all of them have been pleased with a knitted gift in the past. Here’s the list: 3 pairs of socks, 2 shawls (1 is done), 1 sweater, 2 hats, 1 cowl. Not too bad. It might be a bit of a reach but the sweater is half finished and so are 2 out of 6 socks.

Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself while creating your list:

1. Is there realistically enough time to finish this item (including blocking time) before the day?

2. Will this individual really appreciate a knitted item.

3. Have I ever heard this gift recipient utter the phrase ‘you can just buy that’?

4. Is this project a challenge or are you an old hat at knitting it? (the answer to this question may not determine whether or not you knit something, it just might have an effect on question 1)

5. Who are the most important people to knit for?

6. Who will most appreciate and love a hand-crafted item?

Also, before you create a list of your own I highly recommend you read this hilarious post from the yarnharlot, it’s not only the funniest knitting related thing I’ve ever read, it’s just good sense!

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