Monday was June 25th, which reminded me that Christmas is a mere six months away.
I'm not kidding! This year promises to be extra thrilling because, come Christmas, if all goes well, we will have been in the thick of new baby care for two months. I am going to get absolutely nothing done from about mid-October.
The line-up is a doozy: the big kid's birthday at the last call of summer, the new baby's birth sometime in the midst of the Halloween season, then the Christmas season, then the soon-to-be middle child's birthday in January. That's a whole heck of a lot of making if one is inclined to make things for such occasions, which I am.
I could completely let it go this year, which would not be a bad idea, but we have a tradition in our little family of one homemade wrapped gift and one wrapped book under the tree on Christmas morning; those are the gifts from Mom and Dad. I'd feel a bit sad to lose that. I'd also like the kids to have a little something handmade for their birthdays (and in one special case, the birth day). So the simple solution is to start making now. No big deal. A knitting and sewing summer sounds pretty rad.
I have a vision of woolly cardigans, dresses and matching dolly dresses under the tree, but I think I'm going to start with home-dyed playsilks (they will go in the stockings...good grief, three of them!). I have some purchases in mind for the gift-giving season, but obviously buying something six months out could be a recipe for disaster. But my kids (and the kids that come into our home) play with the silks all day, every day, in one way or another. Having the full rainbow (and then some) isn't indulgent, it's positively sensible.
And you get to strap babies to your baby's back, which is heart-melting. Sweet one.