Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String: a Philosophy of Gifting {and Free Gift Tags!}

Gift-giving is definitely one of my love languages.  I like to get and give, but not recklessly.  Aside from children, I won't usually ask people what they want.  That's because buying things people told me to get when they are able and willing to get it for themselves misses the point of gifting.  Argue with me if I'm wrong, but I want a gift to mean something a little more profound.

Here are my reasons for gift-giving on the holidays.  If I give you something, it is because:

1 // The gift is something I want you to have.   I saw it and thought of you with it/using it/wearing it and knew it had to be yours.   I thought it would make your life better or help you in some way.

2 // It's something you wouldn't have gotten for yourself.   You don't usually splurge on yourself.   Or, it's not the sort of thing you would notice in the store or catalogue, but I know you will get some use out of it and enjoy it or learn to love it.

3 // It is something I made for you myself.

4 // It is something you are not able to get yourself, for whatever reason.

5 // It's a (true) surprise.  In other words, you didn't know that such a thing existed and so happy to find it beneath all that wrapping paper!

I don't run myself ragged trying to get someone the perfect gift.  I've done that, and it caused me a lot of unnecessary grief--the people on my list are decent human beings, the ability to orchestrate the perfect gift-exchange isn't a touchstone of our relationships!  It sounds like common sense, but in high school I really did stress about what to give en masse to my "clique."  One girl made fantastic homemade fudge every year.  I accepted that gift with relish and was very grateful.  But I just didn't have the time or the talent to do the same in kind, and that is okay.  I wish I'd known that then.  Feeling bad about my lack of reciprocation didn't make me or my would be gift-recipients any happier.

This is not to say monetary gifts in time of need are shallow and unappreciated!  Not at all.  Sometimes, a little something with a note to say, "spend how you wish," is a Godsend, and I've been on the receiving and giving end of that, at various points in my life.  It is good to give money to someone in need, it is almsgiving, and it is what Jesus tells us we must do.

One last word: I appreciate all gifts given to me.  It means someone thought about me and felt I was worth speeding a little time and money on.  I'm never ungrateful for a gift, and a lot of times some of my most well-loved possessions and experiences were things that I scratched my head at when I first received them.  That's one of the best things about gifts!

What's your philosophy of gifting?

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Speaking of gifts!  I made these gift tags to go with the plain, brown postage paper I've used to wrap the presents since using up my one roll of fancy stuff.  With a little twine or string (see pics above), they make a simple holiday solution so pretty and sophisticated!

You can use them if you want to, too!  Just download and print, or paste and resize in a Word document to make them smaller (mine are pretty big if you print them as is).

Happy gifting!

Free wreath clipart from We Lived Happily Ever After.

The Highest Form of Thought

We've all got colds, so I'm going to be over here eating toast with cranberry chutney and slices of mature cheddar and dreaming about left-over turkey sandwhiches.  There's no Thanksgiving in Wales, so I have to live vicariously through others: print out these for last minute place-settings, make ornaments, or string them together in a banner.

Have a warm and friendly Thanksgiving, m'kay?

Poe Halloween Printable

Halloween isn't just a kids' holiday.  Think about a grown-up party themed on Edgar Alan Poe, or even just "The Raven"--there's plenty of material there for a spooky, sophisticated gathering.  Using this print-out as your starting point, think of all the creepy creativity you could conjure!

I'm gonna be honest here, I'm jealous of you guys with a permanent residence that you can deck out in crystal balls, spider webs, and velvet pillows to get the gothic library effect.  So if it strikes your fancy, please use this and show me how you incorporate it into your Halloween decor!

Here's an alternative version:

And these would work great for invitations:

Pottery Barn's sold stuffed crows the past few seasons, but they're nothing special, and I bet you could find some just as good at a craft store or thrift shop.

(The printable will fit in a document frame; otherwise, use a paper cutter to trim the edges off to fit a picture frame.)

What kind of Halloween parties and decorations do you indulge this time of year?

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For further reading:

• Autumn in My Home--A Blog Hop on A Knotted Life
• Haunting Your Home on a Budget on Everything to Someone
• and another free Halloween printable in this week's Quick Takes

7 Quick Takes

-- one --

Transitioning from one blog domain to another can take up to 48 hours, says GoDaddy.com.  Sorry for the inconvenience, say I.  Hope to have it settled soon.  I really wish I had just been able to buy the everything to someone dot com domain name (someone else snatched it up about a week before I could about two years ago).  C'est la vie.

-- two --

Spent all of Wednesday--really, like about twelve hours--preparing, decorating, shooting, and editing for these {photography mini sessions}.

Thanks to my mom and husband for pitching in with the kids and set up!

I'm really excited to work with this set and theme; and continuing to develop and discover my personal style!  Praying some lovely people will take me up on my offer.

-- three --

You know what I've been really into lately?  Southern Charm.  It's much more engaging than the Real Housewives.  I find the characters--well, real people--interesting and sympathetic.  Also, maybe it's just because I'm half Southern belle, but I enjoy observing that society and can identify with it somewhat.

-- four --

I am really grateful for this blog hop on {maternal anxiety and depression}.

I've lived with depression since I was at least nine years old; it's not something I volunteer to talk about just because, well, I feel like people aren't interested or I don't want to burden them--and then, there's always the stigma that goes with it, from people who don't understand.  People who think you can just snap out of it, like a bad hair day.

Being a mom to an autistic child and having depression normally, as well as my difficult family situation (my husband and I live in separate countries) has sewn anxiety in my life like a field of wretched weeds.

And then, well, there's ante-pardum depression.  Maybe a caused by my {hyperemesis gravidarum}, maybe not.  But whatever it is, it's bad enough for me to stop blogging.  Which is pretty bad.

So it's really good to read the open-air honesty from these women and know I'm not the terrible mother I sometimes believe myself to be.

-- five --

This past week, on Everything to Someone:

• {Blogging and Transparency}
• {What Roan Wore: Old Navy and Arrows}

-- six --

Something fun I made you:

-- seven --

Are you curious about this half medieval, half literary version of Christianity of mine?  It's all perfectly acceptable within the Church, I assure you.

If you were raised a Catholic but aren't sure what all the fuss is about, or don't know much about the Catholic Church and are kinda  curious about what the horse's mouth has to say about it, we Catholic bloggers are getting into the spirit (or, Spirit--ha!) with {the Credo Project}.

Join us!  Or check us out!

I'll say the Catholic Church, whether Eastern Rite or Western, is the only place I know of that can seamlessly synthesize {headcovering and public breastfeeding}.  It's just that awesome.

Joining Kelly for {Seven Quick Takes Friday}.