I decided to take my life back and I'm making NO Christmas gifts this year. Instead my DH and I will be making a few charitable donations in honor of our family members. We all have so much stuff, and I was typically spending at least 6 months every year knocking myself out to make gifts, so this year I decided - NO MORE!

Donna

Not making any this year. In years past I made large afghans for my sister and her husband. I also have made mufflers for the kids who live in colder climates.

Well, my son-in-law is already gently asking about the possibility of new work socks! For the last few years, it has been his absolutely favorite gift - he is a carpenter with much outside work in the winter, and says my socks are the only thing keeping his feet warm. How can I resist? Also, several of my friends have discovered the Moebious scarf - I made one for myself last year, and they saw it and loved it, so I am making a few for gifts. I always keep a supply of Norwegian-style mittens on hand, in various color and size, for Instant Gifts as needed. Our mailperson is getting socks, knitted with self-striping yarn in shades of blue. I call them "Unofficial USPS Footwear" and Husband made a neat tag for them. The crew at the local lab/bloodbank where we spend a lot of time (I am a 15 gallon donor) will get a basket full of red, green and cream-colored washcloths, rolled up and tied with ribbons and jingle bells - it really looks festive!
Personally, I am hoping for gift cards to the local yarn shop . .

Anne, you are making me think I ought to try socks. I assume you use a fine wool yarn? DS lives in NYC and walks a lot. Maybe he would wear a gift pair of socks??? I think I will need to practice first. So it will have to be a birthday gift.

Sheilajoyce, you will love making socks! The wool I use for SIL's socks is from Norway - 75% wool, 25% nylon - andmakes strong, thick socks, by SIL's request. My daughter likes thinner socks. For her I have made several pairs from Lion Brand's Magic Stripes - the band on the ball also has an excellent pattern for newcomers to the sock knitting world. But there are so many good and interesting yarns; I prefer the ones with a bit of nylon in them for strength.
Have fun!

Well, I have made a cashmerino hat and scarf for one of my sisters and am working on the same for my other sister and I made socks for 3 of my neices and one of those ladder yarn scarves for another neice, a bowtie scarf for my sisters friend and assorted dish cloths for friends and family. I can't wait to get done with this last scarf and can finally do some leisurely knitting. I have been wanting to make a sweater for my cat and never seem to get to it, but I am going to soon as I get done with all this other stuff.

Like the other Donna above, NONE! Okay, now if this gets too sappy, just back out now. Fact is, we have decided that our love is our gift to each other, and we celebrate that. That is, after all, what Christmas IS all about, isn't it? The ultimate Christmas gift - God's love for us! So, we have a huge family get together, with maybe a cookie exchange - now face it, bringing that all together is enough stress, isn't it? I do give a few Christmas gifts, but who wants the added stress of having to complete everything by a particular date? So, instead, I just keep those hooks and needles moving all year, and when I'm done with a project it is given to the intended recipient at that time. I recently finished a few things that haven't gone to their new homes yet: socks for my SIL, a ponchette for my daughter.

And there are some members of the family who aren't financially able to give to everyone, (even though that wouldn't bother any possible recipient, it would still bother me if everyone else gave to all, and I couldn't do the same) and this way the emphasis is not on what people give, but the enjoyment everyone gets from being in the company of the people they love and call family.

Having said all that, I love to give, give, give! And I have several projects going at the moment, I just finished a white crocheted round ripple baby afghan for a mother-to-be at church, started a knit round ripple baby afghan for another mother-to-be at church, fingerless gloves (for myself!), knit potholders for a friend I haven't met in Ohio, a crocheted giant panda for another friend I haven't met in Ohio (both of these were "met" on one or another forum and recommended this one to me), and several scarves.

I'm rather new to crocheting, but I've been turning out scarfs, blankets and washclothes like crazy. The fun thing is to see how much better I am with each piece! As for my Christmas project - my daughter has asked for a poncho. So I'm going to start this weekend (as soon as I make the final decision on the pattern) and hopefully I'll have it done by the 25th!

Oh, if anyone has a favorite "easy" pattern I'm very open to suggestions.
~Susan

That Martha Stewart poncho pattern looks easy and also quick.

Just a couple of knitted scrafs for a daughter and daugher in-law. One is almost completed.

"sheliajoyce" the Martha Stewart poncho is sooooo simple to crochet. I'm on my second one and should be done by the weekend. I am making three one for each of my daughters for Christmas presents.

I highly recommend giving them a try - I want to make myself one when I'm done with theirs.