the wrappings

i've been working on some homemade christmas presents for a few weeks now, and since i don't really have a ton of storage space, they've been sitting out on my kitchen counter. it's been driving me nuts.

so yesterday, i decided to do something about it and went to the local dollar store to see what kinds of wrapping paper, tags, and other goodies i could find to help jump start me in the present wrapping department. sadly, my local dollar store was lacking in its amount of variety. it was a cold, wet blanket on my cheery "it's almost christmas" mood. i am a huge christmas person. i don't appreciate having my christmas spirit dampened. i also happen to throughly enjoy giving presents, and i really look forward each year to making them pretty. i've been clipping magazine articles, taking photos, and pinning like crazy for ideas for how to wrap gifts this year, with the goal being simple, yet beautiful, primitive, yet festive. i know...that's a lot of thought for something that's going to get ripped to shreds, but i just like pretty things, and i like making things pretty. i had big plans when i walked into dollar tree, plans that did not come to fruition there.

plan b: i ran next door to big lots.  i'm not normally a big lots shopper. i don't have anything against it, but it's just not somewhere i usually go. but let me tell you...when those automatic doors whooshed open...(insert light shining from heaven, angels singing)  christmas was at big lots. there were aisles and aisles of paper, ribbons, bows, snowmen, reindeer, glitter, trees, boxes, and bags. my senses were on overload as i grabbed my cart and practically skipped down the aisles. christmas music was playing over the speakers. it was magical. i searched for things with pinecones, burlap, twine, anything i could find that would look great with my simple, rustic christmas scheme.

and then something else caught my eye. i have an almost two year old son who loves elmo, mickey mouse, and thomas the train. i am excited this year to introduce him to snowmen, reindeer, and santa claus. i had been imagining my tree with all my perfectly wrapped presents underneath, but when i saw the character wrapping paper, my primitive antique-loving, burlap-wrapped brain jumped ship. i came home with one roll of brown paper for the few gifts that i still want to look pretty, and three rolls of toddler-approved paper: mickey mouse, rudolph the red-nosed reindeer (claymation characters), and snowmen (big fluffy ones that you just want to squeeze!). i can hardly wait for him to see his gifts, all bright and colorfully wrapped. none of the wrapping paper goes with my theme. and i couldn't care less. i love "making christmas", as we say in our house, and i am so excited to make it for my little guy this year.

now if only i can talk my husband into letting me get started a little early...