Now Where Did I Put. . .?

This could be a lean Christmas for many of us. But this is also a great time to get creative with ways to celebrate the season. Years ago (we won't go into how many), I worked a summer job for a family that had a unique tradition at Christmas time. What money they made with their seasonal business had to last the whole year and so they came up with a fun way to spend nothing on Christmas gifts.

Throughout the year and especially as time got closer to the season, family members would hide away little items that belonged to another member of the family. Usually it was something that they would not miss right away and/or wasn't essential--a pair of socks, a pen, a hairclip. Then at Christmas time they would wrap it up with a pretty bow and present it back to the owner. I imagine they heard "I wondered where I'd put that!" a lot.

Of course this probably works better with older kids and there would certainly have to be some rules set down. Or maybe this just might give you an idea to start thinking about some other creative ways for gift-giving that don't cost anything.

No-Sew Scarf

This is a great activity for young children and teens and costs little to make especially if you run into a good sale on fleece. I love these scarves because they are light weight, warm, and less bulky than many other scarves.

• Find some nice fleece and purchase a piece as long as you want your scarves to be--at least one yard up to two yards.
• Cut a length of fleece as wide as you would like your scarf to be--10-16". You may want to trim off the selvaged edge.
• Decide how long you would like the fringe to be (5-8") and begin to cut 1/2" wide strips in each end of the scarf. To make this easier for kids, you may want to purchase a pen with disappearing ink (available at fabric stores) and mark the lines for them to cut.
• For added fringing, I take bright colored yarn and tie strips to each piece of fleece fringe.
• You can also add beads to the fringe or know the fringe near the scarf to add to the design.

Fleece is usually 50-60 inches wide so there is enough to make 4-5 scarves. Make some for gifts and keep one for yourself!

Have you made any other fleece projects?