When Allie asks me what I want for my birthday or Christmas I almost always answer the same way, "make me something, paint me a picture." I think I inherited my own dad's practical nature and DNA that values personal creativity/expression above most other things.When Al was six years old she drew me the picture to the left as a gift. It was her version of what was probably on my mind constantly...I love it. I love the fact that the waves are patterned and about to crush the surfer on the crude box-shaped board. What is cooler than an interpretation of something close to you by one of your kidlets? How much more valuable is this to me than something she would have purchased? Infinitely.
We've gotten away from making things and that's not good. I'll be so bold as to say, it's bad.
A handmade gift has a quantum leap of value over anything you can buy. My Nana Tighe made us mittens when we were kids. I always adored them...we all did. When my brother broke his back I was about 13. I made him a card out of balsa wood that said "Pull string if feeling poorly." When you pulled the string, a message on another piece of wood lifted up from behind (like a pop-up card) to say, "Get well soon." I'll remember his reaction forever. It touched him like nothing I could have bought would have.
You may not be a great artist. No, you're probably not a seamstress or a woodworker (I'm just guessing). That's not the point. The point is that you can make something for someone else. It will mean something to a person because it's a piece of you. My mom draws little faces on her cards. She's not the best illustrator in the world but you know what...I love them. They mean more than the card itself (because she usually sends store bought cards).I'll share one such card (and risk setting the bar too high). At the right is the birthday card my brother David sent me this year. Now... he is an artist so, it's quite good. The "Elongated Seamus" is a mashup on my Celtic family nickname (Seamus) and a flower he must have come across in his travels. This was the best gift I received for my birthday.
Create something this season. If you put your heart into it, it's value will rise above every other gift given.
