Every year, in preparation for the holidays there are dozens of sewing bags or craft boxes or piles of yarn strewn throughout the house–so that no matter what else is going on, in the event that there is a spare moment–somewhere, the handmaking can continue, uninterrupted. I love it this way, because these particular hands are just too fidgety and restless to sit still for very long, without some purpose–any purpose.

But something interesting happened this year. There were the same stacks and piles and bags and yarn, all with a certain important project to be finished, but quite often, a little whispery voice would nudge me to just put it down…and so…quite often…I did.

True, the Babushka ornaments will have to wait another year to get their flowers…

the button trees are only partly put together…

the girls’ headbands are nearly finished…nearly…

and the cards never got sent at all.

I couldn’t find the laminating sheets for the nativity set…

and the snowflakes were never hung.

But in the end–there were the same smiles and giggles and hugs that come with the season– even without a few “vital” projects–that no one seemed to miss. And for me, the conscious decision to slow down, and be present and enjoy the moment with those faces I love–

turned out to be the greatest gift of all.