Let's Look - Shopping for Our Moms

Happy Wednesday!!! Well, today I thought it would be fun to link back up with a favorite blog link-up and today it's where we shop for our Moms... With Christmas around the corner, I thought I'd take you guys through a few things we have given my mom over the past few years... 

Pierce and I try to be intentional with our gifts/giving. It's one of my favorite things trying to brainstorm and come up with ideas for everyone in our families, and some years, I hit things spot on more than others, but we always try to enjoy a season just to love our people through giving. So, without furtherado, here are a few things we've given my mom! I hope these ideas inspire you in your next few Christmases, holidays, birthdays, and Mother's Days and mostly just encourage you to be creative and have fun in gifting to your friends and family!! 

My sweet Mom...where to start. First, she's a lot like Pierce in that she's creative and artistic, musical and loves things that are unique and treasured finds... Knowing that, we tend to think about Christmas a little differently for her... Mix that with my childhood of making things for Christmas and the past several years of teaching little ones and making treasures for their parents, most of these gifts have been homemade in some way or fashion... 

This first one was a big undertaking, but one Pierce and I had talked about for a few years. She had ALWAYS talked about how she would love some white wooden reindeer for her yard at Christmastime... And I kept writing it down for maybe the next Christmas... Well, when I finally started to do some research, I realized that they honestly weren't too easy to find and not many people even made them and sold them anymore...at least the ones I was envisioning that she had always pointed out... 

But, I did find the pattern online, and Pierce agreed that we could work on it at the start of Christmas break... 

So we bundled up, brought the pattern, and did some "Christmas shopping" in the wood aisle of Home Depot 😂

Then one of our very favorite families in Nashville let us borrow their garage and jigsaw and with the help of their cutting knowledge and sweet four little ones, we were able to transfer the pattern and cut out the wood one night as we snacked on Christmas cookies and listened to Christmas music... 

It was definitely a family effort, but by the end of the night, we left with two wooden reindeer that were just left to paint, somehow wrap and travel to Louisville with! 

We spent the next few nights painting, and I think if we had to do it again, we might use a paint sprayer because we learned a lot about those little grooves where the pieces fit together haha 

But when all was said and done, I wrapped the antlers up for my mom's gift... 

And on Christmas morning, when she opened her gift, these guys were out in the yard...

They were so fun to make and with a little dusting of snow on Christmas day, they seemed even more magical... This was definitely one of our favorite gifts we've given my mom... 

Another favorite that I mentioned a few weeks ago is a homemade recipe book... That Thanksgiving in-particular, I sat down at our kitchen bar and watched my mom tediously make one of the most delicious meals we eat all year. She does such an amazing job with seriously each dish, and I wanted to know how she made them. So I wrote down the ingredients and the steps as she was cooking and then transferred them all to pages that formed a little Thanksgiving recipe book... 

Pierce came to school with me one day during Christmas break, and we printed it and bound it and it turned out to be such a fun gift to give! I will always treasure having those recipes written down - by hand and in that sweet printed book! 

Other years we've given my mom a homemade calendar with pictures of her paintings that I put together maybe on Shutterfly or a site like that... 

We've done a fun sewing machine clock, different ornaments, printed playing cards with one of her paintings on it, a few fun little knick-knacks here and there, but really, we just love trying to be intentional about how to bless not only my mom, but Pierce's too and really all of our family and friends. Christmas is such a fun and special time, and as we've spent the first several Christmases on a budget, it's been fun to think outside the box on things to give. 

I hope as you get ready for the Christmas season and think about shopping for sweet family members, you might remember something that's been on their "wish-list" for a while and take a chance on creating it. I always treasure those kinds of Christmases and gifts and they're fun sprinkled in with the big, little and more practical gifts, which we all love too!!

Thanks for reading along today and thanks Shay and Erika for the fun blog link-up! I'll be back over the next few weeks to share a few more practical items that I've found throughout the past few years that have made for really fun and and sweet gifts too!! 

Here's to wishing everyone a very *early* start to their holidays and Christmas gifting!! 

I'll see you back here tomorrow!!

Blessings, 

❤️Tab