The occasion: Christmas party at my research centre.

The idea: How can you call it a Christmas party if no one wears a Christmas sweater?!?

Starting material: White sweater with fuzzy black collar. 2 mini stockings and some bows left over from a party on the weekend. A whole whack-load of “can-do” attitude.

The concept: 3 red bows hanging off fuzzy black “garland.” Red stocking in the corner, also with a red bow. Purple stocking… too much bow action going on if it has a bow attached to it. Christmas bells! A little Christmas cat jangle-jangle. Hmmm how to connect the stockings to each other? They’re not ghosts… only ghosts and seasoned yogis levitate. Wanted a snowman in the corner, but what if the snowman was in fact a snowball string attaching two stockings? Good thing I don’t feel confident enough to make a fireplace… I’d feel like an idiot if the snow melted. Excellent. What’s missing?!? Three bells on the three snowballs to tie it all together. Almost complete… green grass on the bottom to add some color and flow-y fun. Real garland is too restrictive… individual strands of Christmas grass looped around each other to give the hula-hula breezy feel. Ah. Just right.

Finishing touches: Red pants. Christmas socks with pom-poms on the back. Green candy-cane slippers!

First time sewing = festive success!

The moral: although I may do a lot of brooding, there’s an important life lesson that helps keep it all in perspective – life is so much brighter when you don’t take yourself too seriously… so embrace your inner child and be silly whenever you get the chance.

Happy holidays! Ho! Ho! Ho!