Serious questions for those of you who celebrate Christmas: Do you make any of the Christmas cards or gifts you give to your inner circle? And are you typically satisfied with the amount of holiday crafting you actually get done each year?

Most years, I spend my summers making Christmas craft projects so I will not be caught empty-handed when holiday season rolls around. However, it seems like, no matter how far I plan ahead, I never quite manage to get as much done as I’d been hoping to.

This year, I am really, really far behind on my holiday crafting goals; I did get a few Christmas cards made already, but I have a lot of catching up to do. I’m thinking I need to make a big push this month to get many more Christmas cards made, and to also get some Christmas gifts completed. I have been meaning to try making some of my own Christmas giftwrap and gift boxes, too…

Pictured above is one of the new pattern books I’m planning on working from to create my Christmas gifts and decorations this year. It’s called Classic Christmas Crochet: Traditional Holiday Ornaments, Decorations and Gifts by Heidi B. Johannesen and Pia H.H. Johannesen. This is one of the most stylish, festive Christmas crochet books I’ve come across lately. If you look closely at the cover of the book, you can see a sizable number of the finished projects that are included in the book; many of them are brightly-colored Christmas tree ornaments you can crochet. So the book’s cover beautifully shows off a good number of the projects that are included within.

I’m looking forward to sitting down with my crochet hooks, yarn, and this book, and spending some quality time making some Christmas tree ornaments and other decorations using these patterns.

This book also includes patterns for making Christmas stockings and small toys, so there’s a lovely mix of Christmas gift ideas included.

If you celebrate Christmas, you want to give handmade gifts to your Christmas gift recipients this year, and you haven’t already started your holiday crafting, I highly recommend starting NOW. If you already have Christmas patterns stashed, you can get them out and use them to get started. You’re also more than welcome to use any of the Christmas craft patterns I’ve posted; I made many free Christmas patterns available, and despite the fact that they’re Christmas projects to be used in December, many of them are actually small, summer-friendly projects that aren’t challenging to work on during the summer months (that’s because I usually design and make them during the summer months, haha).

I’ve also reviewed bunches of different Christmas craft books, all of which include useful ideas and fun, festive projects. If you’re in the market to buy new Christmas patterns for yourself, I invite you to check out my book review of Classic Christmas Crochet, which is my new favorite Christmas crochet pattern book for 2023. My other favorite from the past few years is Annie’s Christmas special from 2020.

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, or you don’t feel like working on Christmas projects right now, no worries; I have bunches of other craft projects and patterns available you might like to work on. I invite you to check out my page of summer crafts to find other summer-friendly ideas you might want to try right now.

Thanks so much for dropping by my craft blog today. I really appreciate your presence here. Happy crafting!

XOXO,

Amy Solovay, your hostess here at KnittingCrochetCrafts.com

This page was last updated on 10-26-2023.