One December, in the wee hours leading up to Christmas, I found myself endlessly looping colourful yarn around the pegs of a loom and seriously questioning my gift-giving ambitions.
My collaborators, ages 14 and 12, were already asleep, their initial enthusiasm to knit toques for their grandparents, aunts and uncles having waned after weeks of filling every spare moment working on the task.
We had finished eight hats, each topped by a pompom. We needed two more.
This was proving to be the most challenging of crafty choices we ever considered for our annual holiday custom of making presents for our small extended family.
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We had been conceiving and creating Christmas gifts by hand since the 14-year-old was a babe in arms.
Back then, her inky thumbprint was all that was needed to literally put her stamp on a nascent tradition. With an assist from me and a couple swoops of a marker — adding antlers, eyes and a nose — her tiny impressions on cardstock transformed into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer keepsakes.
Every December since, our home turned into the elves’ workshop.
The first few years required a heavier lift by the adult in the room, but as my two daughters grew and their developing motor skills freed us all from a fear of scissors, the tradition became a true team effort and our ideas got progressively more sophisticated.
In the beginning we did simple beaded ornaments for everyone; years later we collected corks for months (Mom and Dad did the drinking in the name of art) and glue-gunned them into the shape of grape clusters, complete with festive bows, to be hung on the tree.
We melted plastic crystals into colourful candy bowls and filled them with sweets. We made fragrant soaps from scratch. We baked cookies and packaged them in takeout containers.
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It’s not as if the season wasn’t busy enough. And perhaps it would have been easier to buy little trinkets. But some of my own most cherished childhood memories involved making things by hand — drawing my birthday invitations with my mom, exchanging handcrafted gifts with my best friends.
So this tradition was partly about feeding my own creativity and getting in touch with my past. But it was also about evoking some of the most important lessons of Christmas and instilling them in my children: that time and togetherness are precious; that in the chaos of holiday consumerism we pause to think of others; that in giving, especially of ourselves, we too receive.
The year of the toques tested our commitment. Each took days to complete. Our fingers ached, and frankly we got tired of the repetition. But by Dec. 24, we’d made hats for all four grandparents and six aunts and uncles.
The toques weren’t on anyone’s wish list, and other than time, we didn’t have to spend much, but creating them with my girls and seeing them on everyone’s heads as we gathered inside to celebrate was really one of the most fulfilling parts of that season.
They were gifts that came from our heart and hands.
And in some ways, that is also what fuels the spirit and success of the Toronto Star’s Santa Claus Fund campaign.
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Donations come from many hearts and deliveries are made by many hands.
For 117 years, readers have shown that they care, making contributions, both big and small, to allow the Star to provide gift boxes for financially vulnerable children across Greater Toronto. This Christmas, the fundraising goal is $1.5 million, and more than 1,000 volunteers will ensure that 50,000 children receive a present.
Imagine the joy of a child opening a box to discover a toy, a book, some candy.
They may even find a toque.
Janet Hurley is a Toronto Star journalist and senior writer covering culture, education and societal trends. She is based in Toronto. Reach her via email: jhurley@thestar.ca
The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund
GOAL: $1.5 million
How to donate
Online: To donate by Visa, Mastercard or Amex use our secure form at www.thestar.com/scf
By cheque: Mail to The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, 8 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5V 0S8
Janet
Hurley is a Toronto Star journalist and senior writer covering
culture, education and societal trends. She is based in Toronto.
Reach her via email: jhurley@thestar.ca.
