A handmade holiday...  giving me a new appreciation for both personal touch & creative control.  

Not sure why it took me so long to finally get around to dabbling in making my own Christmas decorations and taking a more personal touch with the holiday decor for the home.  This is the second year I have gone with a more minimal, & mostly handmade approach to the holidays.  I made cookies for friends and paired it with champagne as gifts and had so much fun giving it away. It helped that the gingersnap cookies I made were scrumptious and super simple to prepare. 

I also loved the simple butcher paper with a simple satin or velvet ribbon as gift wrapping, dried oranges as ornaments & decor (I want to attempt a garland and/or wreath next year).  And one of my favorites was the homemade stovetop potpourri -- ultimately causing all who entered to comment on how the home smelled of Christmas.  I'm already looking forward to next year, carrying on these new traditions, as well as trying a few more in our new home. Definitely, more photos of that to come!  

I hope your holiday season was merry & bright, and I'd love to know - is your Christmas homemade / semi-homemade, what traditions do you and your loved ones enjoy during the holidays?