Okay, here's the thing. I am not against "crafting" per say. I have a great appreciation for those who are creative. People who can see something simple and turn it into something amazing with nothing but a pack of gum, an old t-shirt and nail polish. Who wouldn't want to be that awesome? So, it's not that I don't appreciate a good craft, I just don't "see" what others see when they find potential in an object. (example: A few years ago my sister-in-law and I were looking at an old skirt my mom had in storage for years. She immediately saw it's potential to be a cute apron, I immediately saw it's use as a skirt." She is creative. I see skirts. She took it, made it into an apron and gave it to me for Christmas one year. It's still one of my favorite gifts).
I enjoy browsing Pinterest, but I am the person who pins mostly recipes and funny quotes. If you see me pin a craft-type item it is either, a) extremely easy to pull off b) being pinned as an idea to share with someone else, or c) I am having an "I really think I'll do this, but I never will" moment. But, I've decided this - Pinterest at Holiday time makes me feel lousy about my crafting ineptness.
Listen, I am not the person at Christmas that you will receive a homemade ornament, or handmade scrapbook, or personalized jewelry that I welded together, and hand shaped myself, from. I am the person you will receive a new scarf, a gift card, or some other store-bought item from. I am learning to come to grips with the fact that this is who I am. I am good at the store-bought gift. I excel in the sale racks. I am at the top of my game in a bargain bin. This is where I soar, and that is okay. I do not need to make a handmade bow for each perfectly wrapped gift. I like store-bought paper, and the kind of labels that are stickers. Wrapped, labeled and done! It is okay!
If it wasn't for people like me, people who are crafty would never make any money at what they do. People like me, need people like them, as much as they need people like me...got it?
This Christmas season I am embracing my "un-craftiness" and ordering my gifts online, wrapping them with cheap paper, and smacking a sticker label on them. It is who I am...at this stage of my life, I am content. I will click "like" on all the "look what I made" posts on Facebook, and I will counter with my "I forgot to buy more scotch tape, so I'm using packing tape" post. It's okay.
Here's to all the other "un-crafty" people. May we embrace who we are, and get through the Holiday's without feeling like failures because our gifts to our kid's teachers came from Dollar Tree, and weren't hand-crafted at our kitchen table.
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