This holiday season was a total whirlwind. It didn’t help that I lost my mind and decided that I really needed to make three elf boot jungle bell stockings (entirely by hand) or that I got the sudden urge to make Griff a hobby horse with about a week to go before the big day. Nonetheless, stuff got made, gifts got exchanged, yummy food was made and eaten, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

I used this pattern for the stockings, although I changed up the colors. I ran out of time to embroider our names on them, but that can be next year’s last minute project.

I’m pretty darn happy with how the hobby horse turned out. At 21 months, Griff is still a little young to use it as intended, but he does love to run around holding it while yelling, “Neigh! Neigh!” and he asks for me or Jag to “ride” it while he leads it around by the reins, running as fast as he can. (The horsie likes to eat Griff’s hair. And Duplos.) I found a bunch of online tutorials like this and this, and used bits and pieces from all of them. It helped that Jag had an old sock that worked perfectly; the seam at the toe even has a dark line of stitching that looks like a mouth! I bought leather scraps from Michael’s for the ears, and found the pleather studded “reins” for sale by the yard at Hancock Fabrics just in the nick of time (not enough for a complete halter, but enough to work). The mane is Wool-Ease Thick n Quick in a horsey shade.

From Santa, Griff got a play kitchen with some food and pots and pans and a shopping cart. He loves the play kitchens at day care, and he plays with the toy shopping carts at every single toy store we go to.

Chef Griffin recommends thoroughly washing your contruction vehicles before cooking them.

Let them dry completely on a cutting board.

Construction vehicles can be pan-fried. Alternately, just throw them right on a hot burner.

Important tip: always wear an oven mitt when making fish and banana stew to eat with your burger.

I loved playing with thistle blocks as a kid, and Griff really seems to like them as well. This set came with wheels and little people, which was pretty cool.

He picked up pretty quickly on how to use the kazoo Santa put in his stocking. After this performance, a bunch of lonely wildebeests showed up in the front yard, looking for love.

Griff got a lot of fantastic gifts from his grandparents and Aunt Beanie, but he fixated on one item alone: a battery-operated drill.

He drilled while kissing his Aunt Beanie.

He drilled while trying on his new hat from his Nana.

He drilled while playing with Grandpa.

He drilled while sitting in a box playing “night night”.

Although he allowed his Nana to use his drill for a brief period,

…he did not otherwise relinquish his drill, even when sleep overtook him on the way home.

And yes, he’s still playing with it.

Christmas dinner was yummy, and well-documented.

As is traditional at Sarik holiday meals, a candle depicting a festive seasonally appropriate person or persons had to be burned during the meal. At Thanksgiving, it’s usually a set of pilgrims. This time, Santa made the ultimate sacrifice.