Lexington, KY - Though most children and electronic gadget geeks will disagree with me, homemade gifts are the best --
for any occasion really, but obviously I'm referring to the holiday season at the moment. This is unfortunate, especially for all of my friends and family members and colleagues, because the only thing I'm good at making at home is a mess. And I don't think that's the sort of gift anybody wants.
I can't sew. I can't knit. I can't stitch. I can't draw. I can't stencil. I can't paint. I can't do amazing, or even novice, work with wood, clay, metal or any other substance that can be molded, chipped or bent into a form of my own devise. I definitely can't scrapbook or collage; I can't even cut and paste.
I can write, with some level of competency, but after reading some of my previous columns, most of my family and friends have asked to be omitted from any future pieces I'm thinking about penning.
The best homemade gift I've ever given probably went to my younger brother, and it certainly wasn't any sort of display of masterful artistry. I just copied a bunch of my CDs (this was back when people had CDs and didn't cart their entire catalogue around on various digital music devices), stuck them in a 100-disc holder and passed it along. I didn't even make the CD holder, I bought a nice one at CD Central because I felt bad about copying all that music.
Aside from the gift's questionable legality in the eyes of the recording industry, it was a hit -- my brother, 15 at the time, got a treasure trove of, what I thought was, good music, and it got a lot of play, until dad got a hold of it and discs started going missing.
So it was with some envy, bordering jealousy, that I read editor Saraya Brewer's survey of some regional Christmas crafters. Whether it is polymer clay or beautiful wood, the three people profiled in the piece --
Lindy Evans, who makes Santa dolls; Dave "Kaz" Kacmarick, who makes wooden toys; and Mick Shambro, who makes holiday ornaments --
are impressive artists in their chosen media. Their stuff is so good, I'm certain they don't have any qualms giving homemade gifts for the holidays.
Also in the issue, be sure to check out our annual holiday calendar, which includes over 60 festive events, such as choral and dance performances, theatrical productions, bazaars, and community gatherings, scheduled throughout the month of December.
If you can't construct a homemade gift this month, I'm sure taking a friend or loved one to any of these merry occurrences would be just as thoughtful.