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"How To Organize Your Holiday Gift List!"

For those of us who enjoy making gifts for family members, friends, children's teachers, neighbors etc, now is the time to get organized and figure out exactly what you want to make for each of them. Each gift must be personally chosen for the recipient, and be something they would actually USE, not just something to be tossed aside later.

Begin your gift making project by writing a list of everybody you want to make a gift for and then list their hobby, what they do for enjoyment or something about their job that they're very proud of.

After completing my list, I went to my favorite website, Patterns2Go.com to see what all was available there that might work for some of the people on my Holiday list.

I was so thrilled with the current patterns available that I was able to get most of my gift list taken care of. I chose golf club mittens for my husband to give to his golfing buddies, a piano key holder for our daughter's piano teacher, hooded bath towels for several nieces and nephews and the soft sole leather shoes for my toddler grand- children. My best friend does a lot of knitting, so I decided to make her the knitting board as her gift this year. Blue jean purses will go to the older nieces, and the FR*EE washcloth slipper pattern will be used for those in the nursing home, and I'm also making a pair for myself!!

A friend's daughter is expecting a baby in November, so I've chosen this time to also get the pattern for the "On The Go Diaper Changing Station" so I'll be ready for her baby shower.

The best thing about choosing patterns from Patterns2Go.com is that once my list was done, I made my pattern selections online and got immediate downloads of the patterns I'd chosen - no waiting.

After completing the gift list and items to make, it's time to dig into the sewing room and see what fabrics and notions you already have available so you can get started on the projects immediately. As I assemble the necessary items for each project, I put the fabric, notions and pattern into a zip lock bag with the name of the receiving person on the outside. (If the fabric and notions are too big for a zip lock bag, I simply place them into a larger plastic grocery store bag, tie the top and put the name on the outside). The person's name is then marked off my list as I put the zip lock bags into a small box where they are ready to start working on. After assembling all I can from my sewing room, I then take the remainder of the list to the fabric store to purchase the necessary items for the gifts. The newly purchased materials are then divided up for the individual gifts, and again I place the pattern and materials into a zip lock bag with the receiving person's name on the outside.

Within a day or two I have organized and assembled all the necessary items for each person's gift, and I'm ready to sit down and start putting it all together. By starting early I have time to get all the gifts completed and ready for gift giving.

About the author:
Sarah J. Doyle is author of over 25 sewing, craft and how-to books, as well as author of online pattern making, sewing and craft classes. Visit SewWithSarah.com for information on books, classes, newsletters and the latest hints and tips, and PatternsThatFitYou.com for pattern making and pattern alteration classes

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