I enjoy the holiday season. I love getting together with family and friends, talking, giving them a little something to show them that they are important to me and that I appreciate them. So shopping for others has always been enjoyable for me. As much as I enjoy shopping I have to say that I love making things even more.
So in October of 2012 when my sister and I were at the hospital and we passed a massive mobile made of origami cranes and my sister casually said, “Mom, says she wants one of those. She really likes it.” an idea formed. I ran to the store and purchased some origami paper. I spent the next few weeks teaching my children how to fold the colorful paper to make different animals. Soon, their toy room was filled with paper animals which my youngest played with constantly. When it started getting cold and December rolled around about a month and a half later I got the three kids together and each night we folded a few cranes and then put them away. Once we had a large pile of cranes I snagged a few metal hangers and string. The day before Christmas Eve I strung the birds onto the string and then hung it in my closet. It was a pain transporting it from my place to my parents’ house across town. By the time I got it inside and hid it upstairs I had to spend twenty minutes untangling it. I went back down to join the family and watched the kids open their gifts. My kids distracted their grandma while I ran upstairs to bring her gift down. She was thrilled with it, even though it was no where near as good as the one at the hospital. It hung in her window up until they got a cat a two years ago and had to take it down so the cat wouldn’t ruin it. 
Last year we made her some Christmas throw pillows. This year we bought her something that we knew she would love but next year we are making her a little Christmas quilt for her couch. I enjoy making things for people who are going to enjoy what we made. The only thing about that mobile we made that I would change would be that I would have added more cranes. The mobile is my favorite gift that I have given because it brought such a big smile from my mom and for such a long time after she would tell us how much she enjoyed it whenever we came for a visit.
Would you rather buy someone something or do you enjoy making gifts for your loved ones?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
I think that origami mobile was a really cool idea. Sounds like a lot of work, however. Just goes to show that you have to be tuned in to the most casual clues to learn what people really want. Because if you’d just asked your mom outright, I’ll bet she would not have remembered how much she liked that mobile in the hospital.
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She would have told us she didn’t need anything. She never gives a straight answer or she replies with “Write that book I want” or “make me something” my sister and I learned early on you have to pay attention to things mom casually mentions because she won’t ask for anything.
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Wow; I had heard you mention doing origami before but I am impressed that all of you learned it so quickly!
I used to make a lot of gifts. I had two that I did quite often: An embroidered terry baby robe and a bed jacket for ladies who were going into the hospital and facing recuperation.
I think handmade gifts are wonderful.
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Those sound like wonderful gifts. How thoughtful of you to make them.
I remember my sister making me a robe one Christmas when I was about nine. I absolutely loved it.
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I love the mobile and I’m sure knowing that your family made all the animals made it even more special.
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Nice mobile! My mom taught us all how to do origami, since it’s something all Japanese kids learn. I cried when I read the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, and I imagine the mobile you saw in the hospital had the same meaning – and I hope your Mother’s wish came true.
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I had to look up that story. It is heartbreaking. I have to buy it and read it.
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