Tag Archives: simple holidays

Hibernating During Halcyon

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Welcome to the October 2012 Simplicity Parenting Carnival: Holidays

This post was written as part of the monthly Simplicity Parenting Carnival hosted by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM. This month we are discussing how we simplify the holiday season. Be sure to read to the end to see a list of the rest of the excellent carnival contributors.

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Licht / LightIt’s getting colder out. This year there was no gradual change to speak of. It seemed that we had gone from 100 degree temperatures to freezing nights in the course of a few weeks. With it, came a feeling that my family should be hibernating, cuddled up under blankets, reading lovely books, and sipping hot cocoa. This feeling also stems from the fact that our schedule has been a bit over packed this fall. Normally we do pretty well at keeping it under control so that our family of introverts receives the time at home that we need. This fall, with extra weekly activities getting packed in last minute on top of what was a nice schedule, we are all feeling it. We are looking forward to a slower pace and more time at home to snuggle and contemplate.

Our family’s main winter holiday is Halcyon. Technically, it’s not a day and it doesn’t even occur in winter, as we celebrate Halcyon leading up to the Winter Solstice. With dropping temperatures, I think we can effectively call it a winter celebration. Typically, we celebrate Halcyon starting with Thanksgiving and culminating on the night of the Solstice. This year, however, I’m considering starting on November 1, as is typical. I’m ready to contemplate.

Halcyon is a time of peace. It’s a time of contemplation and introspection, of considering where our lives are and where we want them to be. It’s about realigning ourselves on our journey, refocusing ourselves, and taking a moment to redirect that inner compasses. Halcyon is a time of darkness and quiet as we await the return of the light. Halcyon is meditative and healing.

I think that this year, for me, Halcyon is also about hibernating and enjoying.

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Thanks for reading the Simplicity Parenting Blog Carnival! We hope you’ll take time to read these other great contributors’ posts:
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  • Making Halloween – JW at True Confessions of a Real Mommy says “No need to spend a lot this Halloween! Check out some easy, frugal ideas for dressing your family up!”
  • Hibernating During Halcyon – Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children and her family are gearing up for the Halcyon celebrations and enjoying some quiet time as a family.
  • Savoring Family Time (or, Simple Homemade Gifts) – Emily at S.A.H.M. i AM is trying to prepare for the holidays early so she can slow down and enjoy time with her family as the days grow shorter and a new baby enters their lives.
  • 7 Green Gifts for Toddlers – Shannon at GrowingSlower shares unique green gift ideas for kids this holiday season that are sure to be green mom approved.
  • Less is More: Simplifying the Holidays to Make Room for More of What Matters – Amy at Anktangle shares a few easy strategies she uses to keep the holidays manageable, stress-free, and fun!
  • buy nothing x-mas? – mama lola at bear & lion describes what christmas is all about to her and her family; treats, music, crafts and LOVE!
  • DIY holiday fun – Justine at The Lone Home Ranger revels in thrifting for and making her own holiday gifts and decorations.

Thanks to all the fabulous writers and readers for being a part of our simplicity parenting community! Stop by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM to see how to join us for a future carnival.

Purple People Hat and Mittens

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My older daughter likes clothes that are hip(py) and cool, so the scrap-happy celebration hat seemed perfect for her. She picked out the colors, and I varied the stripes and purl rows to make it a bit more funky. The baggy shape will grow with her.

The wrist warmers I previously made her match the hat, as do these stripey mittens for playing outside in the snow.

Fish Hat

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My four year old had a difficult time deciding on the perfect hat. He had originally settled on a crown hat, and even picked out blue and yellow yarn for it. After further contemplation, what he really and truly wanted was some type of animal hat. When I showed him the pattern for this fish hat, he was hooked (pun intended). We decided to go ahead and use the yarn we had purchased, giving him a nice blue and yellow fish. He is rather thrilled with having a fish hat try to swallow his head, and it fits his personality perfectly. I have a feeling this hat may be going to college with him someday.

This post was submitted as part of the Families Create! Make and Play Challenge.

Our theme for October’s Families, Create! Make and Play Carnival was phizzwhizzers. Our participants shared with us the odd and out of the ordinary, the dreams we aspire to, and the individuality that makes them unique.

Check out what Families Create! participants created this month:

Brenna at Almost All The Truth creates the dreams of dreamers with her children with a little help from Roald Dahl.

Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children found the perfect fish hatto make for one of her phizzwhizzing children.

It’s Little House on the Prairie complete with modern plumbing, cell phones, and video games. Mary and Laura would surely find Kieran’s imagination to be full of phizzwhizzers! Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares how her son (Kieran) combines pioneer play with today’s conveniences.

A new birthday tradition evolved at Living Peacefully with Children when Mandy and her daughter worked on a funky pinkalicious cake.

Please join us for November’s Families Create! Make and Play challenge. This month’s theme is Rhymes and Verse!

A Manly Hat

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After my previous attempt to knit a hat for my husband, I wanted to do something different for his manly hat. His coat is grey and orange, and I happened to have both colors left in my yarn stash. I don’t like knitting two of the same item. It becomes monotonous for me. I wanted something a little different, so I modified the pattern I had previously used to make this that. I’m happy to say it fits him much better.

Simple Cable Knit Hat

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My husband had requested a simple guy’s hat. I wanted a little more challenge than that, so I looked for a pattern which would allow me to learn a new skill. The Claudia pattern seemed to fit the bill. I could make a manly hat while trying out some my first cable stitching.

This was actually the first hat I knitted for the holidays this year, and I was excited to try it on my husband. As I stretched it over his slightly bemused self, I remembered that his head is on the larger size. He was a good sport and assured me he would wear it. However, I vowed to make him a different hat and claimed this one as my own, beautifully modeled by my seven year old in the picture.

Berry Hat

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I’ve always loved the cute little berry hats for babies and toddlers, but not having any mad knitting skills, they were beyond my grasp. Now that I knit, I could finally make one while knitting hats for the holidays. My toddler loves her hat and matching mittens. When she outgrows it, I may make a strawberry hat for my strawberry loving girl.