The Perfect Gift

In my many years, I have had a lot of really nice gifts...and I still treasure them all. But, I think I have posted before how very much I love a gift that is handmade. Maybe that is because I love doing crafts so much myself but I value the time and thought and energy that goes into a handmade gift. It is like being given a little piece of someone.

And so it was with our Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law this year. We are all now retired and have been talking about cutting back on gift giving a bit. This last year we all kind of agreed to make it a "make-it" kind of holiday. I will say that my sister-in-law and brother "win the prize". Everything they made and gave was just perfect for each recipient. They truly outdid themselves but I realized just how really perfect ours was as hubby and I finally got out into the yard this past week and decided on a home for our gift.

This gift hits the mark in so many ways. For years, whenever my husband is asked what he would want for a certain holiday gift, his answer is always "peace, joy, love and happiness". So that is EXACTLY what he got this year.

Each of our families received one of these garden posts and we each got a different bird perched on top-how appropriate that the "Ravns" got a raven!

A lot of handmade gifts are made by the "female" side of the couple but this year my brother actually joined in the process as well and it is my understanding that he did the painting on our posts-and a lovely job it is! And then, of course, it was given to us on the year of our 50th anniversary so we have another wonderful reminder of that special date. And, we actually exchanged our Christmas gifts with them this year in our hotel in Savannah as we began our anniversary celebration.

I actually wasn't sure which of our many gardens would house this special gift but once outside, it was a no-brainer. This is the garden we see most often from our house. It is right outside the sunroom so we sit in there often and watch the birds and squirrels out in the yard. It also joins the "flower" that they made us a year or two ago that is also very special as it is made from a collection of plates from both my mom and my sister-in-law's mom-such a lovely reminder of both of those special ladies.

Our weather is so spring-like that I hope very soon both of these treasures will be nestled in a lush garden full of many blooms. Chomping at the bit to get planting but that will have to wait until after our trip...and probably St. Pat's Day with the kids...and maybe even Easter. Yikes! It is all coming very fast! Stay tuned.