Today is the 4th, which means there are exactly three weeks until Christmas. It also means we are in the 2nd day of Hanukkah, 17 days until Yule, and 22 days until the start of Kwanzaa.
No matter what you celebrate this time of year, when you take away all of the trimmings, and boil it down to its essence, this time is about family. It is about reflection of the past, and looking ahead to the future. Finding the things you hold dear, and holding them just a little tighter.
Part of what we do to celebrate is give gifts. Gifts come in many shapes and sizes. Some are in the shape of a new book, or an outfit. Some are toys, or tools. Mine came in the shape of a new Playstation 4 with the Spiderman game. Goodbye, sleep. I will miss you. While giving gifts that are bought are great, some of the best gifts you receive, the ones that create that smile and the warm feeling of someone you love every time you look at them are not ones that were bought at a store. They are ones that are made.
Making a gift adds its own magic to the giving. If you have ever made a gift for someone, you know that there is so much more to it than the final form it takes. There is the thought of what the person would like. The research into what you will need. The purchasing of supplies, and the choosing of the colors. There is the actual making, which almost always involves a few false starts, some things you have forgotten, and other things that you need to learn. There is the sense of excitement at what they will think of it, the feeling that you will never get done in time, sometimes there is even the frustration that this takes waaaay too long, and next year, you are just going to buy everything in June from a big box store and be done with this whole thing. And then, you get near the end, and you see what you have created.
Something interesting happens to you then. You have a sense of pride at what you have created, even though you see every single place that it is not perfect. Sometimes, you even fear that no one will look at anything but those places you slipped up on. But you give it to them anyway. That is when the magic happens. The wonder in someone’s eyes when they see what you made them. The love that you feel, and the satisfaction of all the hard work you put in. And the most amazing part, all of those imperfections you see, someone else either does not notice, or thinks is the best part about it.
I remember in high school, my mom had a springer spaniel. She was a show dog, and had a spot on her face that made her look very unique. Judges either loved her, or hated her. In art class, we had a unit on stained glass. I got a picture of her, and made a stained glass image of her for my mom for Christmas. Being my first piece, there were blotches all over. The lines were uneven, the glass was different thicknesses, and the frame, when done, was not square. I worked on that thing for a solid six weeks every day there was art class. I wrapped it and sat in nervousness, thinking of all the things that were wrong with it. All the mistakes, all the thick lines of solder to fill in the gaps in the badly-cut glass. When my mom opened it, she unwrapped it like anything else that day, until the pulled the tissue paper back. Then she stopped and stared. She slowly pulled it out, almost reverently, and asked where I had gotten such a beautiful thing. My sisters (in unison) said ‘He made it!’ My mom looked at the gift, looked at me, looked back at the gift, and burst into tears. She stood up, and came over to hug me, and cried on my shoulder at how beautiful it was. None of the imperfections mattered, and I definitely won Christmas that year.
Many people want to create things, to show those they love how much they care more than a store bought gift can, but they don’t know how to get started. Well, we have a solution for you at the Fab Lab. This Saturday, December 8th, from 10 am to 4 pm is our Make Me a Holiday event. We will have different hand-crafted items that you can buy and make that day, with the expert help of some of our employees and volunteers. We will be making metal candy canes in our portable forge, ribbon-candy holiday decorations, personalized metal stamped bracelets, laser cut ornaments, no-solder LED Christmas trees (desk sized), and a host of other small crafts that can be made that day or taken home as a kit. We will also be giving tours of our Fab Lab, and giving discounts on upcoming classes and memberships for the holiday season.
So give the gift that really keeps on giving, and come to the Fab Lab to make something for someone that you love. I promise that it will be one of the highlights of the season for both of you. See you on Saturday!
Kirk