Hi everyone!

Happy Thursday! We hope everyone is having a great day, the weekend is almost here! Also to those who celebrate, we wish everyone a wonderful last day of Hanukkah. Here’s to celebrations all ’round! “He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more” – The Grinch

Time for some holiday cheer on the blog! Today’s holiday question is: What is your favorite holiday ornament? For myself, I would say the angel ornament my mom got for me when I was starting high school to “replace” my “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament I had unfortunately broken when I was 5. Even though it’s not the original ornament, my angel still means so much to me and how much I truly adore my mommy! Let’s hear from our design studio team:

Shannen: My favorite ornament is from my first Christmas. It’s brass with beautiful Christmas themed engravings including the year I was born. As tradition, my 3 sisters & I make sure to hang our own each year to make the holiday season official

Valeria: My favourite Christmas ornament is this mega old plastic Santa that used to belong to my mom. It doesn’t match any of the other ornaments in the tree but we adore it and always make sure it’s there!

Marion: My Mum has a beautiful tradition around this time of year. Each Christmas, she buys someone the gift of a slender, sleepy Saint Nicholas from a wood carver who comes to a craft fair in Ottawa where she lives. Two years ago I was living in my own household for the first time – ie. not with roommates – and to celebrate, she gave me a sleepy St. Nick of my own. My Santa’s eyes are covered by two tufts of white hair and his nose is just a nub poking out from his mass of beard and moustache. He’s perfect and he makes me think of my wonderful, generous Mum.

Andra: The Christmas decorations that mean the most to me are a string of lights that are also little bells. I love them because the bell lights also sing Christmas songs. We’ve had them for 15 years and they still work perfectly!

Juan: I have a tradition in my house that I’ve had forever of having a nativity scene. And every night, when my 5 kids have gone to bed, my wife and I move the tiny figures of Mary and Joseph a little closer to the stable so that when my kids wake up in the morning, they can see that Mary and Joseph have traveled over night. On the night of the 24th, Mary and Joseph arrive at the stable and at midnight, baby Jesus appears in the manger. Over the course of the 12 days following Christmas, the three magi approach from three different directions, following a star. On the 12th day of Christmas, which is epiphany, they arrive at the stable and give gifts to the baby. The kids put some water and a bit of grass for the camels.

It’s Thankful Thursday on the blog, and today we are sharing with you an exceptionally special endeavor, Medi-Monsters. Medi-Monsters was started by Tonya Wilson and her son, Trace, as a joint venture to provide loving monsters to comfort children battling cancer or a life-threatening condition.

Tonya: There are approximately 46 children in the US diagnosed with some form of cancer every single school day. My son was one of those 46 on August 5, 2010. Thankfully he is now cancer free. Medi-monsters was developed to help alleviate some of those fears associated with treatment.

Going through any illness is a scary thing. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it would be for little kids, with the many doctor appointments and treatments, but Medi-Monsters tries to alleviate some of that fear with their cuddlers. As Tonya states, “this monster is guaranteed to gobble up all fears and scary stuff and is provided free of charge to a child”. They are sweet, soft, and the perfect friend. Such an incredible venture!

A couple of months ago, we donated some of our fabric to Medi-Monsters to help comfort more children, and it had been such a heart-warming experience. We want to thank Tonya and Trace, not only for introducing and welcoming us to Medi-Monsters, but for also being such amazing and selfless role models to us and everyone. Tonya and Trace – you are both superstars! :)

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How adorably soft and cuddly do they look?! :) I love how each are unique with their own facial expressions and personalities. You can find out more about Medi-Monsters and how you can help on their website and Facebook page,  to see the “monsters in action”! Thank you, Tonya and Trace for all that you do :)

Happy Sewing!