Sometimes I take up basketry as Christmas approaches.

I don\’t mean this kind of basket. But you can easily make woven paper baskets!

When I was still pretty young, we got a Golden Magazine Christmas Annual for Boys and Girls. We had it for years; and eventually I appropriated it for my own box of Christmas stuff. Finally I passed it along to my sister, when her daughters were young.

This magazine had several stories, including one about a giant named Grummer; who lived in a castle made of Limburger cheese, and \”was a very bad giant!\” He said he planned to steal all the Christmas stockings and presents (by reaching down the chimneys) and destroy them; he couldn\’t stand the thought of people being happy. One Prince Topsy hatched a plan with Santa Claus to foil Giant Grummer\’s intentions and save Christmas Day. Query: was Giant Grummer inspired by the Grinch?

My favorite feature in that magazine was the Countdown to Christmas; with different activities for every day until December 25. I still remember some of them, such as 23 days \’til Christmas:

\”It\’s time for window shopping, and we have just begun. We can\’t get everything we like; but looking\’s half the fun!\”

And there were instructions for making a wreath; making Christmas stockings; putting up a bird feeder; and so on. Three days \’til Christmas was time to make Danish baskets.

The ones in this magazine weren\’t heart-shaped; but it was the same principle. I never tried making them until after I was grown up. Then they were fun to make for  \”goodie bags\” to give to everybody at work the last day before the Christmas holiday.

Just be careful not to get so carried away by this basketry that you wind up a basket case!