Suprise Birthday Party & OMG! What to bring?

**dolphin** · 07-20-2008, 05:00 AM

We were invited to a party at 11:30 am on Saturday morning. Although it was for friendship, it was also a celebration for a 3 year olds BirthdaY. It took me about an hour after the invitation for me to realize that I had to come up with a present for a 3 year old and the fact that I had nothing for him. (Sigh) Hey, we have no young children around us!

My quilting/sewing instinct took hold and by golly, I found a preprinted panel that I purchased last year for very little and chicken themed fabric for backing in my fabric stash to make a cute quilt. I opted for the very "thin" filler, making the blanket usable for even summer months when the AC in the car might be too much for a 3 year old.

In 3 hours I imagined, planed, designed, cut, pinned, and sewed a cute little blanket for the 3 year old, Antonio. It was a farmyard scene and I machine stiched/quilted around lots of the little chickens and animals. It was a hurried effort but I believe it will hold together. My repaired sewing machine (which I did myself) was tempermental but it continued on, thank God!

His Mama, Rosa, absolutely loved the little blanket, I could see her surprise and pleasure that I had thought so much of her son. He is such a sweet child! We all love him! He has not an ounce of ugly or temperamental actions in him. Just love, such a sweet child. Also, I was told that his pet nickname is tiny chicken in Spanish which made the concept of my quilt an even greater gift

Here are some pics I took right before I gave it to him. Gosh, it was a frenzied gift but now that I look back, it was not more than a few hours of my time. I know toy trucks, cap guns and other assorted toys are in the norm for a 3 year old but I feel that MY gift will be appreciated much longer than the toys will last.

**Michelle** · 07-20-2008, 07:53 AM

Awesome...that's so cute and very thoughtful too

**Darlene** · 07-20-2008, 08:04 AM

Wow, great job! He's sure to be cuddling with that for a long time. :perfect:

**Momto2Boyz** · 07-20-2008, 08:58 AM

That is so awesome! I love handmade gifts for kids. It seems, even though it was a little frenzied...so much more thought and love goes into handmade gifts.

And your right, when all the other plastic toys have broken and been outgrown, yours will still be in his arms! When I was young, my next door neighbor (now gone) made me a raggedy ann doll. When my next door neighbor had a baby a few months ago, I pulled out my almost 30 year old doll to use as a pattern for her daughter. While it no longer sits on my bed, it has a place of honor in a box of keepsakes in my closet. Had I had a daughter, it would have been sitting on her bed.

Handmade gifts to me, are the ultimate compliment. They say, I like you enough to give you something that took my time, not just my money!

And I am loving the quilt! So cute and so perfect for a little boy!

**Moor** · 07-20-2008, 09:14 AM

that is such a great gift!
i am working on one for the grandbaby. since all of my sewing machine's are out of whack, i am doing this one by hand.

i absoultely love that quilt!

**nuisance26** · 07-20-2008, 10:04 AM

~Great job! How awesome is that that his nickname is little chicken? Really neat!~

**cheapskate 49** · 07-27-2008, 10:27 PM

What a beautiful gift and you finished it in 3 hours WOW.Isn't it great to be able to go into your stash and come up with a gift.I'll bet you'd have spent more than 3 hours in a store trying to buy something and it wouldn't have been half as nice

**pldesigns** · 08-05-2008, 04:48 PM

OMG that's such a sweet & thoughtful gift. I know as a mom i'd appreciate that so much more than the normal 3yr old boy stuff.

**itsahumanzoo** · 08-05-2008, 04:54 PM

That is really sweet! Much better than any toy you could have bought.

**SewCrafty** · 08-05-2008, 09:05 PM

Aw Carolyn, that is beautiful!

While I know most 3 yrs. olds throw clothing and hand made gifts to the side, he will use if for years and years to come. Great gift and frugal too!

**monkeywrangler71** · 08-05-2008, 09:13 PM

That is absolutely adorable. I can tell you that my almost 4 yr old boy and my almost 3 yr old girl would both be absolutely thrilled to receive that.

My daughter is actually obsessed with farm animals, if she was given a blanket like that, all other gifts would be completely ignored.

**dolphin** · 08-20-2008, 04:09 AM

Thanks so much for all of your compliments girls. It really was fun to make. I'm going to keep a watch on ebay and see if another comes up for auction. I just loved the farm scene and the bright primary colors.

**Ceashels** · 08-20-2008, 08:50 AM

That is just too freakin' awesome! What a great gift and a lovely quilt. That Mom will be keeping hold of that quilt till she has grand kids, for sure.