The Twelve Days of Christmas

Ah, Christmas is here. All twelve days of it. And, more importantly, all 12 days of Mum’s 12 Days of Christmas ornament project, which I’ve recently finished, is ready to be shared with the world. Oh, the joy!

When Mum died, I accepted the honour of completing some of her unfinished craft projects – along with her yarn stash for creating projects of my own. I have completed a blanket with some of the yarn and am working on scarves for my sisters. But now, I can also mark as finished one of Mum’s projects: The 12 Days of Christmas.

Don’t want to read my musings about the process? You can skip straight to the ornament photos by clicking here.

This was probably one of Mum’s biggest projects, and certainly the one she worked on the longest – it began 30 years ago in the summer of 1994! I am not completely sure how she would characterise the project’s delays. However, we spoke about the project a few times and I think it’s fair to say that some delays and changes to the overall project were down to her eyesight and some joint and pain issues in her hands – in addition to the normal project delays caused by enjoying life’s adventures and travels.

The eyesight issues – general age-related decline, cataracts, and glaucoma – were probably to primary reason for switching from an “all-beaded” plan to a mix of beaded and stitched ornaments. And the joint issues and arthritis meant that it was a little harder for the detailed work in general. But she stayed hopeful that the project would be completed one day.

From her hand-written notes, I can see that her original plan had been to complete the project over six years. The notes suggest that each of her siblings (6) and daughters (6) would receive two ornaments each year in a pattered distribution. That would have meant completing two full sets each year (24 ornaments). I guess that she realised early on that her lofty goal of creating 12 full sets of 12 beaded ornaments in six years was rather ambitious. But she kept working at it, slowly.

By the time I inherited the project, it had not been worked on for a while – although I know she was still thinking about it and hoping she would be able to work on it in time. So, I decided that it should be the first finishing task I tackled.*

I started the project by conducting an inventory of the ornaments and supplies, not knowing what to expect. I knew there were several completed ornaments, including some full sets. But I didn’t know how many were completed or what state the unfinished sets were in. I don’t even know if I expected a lot more or a lot less than what I found! There were also plenty of supplies to get me started, although more gold thread was required for the edging of the ornaments.

In the end, I realised I could simplify the project and the amount of work required by simply cutting it in half. That meant forgoing Mum’s plans to supply sets to her siblings (now, sadly only 5) and instead focus on her daughters – me and my five siblings! By doing that, my part in the project went from substantial levels of work creating a few full sets of ornaments to low levels of finishing touches to the treasures Mum had already created.

I also realised that I could avoid doing any beadwork if I simply distributed the beaded ornaments in (my idea of) a fair way. This means that each set includes a mixture of beaded and stitched ornaments. Further, each set holds at least a couple of ornaments that were completely done by Mum – edging and all.  Indeed, by the time I rescoped the project, the primary work for me to do was the edging, although a few ornaments also needed some final stitches to the central design.

By the time I was done, there were six full sets of mixed beaded-threaded ornaments – one for each of my sisters and me – and another set of 12 ornaments (all beaded) to be shared by Mum’s grandchildren – 12 grandchildren each receiving one ornament coinciding with their birth order.

There are also another two full sets of threaded ornaments that need a little more finish detail including the edging. I’m not sure where those sets will find a home when I am done with them, but they will see the light of Christmas one day. There are also a few random unfinished ornaments (and not enough to make a full set). I haven’t decided what to do with them yet (finish them, pass them on for someone else to finish, or throw them away). But I won’t feel bad if this is the end of the project, because the project is now a success in my mind.

In hindsight, I wish I had done an inventory with Mum years ago. Maybe that would have helped her to refine and rescope the project as gifts for just her daughters, which would have meant she could have enjoyed seeing the delight on her daughters’ faces. But that didn’t happen, and I can’t change the past. Instead, I simply hope that she would be pleased with the decisions I made to finish this project in her honour, and I hope that my sisters and their children can enjoy her beautiful creations for Christmases to come.

I am extremely delighted that I’ve been able to help finish this project to honour my mother. It fills my heart with joy knowing that her dedication and hard work will now see the light of day – and Christmas lights, at that!

As The Twelve Days of Christmastide officially begins today, I will share each day’s ornaments on my social networking sites as the days progress. But you, dear readers, get to see all 12 days here. Think of it as my Christmas gift to you.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Nine drummers drumming, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Eleven ladies dancing, ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Twelve lords a-leaping, eleven ladies dancing, ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Note: As an aside, I realised when I was labelling the ornaments for this post that there are different orders of the gifts. It caused a mild panic at first because I feared Mum spent all these years working from instructions that were “wrong” but now I can see the order she was using is from the original 1780 version of the song. You can see a comprehensive list of the changes over time here.

* The start of this finishing project was delayed as I had to prioritise some of my own life and work projects. But after settling into my new home, I finally had the time (and the space) to get it done!