Itty Bitty Secret Santa Swap

Once again I have chosen to participate in a swap on the Ravelry boards.  Actually, not just one swap, but two!  Today I'm just going to tell you about the Secret Santa Swap.  Apparently this is the first Secret Santa Swap for the Itty Bits.

The requirements are very simple this time.  There are no requirements other than some holiday cheer sent to your swap partner, in whatever fashion you choose, as long as the amount equaled $25. This particular swap can be more difficult because there is no theme and no required knitting.  So this means a lot of stalking on our parts to find out the interests of our swap partner.

The recipient of my Christmas parcel was Bee30.  She lives all the way in Ireland!  Wow, I'd love to visit there some day.  So my package had to travel a long, long way, and I hope hope hope that it all arrived safe and sound (I found out it did!).

First off, I did crochet a little something.  Bee30 doesn't have kids, but she does have a pretty black kitty.  So I made her a toy that she can play with.  And...I may have stuffed a little catnip inside... :)  (I also included a store-bought toy, for good measure.)   The mouse was made with Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Cypress and NaturallyCaron.com in Claret.  Very tiny amounts of yarn!  I'm impressed with this one since it was crocheted instead of knit! :)

Easy Peasy Catnip Mouse Toy

One swapper was sneaky and asked who had which Itty Bitty books.  This was a great opportunity for me to learn that my partner had none!  It's sad to not have these books to turn to for a cute hat or toy or sweater.  So I found a copy of Itty Bitty Toys and stuck it in the box. :)

And what's a package without yarn to accompany it?  She really likes Malabrigo Silky, so I included this skein in Cloudy Sky.  It's so soft!

And at Christmas time, much like Easter, there is a lot of candy to be found and I didn't want to disappoint.  I found some Smores Bark, assorted chocolates, a candy cane of M&Ms, and a glass snowman with white hot cocoa mix inside.  Yumm!!

Christmas isn't Christmas without an ornament to hang on the tree.  I found these lovely little snow globes shaped like Christmas lights, and inside were little snowmen.  A snow globe on a Christmas tree seems pretty fun to me! (A fun note - my partner told me she usually get a Christmas decoration when she's in the states each year for work but she didn't get to go this year.  But then she got this ornament from me - how cool is that?) :)

There's also a deck of John Deere playing cards thrown into the mix - as they remind me of Iowa.

And finally, just to round out the package, I made a few stitch markers.  Because whether or not you think you need any more, you really do.  And it's only right that they be in the spirit of the holiday. :)  These include a snowman, candy canes and a penguin. I hope she likes them!

This was a fun package to put together.  I found it hard not to keep finding things to add, but since we're on a tight budget during the holiday season, I tried to keep it within our means but still make it special.  :)

Happy Holidays!