On The Case

The past few days have been a flurry of activity because the Christmas holiday begins at our house tonight when the first of the boys arrives at the airport.  Between now and the big day they'll rotate in and out, spending time with the parentals and each other. While they're here every bedroom will be filled.


Last night I finished the last of the wrapping.  There will be a couple of bulky presents under our tree this year. I hate using massive amounts of wrapping paper for large boxes.  The past few years I've solved the problem by making bags out of fabric or using pillowcases from the thrift store. There was one present, though, that was the wrong size for anything I had on hand.  It only takes a few minutes to sew a bag if you have material that doesn't ravel.  I didn't.  I added "go to Goodwill and find pillowcase to hold big present" to my list of errands.

Goodwill didn't have much on the racks, and I didn't have time to check the other thrift stores in the area, so I settled on a warm brown-colored case, hoping I had some ribbon I could tie around it that would make it look Christmasy.

A couple of weeks ago when the weather got cold I got out the flannel sheets. However, I didn't have enough for all the beds.  Yesterday I purchased an inexpensive set, washed them, and this morning I put them on the bed.  I think they look appropriately masculine, don't you?

The only problem with twin sheet sets is they only come with one pillow case, and there are two pillows on the bed.  The extra pillow had been encased with a blue case which coordinated with the  bright green, yellow, and blue striped percale sheets.  Even by my low decorating standards it wouldn't work with the new set, but the case I'd bought earlier in the day would.  Problem solved.  (Can you see it peeking out from behind the flannel?)

So what did I wrap the gift in?  A pillowcase from the bottom of my linen drawer.  It doesn't look remotely holidayish, but as long as there's a present in there I don't think the recipient will mind too much.