The end of October and the entirety of November was... hard. An event that happened in my house was especially awful. I'm going to be able to get through it and have been fortunate enough to recieve a lot of support and kindness from friends, both old and new, so I know I'll be alright.
On lighter notes, I celebrate Christmas, although entirely in the food+presents+decorating side of it. My sister-in-law is interested in doing a 'Little Women Christmas', which seems to consist of DIY decorations and cozy activities, so I'm entirely into it. I helped a little over Thanksgiving break in making paper chains and suggested popcorn garlands, which seems to be in line with the whole vibe of the experience. I'm also making (knitting) gifts for everyone on my list.
Mainly, I'm planning on knitting fingerless gloves for most people (around 8 people...), as that's a crowdpleaser and also something that I can churn out in 3-4 hours if I try. I'm also knitting hats for two or so people (one of which is already done), a scarf for Victor, and slippers and socks for my grandpa and grandma respectively. My little sisters are the only ones getting storebought gifts, since they don't have their own money and thus understandably have material items that they'd like and can't buy for themselves at the moment. One mainly wants things off Amazon (easy, even if it makes my cheeks burn that I still have a Prime account...) and the other wants hard copies of random movies, graphic novels, and Japanese snacks, so as I live in SF, those are all easy to get by myself inexpensively, and hopefully the cost to sent a modest package via USPS won't be too much. I already went to Japantown to get a few bits, and I think I got a small cross-section of fun snacks that are hard to find in the Midwest.