Dilemma

I was going to post today about a dilemma regarding Matea's Christmas quilt. In all honesty, after finishing Bella's pink quilt, I totally forgot about making Matea's. Yesterday, I was working on a bag for my shop and thinking about the fact that Christmas is just about three months away. Then it occurred to me that I hadn't even thought about the quilt I need to make for my baby girl.

So, here was the dilemma. When I went through my scraps a few months ago, I made a pile of pink for Bella and a pile of red for Matea. I know full well that Tatey likes purple, not red, but since she's three, I was thinking I could just convince her to like red. But then I started thinking about the fairness in Bella getting a quilt that's her favorite color and Tatey getting something that she really doesn't like. And I also thought about my Christmas budget. Last year, we went WAY over our holiday budget. Like double:( This year, we've created a Christmas account at our bank with automatic deposits. We'll get that money in November and have agreed not to spend anything more. There is absolutely no way I can fit a $100+ quilt into the budget. No way at all.

So, I was going to post here asking for advice. I feel like it's the battle our little family is constantly facing...sticking to our tight budget vs. splurging and spoiling. I decided to splurge. I was ordering bag supplies and stumbled across some purple designer fabrics for $5/yard. I bought three yards and one yard of a full price splurge fabric. I just couldn't stand the thought of Tatey unwrapping her quilt on Christmas morning and saying, "But I like purple, not red." And I know I could use it as a lesson about gratefulness but sometimes you just want your kid to be overjoyed. Living on such a tight budget and having to work nights and weekends sucks and I don't want to have to think about that on Christmas. I just want to see both girls insanely happy and in love with their (few) gifts.

So, of course, now I need to find the money to finish the quilt. I'm thinking of ideas for my Etsy shop like personalized ornaments or stockings that might sell well. Something like the freakin trick or treat bags (I hate so much) that provided some nice extra income for my family the last few years. Any other ideas?