I am well aware of the fact that Advent begins in two short weeks, and Christmas—four weeks later! Rather than panic and procrastinate, (my usual response), I am trying to brainstorm a list of ideas for family members and godparents who need nothing but deserve everything.
I want to go handmade this year as much as possible, though I am not (yet) all that crafty when it comes to sewing & knitting & embroidering, etc.
Do you like the little “yet” I stuck in there? It means I have hope! There is always hope for me!
We had a great discussion last week on movie-viewing and home health care. Today I would like to hear your ideas on homemade gifts. Do you plan on giving any? Do you know of any good websites with tutorials? Do you have recipes? Templates? Great ideas you could share with us?
Here is one idea, courtesy of my friend Tina. She put together a “Family Night” basket for her brother and his gang that included microwave popcorn, video store certificates, and—here’s the kicker—a set of flannel jammie pants for Mom & Dad and all the kids.
Cute, huh? You gotta be able to sew, though. If you do, well, there’s a good idea for you.
So what do you have for us today?
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
I have no advice for you, because I too am not good at those things “yet”, but I can’t wait to read the comments you get so I can get some advice, too. I might use some of those ideas for gifts for my little girls, because we’re learning at the same time. In fact, my oldest has to show me how to do things sometimes. 🙂
I’ll be doing some “gifts in a jar” of some of my favorite recipes. I will hand paint the jars again. I love to paint and it is my ONLY excuse to sit down and pick up a brush. I’m thinking Cherry Garcia Scones…
We design and make an ornament to give every year. The kids and I go to my husband’s work and hand them out. We also give them to family, friends, and teachers. They aren’t that hard to do, and we always get great comments on them. I am going to try and post about them over the next few weeks.
I love the “gifts in a jar” idea, especially for people who are local or that you’ll be traveling to see. (Alas, they’re too heavy to mail to my friends in Alaska!)
I’ve seen Cathie’s hand-painted jars and they are lovely. Another idea would be to pick up a couple of sheets of Christmas stickers at the craft store and put those on the jars. Add some pretty ribbon for the lid with the baking instructions attached and you’re good to go!
And Therese, I had forgotten about homemade ornaments. Those would not be too heavy to mail!
We’re making Christmas ornaments. Nothing elaborate, probably just painted wooden hearts or stars. On the back though I will write the real gift, a charity donation.
People like the grandparents and what not don’t need anything, so we’re going to donate to charities they support in their name and give them the ornaments to remind them. And maybe a family photo too! 😉
I’m making these:
http://www.spinningleaf.com/cookie-molds/index.php
And some Christmas cookies like the ones in this tutorial I did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kavingate/2969842337/
And an awesomely easy (read: fast)fruitcake for the weirdos on my list who like it.:) Recipe here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28032559@N00/2112096080
I can help anyone with questions! 🙂
For those close to you that you don’t mind putting a bit more effort into..
Homemade heating/cooling packs:
Sew a pouch from fleece or muslin and fill with rice. Add some dried lavender and perhaps some vanilla essential oils. A few minutes in the microwave and it will hold heat for 2-3 hours.
Homemade Lip Balm/Gloss:
Don’t be intimidated by the thought. There are some super simple recipies online and you can customize flavor/color/scent. If you’re careful about packaging, these can be really nice.
Homemade salt/sugar scrubs:
Same principle. Easy ingredients, customzize scent and color and you can buy used containers from the thrift store and as long as you don’t mind a bit of elbow grease in cleaning, they can be quite lovely!
I will do some food gifts this year too. Homemade caramel apples, rolled in nuts. Homemade jerky (made from ground beef!!! super easy!) Cookies are always nice. Homemade fruit/nut mixes. Try plain almonds with dried blueberries. Heavenly!
I found recipes and instructions for all of these ideas and more by simplying typing in “homemade gift ideas” into my Google search engine. The biggest thing I’ve noticed with homemade gifts is it’s all about presentation. You can gift something as simple as a loaf of homemade banana bread, but if you package it with care, it feels more special.
Sorry to be so wordy – I’m excited to see what others will be doing this holiday season.
Faith & Family had a wonderful recipe for chocolate chip scones that was a "gift in a jar" a few years back. I have given these out and gotten rave reviews back.
We got a neat gift last year from friends: homemade cookes delivered in a mixing bowl with a spatula and cookie cutters.
Here’s the link to Danielle’s Chocolate Chip Scones, and here’s a link for Cherry Garcia Cookies.
I’m going to go bake now. 😉
Have you ever made a photo book? You can do some really neat things with those and relatives LOVE pictures of your kiddos!
I realize that canning season is over, but if you ever want to know how to do that, I can help you. I’m giving away some salsa this year.
I’ve also done notecards with different “art” from my kiddos. Just buy card stock and have them do some fun paintings or spin art.
I’m not planning much in the way of homemade gifts this year, but I did think of putting together hot chocolate fixings for my older girls – some homemade chocolate mix, marshmallows, and chocolate sprinkles. If I can find some cheap, fun mugs to fill with them all the better.
I hear ya on the ‘spirit is willing but the talent is weak’ in regards to homemade/crafty gifts.
For the fine motor impaired I find loom knitting to me a great craft. It is much easier than regular knitting (imo) and goes much faster (at least comparing beginner to beginner).
Google ‘loom knitting’ and/or Knifty Knitters and see what you come up with. Being that you live in the Great White North, hats, mittens, scarves, slippers etc…are probably all welcome presents.
I'm trying to do all handmade gifts this year. We're on a serious budget, and my girls are two-year-old twins and an eight-month-old–so they're too young to know or care about "more" presents!
I made coloring books (bound at Kinko's for $3 each) for our "little" friends–I just drew 15 pictures (it's a random assortment of What I Am Able To Draw: a cactus/desert scene, a tree, a giraffe, an airplane that my husband took a look at and then said, "The wings are on backwards.", etc.) with a "pretty" piece of paper as the cover sheet.
My mom found an easy hand-sewable doll pattern that I'm using for our closer/better "little" friends.
I take black & white photographs and have matted and framed some for the adults in our lives. I also stamped (using wine corks) dishtowels (with pictures of blueberries, grapes, and kumquats) for some of my female relatives.
I'm making a soft baby doll for my 8-month-old (just free-hand) and a crayon-roll-up-carrying-case for each of my big girls (they're also getting a coloring book).
I put together a do-it-yourself kit for a friend whose birthday is at the end of November for her to make beanbags for her little girl: I cut two pieces of several cute fabrics, pinned them together, put a spool of thread and a mason jar full of dried beans, and hand-made a pincushion (also free-handed) (which holds a couple of needles) all together in a little basket.
Baby's crying… I'll add more later!
I’m back… thirty minutes doesn’t count as a nap, does it? Can someone PLEASE tell my 8-month-old?!?
Anyway, I forgot to mention that the coloring books are being packaged in t-shirt bags: take an old t-shirt, sew the bottom together, cut off the sleeves (with the sleeve-connected-to-shoulder seam) and the collar (in a big circle: this will be where you reach into the bag, so you want it bigger than just the head-hole of the shirt), and voila! you’ve got a simple bag! (the “shoulders” of the shirt become the “straps” of the bag–it’s floppy and sort of shaped like a plastic grocery bag: very square-shaped).
I’m using kid-sized shirts (around 12 months size) for my two-year-olds, and small or medium (ladies) adult shirts for my adult girlfriends. You can either shop your own old t-shirts or sale racks. There are some cute shirts out there, and this way you don’t have to worry about whether they fit you (or the intended recipient!)
Thanks for this opportunity to add my ideas to the pot!
Last year –Collage pics of their Godchild growing up.
This year– gift baskets with microwave popcorn from the Boy Scout fundaraiser that shows I didn’t sic my kids on them.
In the past– One year I didnot yet have many gifts to buy and made small gingerbread houses.
One year I started early and forced tulip bulbs in pretty pots.
One easy Christmas cookie idea– make lots of the same shape differnt size and stack them, give in a clear gift bag.
One daddy gift— I bought a canvas and put on a layer of paint then dipped the kids hands in paint. It records the year we hit a half dozen kids.
Handprints on t shirts or sweatshirts make great grandparent gifts too.
Our oldest daughter is making homemade body scrubs/washes this year.
Usually I do gift baskets with items purchased with steep discounts (Halloween movie candy, movie theater popcorn containers for $1 at Target and family friend movies, a box or several boxes(depending on family size)of microwave popcorn.
I'm not very crafty but my kids and I did make these last year and gave some away as gifts:http://www.paideaclassics.org/index.php?sid=&cart_id=&admin=1&category_id=638
Some years I have the kids make “snowman soup” for their friends: a baggie filled with a candy cane, chocolate chips, marshmallos and hot cocoa and a cute little saying on a cute snowman card stapled at the top!
I always give my “green bread” to neighbors and a few friends. I gave you a loaf one year, the recipe is on my cooking blog (jamieskitchenblessings.blogspot.com)
Wish I sewed, I’d love to sew everyone I knew something….oh, well.
I like this new Sat Chat you’ve started here, how fun!!!
Margaret…
I almost always make handmade gifts for family and close friends.
I get a lot of my ideas from Family Fun Magazine. Theyhave a great website…you should visit. Also…do you have a Hobby Lobby near you? They have great kits available.
This year…I plan to do some baking for a change.
Please share what you decide to do!!
My children have enjoyed receiving ragged quilts as gifts in the past. I did a quick search for instructions and found this – http://jubileehomespun.com/info/Quilt_Instructions.htm (I would be terrible at trying to explain it myself.) I hope to make one for my little one to receive this Christmas, but I’m rapidly running out of time, especially since I do all the sewing by hand as I do not have a sewing machine. Hopefully I’ll get motivated soon!
For my Godson, we got some thin wooden shapes at the craft store (snowflake, heart, teddy bear, etc), the kiddos painted them, I added details and then super glued magnets on the back.
For the babies in my life I made stuffed balls with a bell inside.
I made a “Ruby doll” found online for my five year old, and a simple spiderman quilt and pillow for my son. I’m interested in making gym bags for my husband and mother in law but haven’t found a pattern yet.
Flannel tissues (hankies), tote bags, knitted and sewn pocket tissue holders, mantilla holder using the pocket tissue holder idea, cloth bookmark, knitted hats, knitted washcloths, knitted scarves, covered composition notebook. Uh, oh. Better get to work.
Oh, doll quilt for my girls and Little House type bonnets.
One more: I made Texas hot chocolate mix one year for all my in-laws (it’s got a bit of a kick).
Two ideas ideas to start:
1. The kids from one of our home school groups are doing a "secret Christmas friend" this year. They all choice names last week and began an advent craft. Yes, a bit early but it was the only week where everyone would be at our park day.
Here are some of the ideas I heard the kids talk about: crochet fingerless mitts, sewing book bags for the book lovers, little quilts for the favorite dolls, sewn rosary pouches, and lots of pies & cookies.
2. Last year I stitched a full set of felt Jesse ornaments for my sister-in-law & her family. 25 days of individual symbols from the bible. They did come out nice and were fun/easy to do.
3. Make up a nice big batch of pancake mix and put the mix in a nice self sealed jar. These made nice family gifts a few years back.
4. for the cooks out there make some chili oil, rosemary olive oils, or use whatever herb you like. Again easy and inexpensive…but very nice. My mother-in-law keeps giving me back her empty bottle to refill it w/ the chili oil. Very cute
5. okay I did say 2 ideas right? Sorry I got carried away.
I hope you like some of ideas..I can give details to most of these if you like. Just let me know.
God Bless you all.
Elizabeth
CA
Elizabeth,
where did you get the patterns for the jesse tree felt ornaments? please share! 🙂
thanks for all these great ideas everyone!
~Lina Martin
A few years back I made mini-stockings from old, worn out jeans (my son’s of course!). I just used scraps from other projects to add embellishments (buttons, beads, felt, etc). They turned out really cute. I would add some candy kisses or candy canes stuffed inside.
I like to do fleece blankets for anyone who has had (or is soon expecting) a baby. They also work for college students and people in general…I love them myself. They’re not hard–no sewing–but the fleece can be kind of pricey.
Every year my mother and father and I spend a day making nut roll. It’s our family tradition to have this treat for Christmas and we give away many of them each year. Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago I opened a Vermont Country Store catalog and found “our nutroll” for sale for $20 a loaf. My mom donates several to her church for their Christmas Bazaar and they sell for $10 a loaf. Apparently our gifts are worth more than what we thought!
Good luck with your search for gifts.
Ah heck, Ellen. I was hoping you’d include the recipe! 😉
Check your e-mail in box – I sent the recipe.
Hi Margaret,
Every year I end up giving some homemade jams and things like that to the mailman/gargbage man, etc. Other than that, we are just really doing gifts for the kids and that’s about it!
I did set a goal for getting all the Christmas shopping done by Nov. 15th…. that didn’t happen as of yet, but I’m working on it!
Hope you are doing well and enjoying pregnancy :).
+JMJ
Mary in MN
Margaret,
I just found this wonderful Handmade Blogging festival the other day, which started a few weeks ago and goes on another few weeks. I was really inspired visiting all the links. You might want to check it out:
http://smallnotebook.org/2008/10/26/holidays-by-hand-festival/
Handmade cards are always nice if you have the time.
We like to make a ‘video’ Christmas card slide show of our pictures from the year, set to music and put on CD/DVD so that our far away family can see some of our adventures for the year. It turns out really cute and with the program, “Memories on TV” it is really easy, click and drag and you have a nice present!
Margeret forgive me for using your post to send a message to Lina Martin.
Regarding the Jesse Tree ornaments:
I didn’t have a pattern for the ornaments. I did a bit of research via the internet on what other Jesse Tree ornaments looked like. Then came up w/ my own depending on the scripture.
For instance:
Ruth=grain. I drew a bundle of grain on regular paper then used the template to cut out the shape on a light shade of brown felt.
I used 2 dark brown circles of felt and stiched the grain on one piece, then stiched the two cirles together addind the day to the back.
I ended up w/ a gift to myself because I revisted scriptures and refected on them to get an idea for the patterns. It was an awesome way to prepare for Christmas.
Does this make sense? Sorry, I hope it does.
I wish I could show you the pictures. I can tell you, or anyone else that is interested, what I used for each day.
Elizabeth
CA
I can’t really get my brain around homemade gifts this year,,,new baby year…but we are also on a budget and want something cute for the grandparents, etc. I found the other day that I can design a calendar on the walmart photo website (I’m sure snapfish and others have similar things) and use cute seasonal photos of the kids on them. That’s my plan for them.
Hi, I’ve been reading the blog for a month. I’ve found a felt Jesse tree kit that we’ve been using (they also have a Lenten version).
The link is through our Archdioce’s Marriage and Family Life. I’ve enclosed it here: http://www.archspm.org/family/LR/lr_res_ap_adch.html