Gift ideas: To make.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 09:11AM Ready for more gift ideas? How about things to make? You can mull them over during the Thanksgiving break. ;)
I'll be honest. I haven't been feeling particularly crafty this year. I've not done much in the way of scrapbooking and if I manage to make holiday cards this year, it'll be a feat. :) But. If *you're* feeling ambitious and want to make some Christmas gifts this year, here are a few ideas I've used in the past:
Glass magnets. Simple and easy to personalize. How about pictures of your kids with their grandparents for the grandparents? Pictures of instruments for that favorite music teacher? Letters of the alphabet for that pre-schooler on your list? Here is a tutorial that I've followed before. I picked up some cute tins from this place. (Incidentally, I know from experience that it's easier to package magnets in a metal container than to leave them loose in a glass jar...just so you know.) Slap a cute ribbon around it all and call it good. ;) Here are a portion of the many I made last year:
;)
Yes. I tend to make things in bulk. On the one hand, it covers many gifts all at once and is less expensive overall. On the other hand, man, this took a long time. If you make things in bulk, don't wait until the weekend before you plan to give the gifts out, okay? ;)
Personalized shirts. The possibilities are endless. ;) There are scads of places available for this sort of thing. Here's the one I've used most recently.
Ornaments. Oh. My. Heck. I could devote an entire blog just to ornament ideas. I won't. But I could. Places like this are great for simple kid craft ideas. Personally, I like to just browse my favorite stores and see things I like and then try to figure out how to make it myself. ;) I try to do things in themes so tend to pick something general that can then be personalized for each recipient such as little frames with pictures. Look through my blog entries in December of 2008 for many more ideas to do with your kids. ;)
Candies. Ah, candy. I've had years where I sent everyone See's lollypops or Hammond's candy canes. (Did you know that you can go tour the Hammond factory in Denver? Santa will be there Dec. 11. We've been before...good times.). Something about quality candy just appeals to me. ;) In the "things you can make" department, though...a couple years ago we made homemade chocolate suckers for our neighbors and I fondly remember making bon bons with my mom growing up. Here are the suckers:
;)
We wrapped each tree individually in a little bag and placed them in wooden bowls from the Target dollar spot...added some mini candy canes, and voila!
Lemon bread. I don't bake much, but I can handle little gift-sized loaves of lemon bread. Mmmm. I'm sure other types of bread are good, too. :) The Target dollar spot and places like the Dollar Store make this even easier nowadays with cute little loaf pans that are perfect for gift giving. (When I did this, I wrapped the loaves in cellophane and tied with ribbon.)
Votives. I haven't actually done this but was remembering the cute jar candles that the boys made a couple years ago. Something like that would be really cute and easy for gifts, don't you think? Here's Noah's jar candle in progress:
;)
Papergoods. Obviously, gifts made by me over the years have included great amounts of scrapbooking...mini albums, layouts to go in larger albums, works to be hung on the wall, items to be placed on one's desk, blank notecard sets, etc. Methinks going into any more detail would require a separate blog post...or a separate blog. ;) Suffice it to say, papergoods are also a lovely option for gifts you can make.
So. What are some of your "go-to" crafts to make for gifts? (Really. I'd love to know...always looking for more ideas!)
Reader Comments (3)
Love all of the ideas. Not sure that I'd be adventurous enough and do the magnet route though. LOL!
I like making ornaments. In the past, I glittered up sand dollars (when we lived in GA, near the coast) with white snowy glitter and strung with with red ribbon. I also cut out simple snowmen, gingerbread people and stars out of wood on my scroll saw. My girls helped me paint them, add strips of white/green fabric for scarves, etc.
This year, I've crocheted about 20 hot pads out of sheep or alpaca wool. They're so pretty! I also made yo-yos and sewed them onto barrettes for little girls.
I do love making magnets...they are so much fun. I ended up using modge podge for adhesive between the glass, paper and magnet! I need to make more gifts for little boys...so maybe I'll make some robot magnets?
My fav bulk gift to make and give is Russian Tea mix. I have a stash of 5 oz jars & lids, whip up a batch of this yummy orange tea and make pretty labels. Easy to store, give and USE!