Christmas is a time of giving, and one of the nicest and best things you can give to someone else is a little piece of yourself. When we think of homemade gifts, thoughts of young children giving arts and crafts projects to their parents or grandparents come to mind first. However, giving something homemade as an adult to another adult can be an excellent idea, especially when it is a homemade gift that shows that you care enough about that other person to make something that suits their tastes. The following are just a few suggestions for these homemade Christmas gifts, as the only limit for this type of gift-giving is your imagination.
Winter Warmer
One of the best things about winter is the cold weather and the excuse that gives you for cuddling up for warmth. Add a nice, warm blanket to that mix and you have a reason not to leave the couch for hours! Making such a blanket for someone else is an excellent homemade gift idea for Christmas, and with a simple no-sew technique for a heavy fleece blanket, this is easy and fun to do.
First you will want to pick out your fleece. Craft stores like, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, have a wide variety of colors and prints to choose from, so you can pick a print that matches the interests and style of the recipient easily. You will need two layers, so you have several other options. You can make one side a print and the other a solid color that coordinates with it, you can have two different prints on the two sides, or any other combination that you can think of. You will want 2 yards of each, perhaps 2.5 yard if the recipient is tall or the blanket will be shared on the couch.
Next you want to lay the two layers of fleece out, back to back, on a large flat surface (a dining room table, a bed, etc.). Make sure that the side you want to be the face is pointing out on each side and that the two layers line up as good as possible. You may have to trim one end to make the edges match.
With a good pair of fabric scissors, cut a 4-inch square out of each corner. Then, starting from the edges created by those squares, make a 4-inch cut into the fleece at even intervals, approximately 1 inch apart. When you are done, you will have little 4-inch by 1-inch strips of fleece all along all four sides of the blanket. When you have all the cuts made, go back around the blanket and gently tie these strips, front to back. A double knot will ensure that they do not separate in the wash. Be careful not to pull too tightly on the knots or you will cause the fleece to pucker.
When you have made knots in all the strips, you will have a lovely, and very warm, homemade fleece blanket to give on Christmas. I have seen countless numbers of these blankets handed out as homemade gifts, and the appreciation for them on the gift-giving occasion is usually only out-done by the appreciation expressed after the next cold streak.
Ah, Memories
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What then is a collection of pictures worth? The time and effort put in to making an album, a DVD, or a printed photo-book of beloved pictures really lets the recipient know how much you truly care. The memories the pictures can evoke would be reason enough to make this an excellent gift, but it is the display of love in putting together these items that make this a homemade gift unlike any other.
The selection of photos will vary with the individual or couple the gift is for. If your recipient is an avid or budding photographer, then finding a way to get copies of his files is the key. If you are making the gift for someone of an older generation, finding and scanning family photos from years past will be paramount.
The pictures you have and the style of the recipient will also help determine what you want to do with them. If you have prints of photos, you may want to do a traditional photo album or a scrapbook. If you have digital photos or the files from scanning prints that have been returned to their owners, you may want to print a photo book or create a photo DVD. York Photo makes excellent quality photo books at reasonable prices, and their software makes designing the book easy.
By making these photo gifts full of the memories of the recipient’s life or having them capture the style of a new photographer, you will have made a wonderful gift for someone and solidified your place as a great gift-giver.
One classic homemade Christmas gift that is still met with smiles is the one-step baking jar. Since the holidays are usually loaded with food already, it only makes sense that a food-related gift be one that can be saved for later and still come out fresh and delicious.
To make one of these one-step baking jars, take a favorite recipe for a baked good and separate out all the dry ingredients. Measure out these ingredients and layer them in a mason jar or similar, clear vessel. Seal the jar and decorate it with a winter or holiday themed ribbon. Finally, attach a handwritten card including the necessary wet ingredients and the mixing and baking instructions for the treats-to-be. Brownies and bar cookies tend to work the best for this sort of treatment.
This is the sort of homemade gift that can be personalized very easily. First, you can take into account the tastes of the recipient. If you know that this person likes a particular type of cookie or baked good, then you can use a recipe that reflects it. But you can also give out jars of mix for specialties you have created, without having to give away the secret ingredients in the dry mix. Finally, you can augment this mix with gourmet coffees or hot chocolate mixes that pair well with the treat. Let your imagination go wild.
As you can see, homemade Christmas gifts can be quite attractive options for your holiday gift-giving occasions. This is especially true in tough economic times when cost may come at a premium compared to the time you can put into these gifts. Where ever your talents and crafting abilities lie, enjoy the holidays and let what you know about the people on your list guide you in creating wonderful homemade gifts for the holidays.
