A couple of years ago, my husband's family installed a rule on Christmas gifts, that they should be homemade and not store bought. The intention was a good one, and that is it would save everyone money because the kids have grown up and have kids of their own at this point. However, I have found it very challenging to find the time to make homemade Christmas gift items that people would actually use. I always make homemade Christmas cookies for all of our family members in addition to giving gifts. Last year I tried following the rule, by purchasing a few small items to go with a homemade gift. For example, I decorated plain white mugs to look like snowmen, and gifted my sister-in-law's family with a basket of personalized snowmen mugs with a package of hot chocolate and other treats. I am racking my brain for ideas of homemade gift items to give this year, as I would like to start early in case the item I choose to give is time consuming. So far, I have come up with the idea of making homemade chocolates and wrapping them in a fancy box, but that's it! I need more ideas. Do you have any homemade gift ideas? What gifts have you made for others that were a big hit? Are there any Diy Christmas gifts you've attempted to make but that didn't turn out?
I always try to make homemade gifts, although like you I often couple them with store bought things. Although it really depends on the person and what I've made! I usually make edible gifts so here are some suggestions from things that I've made over the years: Fudge - It's super simple if you use condensed milk. You can make microwave fudge in a matter of minutes! (Plus cooling time of course). It always goes down well! Chutneys, relishes, jams or sauces - If you can pick up a lot of fruit or vegetables fairly cheaply, you only really need to throw them into a slow cooker or into a saucepan (depending on the recipe) and then bottle or can them into sterilised containers of your liking. They always go down well too! Cookie or cake mix in a jar - Just add the instructions for how to cook whatever is inside and anything they need to add. It takes some of the stress out of cooking for the recipient, and saves giving them excess food too. These tend to go down pretty well provided the person receiving it enjoys cooking. Ice cream - If it's possible to get it to the recipient still frozen and straight into their freezer, this can be a good option. I like to add a little Irish Cream to the ice cream if the recipient drinks. It always goes down well, but it can be difficult to transport and keep ice cream frozen. I usually only give it to people that live close to me. Bark - This is so simple to make. All you have to do is melt chocolate and pour it into a tray of some sort then add whatever you want to the top, such as peppermints, popcorn, M&Ms, whatever you fancy really. You can do dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, or a layered combination of all three. Then just break it or cut it into pieces and package it. An alternative to this would be dipping pretzels in chocolate and then adding something else over the top. You said that you make cookies already, but have you tried making crackers, or savory cookies? Cheese straws always go down well for example, or biscuits for cheese. And while this is technically cheating, I suppose, unless you make your own cheese, wine or board.. Cheese boards - You can pick up several good quality cheeses, a bottle of wine and a cheese board or wooden chopping board and package them neatly. I've done this a few times too and it's gone down well, but whether you can really count it as "home made" for your family, I'm not sure. I've done it more for someone I simply knew loved cheese and wine, so it worked for them. I hope these ideas can help you out!
Great ideas! I love the ideas of consumable gifts that people can use, and sweets are always great. I will definitely look into Christmas fudge and Christmas bark. Another thing I was thinking of making and canning is apple butter. Apples are quite inexpensive this time of year. I have never made apple butter before, but I have seen recipes where it can be cooked low and slow in the slow cooker. It could go into a mason jar with a homemade fancy label of some kind. I have a couple of kids on that side of the family on my list for Christmas gifts as well. I am still looking for easy DIY Christmas gifts for them, also!
Ooh, I could see your point on being pinched for time and having to come up with Christmas gifts you can make homemade. Right now I have an unfinished quilt and some wall hangings that I started working on during the summer and have not finished. They will probably sit around for at least another year before I get around to finishing them. I could not imagine trying to be creative when you have the added pressure of the holiday season looming over your head.
There was one year we tried to make Christmas decorations as a family, but it turned out none of us were really that good at handicrafts and most of what we were able to make didn't look very nice. After an hour of two we collectively decided to give up and just enjoy each other's company while watching a movie and having dinner. It was okay though since it was good for a laugh and we got what we were aiming for anyway which was to just have a nice time being with each other.
I love making homemade Christmas gifts! My mother in law makes the best caramel popcorn. I think that is better than any gift she could possibly buy me! Homemade is appreciated a whole lot more these days!
Have you heard of cookie or brownies in a jar? Each layer represents an ingredient needed to make the cookie or brownie. Like one layer is brown sugar, another layer is flour, chocolate chips, etc. All the person would have to do is add the wet ingredients like eggs, but make sure you decorate the jar. I can knit and crochet so I could easily make some hats and scarves. Although if you don't know how to do those things then you can try something else like jewelry. If you can string some beads on a piece of elastic and then tie a knot, you can make bracelets. I also like using lanyard string to make key chains and jewelry and if you ever buy any, use the glow in the dark type of lanyard string so you can easily find your keys in dark places like the bottom of a purse. Have you tried making peanut brittle before?
