Oscraps

That time of year again: What handmade gifts do you make?

faerywings

faerywings

The Loopy-O
CHEERY O
Everyone in my family has put their foot down this year. No one wants "stuff."
I usually make a lot of gifts and gift baskets every year, so I feel like I have done everything -- within my capabilities LOL- already.

In the past, I made a bunch of aromatherapy/bath and body care products. Scarves and hats. Food gifts, spices and seasonings. Photos and scrap pages of course. Gnomes, hand-painted vases and floral arrangements.
What else? I am drawing a blank at the moment.

So yeah, I need to come up with a bunch of gifts for my family and the idea section of my brain has run dry.

Can we brainstorm together? What kinds of gifts do you make? Bonus points if you have a photo :p
 
faerywings said:
Everyone in my family has put their foot down this year. No one wants "stuff."
I usually make a lot of gifts and gift baskets every year, so I feel like I have done everything -- within my capabilities LOL- already.

In the past, I made a bunch of aromatherapy/bath and body care products. Scarves and hats. Food gifts, spices and seasonings. Photos and scrap pages of course. Gnomes, hand-painted vases and floral arrangements.
What else? I am drawing a blank at the moment.

So yeah, I need to come up with a bunch of gifts for my family and the idea section of my brain has run dry.

Can we brainstorm together? What kinds of gifts do you make? Bonus points if you have a photo :p
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Are they opposed to gift cards or restaurant cards?
 
If I'm handmaking gifts that particular year, I crochet them. Hats, mittens, scarves, etc.
 
vickyday said:
Are they opposed to gift cards or restaurant cards?
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I thought about that, and it might work for the "kids" but not for the rest of the family, who all have lots more money than I do!
We got a Swiss Colony Catalog in the mail yesterday. Gary suggested we could order something from there- I could do a similar food basket just picking up stuff from my local store that would be fresh and way less expensive. I think i am going to do that for Scott and Sam, might do it for my ILs too.
Thanks for the suggestion and for getting my thought processes rolling, too!
 
deej said:
If I'm handmaking gifts that particular year, I crochet them. Hats, mittens, scarves, etc.
Click to expand...
I did that in the past, but I don't have the time or patience to start that again. Really, it comes down to patience at this point! LOL!
 
I do have an idea to try-- I am thinking about making seed papers. I had collected zinnia seeds and might try to make some homemade paper with them.
Ooooh, thought processes connecting:
I have some veggie seeds. If I make the paper with one of the vegetables, it would make the food baskets much more personal.

You all rock, thank you!
 
faerywings said:
I thought about that, and it might work for the "kids" but not for the rest of the family, who all have lots more money than I do!
We got a Swiss Colony Catalog in the mail yesterday. Gary suggested we could order something from there- I could do a similar food basket just picking up stuff from my local store that would be fresh and way less expensive. I think i am going to do that for Scott and Sam, might do it for my ILs too.
Thanks for the suggestion and for getting my thought processes rolling, too!
Click to expand...
Oh! That is a great idea! And you have the catalog to mimic your baskets from! My SIL used to send us Swiss Colony stuff! Always loved receiving them!
 
I used to make photo calendars for our friends and for us. I would scrap pages with their leftover pictures. They had more scrap pages than I did. The calendars were a big hit and really missed when I stopped making them.
 
faerywings said:
And sing. Buddy the Human Elf always tells us the elves love to sing :)

@JeanneMN I did calendars a few times, but scrapped a lot of pages and then framed them for family. The calendars were a lot of work :multitasking:
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They were a TON of work. My friend I made them for told me I could make them for other people and "probably get" $25 for them. No, not a scrapper or computer person.
 
Yeah, days, weeks......she said the same thing about the end of season slide shows I put together from all the pics I took at every game while their 2 girls played. Any craft is the same way , I'd never sell my quilts either.
 
faerywings said:
I could do a similar food basket just picking up stuff from my local store that would be fresh and way less expensive.
Click to expand...
Definitely do them yourself if you go that route. It feels like the basket places pack that food about 9 months ago -- nothing is very fresh and they seem full of preservatives. The only advantage is that if you have to mail them, they take care of that.

Some years I get ambitious enough to make dozens of different cookies and snacks, and then pack them up and mail them. It ends up costing a couple hundred dollars because no one lives near me. The years that I knit everyone hats or slippers is easier, they're lighter and not fragile.
 
I'm a dud when it comes to ideas but I love what everyone had suggested. I love the basket idea of things you make up yourself. I bet Salvation Army or second hand store would have baskets for cheap. One year I bought fun sets of wine glasses and put them in a fabric bag, some crackers an then added $20 for wine and cheese as I was mailing them. Local friends I added the wine and cheese. Some loved it some hated it.
 
Mrs. Claus knits socks for all of the elves for Christmas. They are very soft and cozy so we don't get blisters on our feet because we're always on the move rushing around helping Santa. They are red, with cozy white furry cuffs, but sometimes I'm running so fast I get cuff fuzz up my nose, have you ever gotten cuff fuzz up your nose? Have you tried to run with cuff fuzz up your nose? It's not as has as running with marbles or jacks up your nose, but it does tickle so then I you sneeze while you run and that kind of throws off the balance and well if you have a pile of toys in your hands that can be dangerous. Mrs. Claus also puts our names on in shiny gold stitches right below the cuff fuzz, but my name doesn't make me sneeze, just the fuzz duzz.
 
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