Let’s be honest, we have all received some homemade Christmas gifts that never saw the light of day again – sometimes they are well intentioned and so we might not care that our peppermint-scented ruler holder won’t get too much use. The thought and love behind it makes up for it’s lack of usefulness. But what if there were some Christmas presents you could make and give to people that they would appreciate the thought (more than a gift card), were used and enjoyed, and saved you money to boot?
The recent issue of Real Simple
But there are a few other gift ideas listed below that I think would have a decent chance of being enjoyed by many!
1. Chocolate Nut Bark
This one was featured in Real Simple and is indeed real simple! You only need to buy 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 2.5 cups of mixed nuts. You then melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a (but not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally. Next you spread the chocolate evenly on a parchment-lined 9×13 inch baking pan and sprinkle with the nuts. Refrigerate until firm (about 30 mins). After that you can break into pieces and keep at room temperature for a week.
2. Beeswax candles
This was a homemade gift that I received one year and loved it. I particularly enjoy beeswax tealight candles over paraffin wax (the wax used in most candles) because of their health benefits. Buying them can be expensive, but making them really isn’t too difficult and can even be fun. I like making tea lights because they are simple, but if you want something even simpler you can learn how to make rolled candles.
3. A homemade clock
You can go to just about any crafty store and find a Clock Kit
4. Monogrammed Journal
This was another one that Real Simple had that I thought was pretty cool. Basically you just buy a hardback journal and add a little creative flair to it. They say to get a few letter stamps and rubber banding them together, so you can stamp the monogram consistently. From there you can let your imagination run wild – check out the pic for inspiration.
5. Chocolate-chip cookies
Get a little Christmas Tin, make cookies, and give it away. This is a winning gift every time!
6. Painted pot for plants
This was actually a homemade gift we received for our wedding. The giver bought a standard clay pot and decorated it and painted our names on it. Then she planted a little plant in it and we are still using our pot today! It’s a great way to take a simple item and give it some personality.
7. Build a birdhouse
I haven’t done this in a while, but I built my mom a birdhouse when I was about 12 or so and she cried. This was a perfect example of a homemade present having so much more value than a store-bought one. I could have probably purchased a far-superior birdhouse for a few bucks, but my investment of time and energy into it made it a great gift. For a little instruction you can check out this video on how to build one from a single piece of wood.
8. Gold-leaf vases
This was also in the Real Simple issue and while I wouldn’t get that much of a kick out of these, I think my wife would dig them. Basically you can just find a few small vases from the thrift store and get a Gold Leaf Kit
9. Terrarium
I remember making one of these as a kid and loved watching the the little contained eco-system. I used an old gallon jar of Mauls bbq sauce and had it for years. This post has some great ideas to get you started.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m really craving some chocolate now! I think even simple ideas like a few pictures on a page with a nice handwritten letter goes a long way! Simple, inexpensive and touching.
Making gifts that correlate to memories shared I think is a great way to go for the holidays! Now, I should probably put that into practice and get creative for my wife’s gift!
I always buy my gifts and I haven’t tried making them. I hope I can do one in your list this Christmas.
Every year I make my fiancee a cd with all the year’s music that we have shared together. It’s the modern version of a mix tape. This year I also make a comic book version of her half-marathon that she completed this year. I had it printed through shutterfly.
I went to a frugal Christmas program at one of my area libraries a couple of weeks ago. One of the demonstrations was of chocolate making. The tips from the candy maker include make sure you buy the chocolate needed for candy making – there’s a specific chemistry involved so you may need to find the stuff at a cake or craft supply store. You also don’t want to buy more chocolate than you need for that season because it won’t keep to next year.
There’s something great about giving and receiving gifts that are homemade. Anyone can go to a store or order something online. The Chocolate Nut Bark is the clear winner for me. The hard part won’t be making it, but not eating it before I give it to friends and family. I’ve made at least one homemade gift the past 3 years or so for my wife when we were dating. It’s nice to know that she still treasures them. If you’re not very crafty, buy a cheap frame(s) and print some photos on photo paper. My family loves pictures and it makes a great gift to remember.
My niece and I made some Christmas journals the day after Thanksgiving. She even taught me a trick or two. Bless her heart.
Christmas ornaments made out of small gourds are used at least once a year.
Very good ideas for homemade gifts. One that I’ve done before is a homemade lamp. You can buy a lamp kit which includes the socket and wiring for under $10 at Home Depot / Lowes. You take an empty bottle, vase, or whatever and run the wiring through it. I did one for my girlfriend has an anniversary present. I took an old wine jug and put a rose in it, filled it with pink ballistics gel that I made myself, and put a blacklight bulb in the lamp kit. Took about $20 for everything and a few hours of my day. Excluding the time that it took for the gel to set.
These are all real nice gifts. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for the ideas. I love the birdfeeder idea and I know my wife would too. Keep up the good work.
One year when money was especially tight I gathered some woodsy materials (wild grape vines, pine cones, etc) and made wreaths. I cut the pine cones to look like “flowers” and hot glued the materials to the grapevine wreaths. Then sprayed them with a spray shellac. I can’t remember how many I made, but the only cost was the spray shellac, hot glue and time. My brother kept his hanging in his house for years.
Christmas budget was tighter this year, but I could do better with gifts that really would be remembered. Thanks for the encouragement.
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