Random: Crafty Gifts?

auroranflash
auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
in Chit-Chat
I'm sure a good Pinterest explore would offer SEVERAL options, but until then...

Do you ever give homemade presents as gifts around the holidays? I am thinking jarred food (jams, fruits, etc), artwork, crafty gifts, etc?

Maybe even a pinecone bird feeder? :tongue:

I wanted to see the creative side of MFP. Show or tell about some way you managed to put creativity into gift giving during the holidays. :flowerforyou:

(subtext: I'm poor this year. HALP)
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Replies

  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I'm learning how to make soap :)
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member
    I'm poor this Christmas, so I'm taking orders and baking pies and tarts for everyone.

    For those who live far away, I'm mailing the 'Cookies in a jar' things where they just add eggs and butter and bake 'em :)
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    I'm poor this Christmas, so I'm taking orders and baking pies and tarts for everyone.

    For those who live far away, I'm mailing the 'Cookies in a jar' things where they just add eggs and butter and bake 'em :)

    That sounds awesome. I may have to get in on this... :)
  • creech6317
    creech6317 Posts: 869 Member
    My daughter and I make cookies and candies. I also crochet, so scarves are a good gift.
  • millions0fpeaches
    millions0fpeaches Posts: 195 Member
    I usually try to make my cards rather than just getting the printed photo ones... Last year I made snowflake ornaments, too. $8 for a nice 6 piece set of cookie cutters and a few bucks for some pearlized paint. I had oven bake clay, ribbon, wedding favor boxes, and tissue paper at home, but even if you had to buy all of it, you're probably only looking at like $30 tops. I think I made 50 of them?
  • misalillstead
    misalillstead Posts: 407 Member
    Candles are pretty fun to make at home! :)
  • IronDame
    IronDame Posts: 275
    I made people scarves last year for Christmas. They loved them.
  • michelletr
    michelletr Posts: 218 Member
    I'm baking cookies, and cheesecakes. I crocheted dishcloth. I am knitting slippers, hats,scarves and mitts. I actually have quite a few "homemade" things I am doing,lol.
  • _Elemenopee_
    _Elemenopee_ Posts: 2,665 Member
    Thanks to my Pinterest obsession!

    Draw on wax paper with permanent markers, wrap around candle and heat until image is transferred.
    245094404691826170_SqFY1rnt_c.jpg

    Donuts and milk
    429601251924178198_omOmZpGJ_c.jpg

    Elmer's glue then paint one color overtop.
    273101164873727935_27O77tc2_c.jpg

    There are more...there are always more!!! lol
  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
    Jewelry. I did it when I was a po' hoe. Worked great
  • ukstarlight05
    ukstarlight05 Posts: 86
    I often make homemade gifts, they are generally baked goods because I love baking and members of my family don't often make themselves breads/pies/cookies from scratch (and I try to make things as healthy as possible!). My grandparents love when I make them loaves of bread or muffins and freeze them; I can prepare them prior to the holiday/occassian and then they can decided when they want to enjoy the treats. I also enjoy painting so I've painted pictures, gotten frames, and given those as gifts. If I had more time I'd love to get into jewlery making.
  • _skittybang
    _skittybang Posts: 970 Member
    Last year I made beer for friends and family :drinker:

    I also will buy some gift they asked for and paint a small picture of something they like, something about their personality, music icon, animal, whatever to go along with it - and always a little canvas - because I think they're cute and if they hate the painting, it's easy to hide. :bigsmile:
  • azzkikin
    azzkikin Posts: 458 Member
    Biodiesel
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
    i can only do the knit stitch, but i can knit scarves!
  • _crafty_
    _crafty_ Posts: 1,682 Member
    I will spend about 3 days straight, 10+ hours a day, in my kitchen baking about a week before Christmas. I give all of my family and friends holiday tins filled with homemade/hand decorated (scratch made, I DO NOT use mixes) cookies, candy and other confections.

    Everyone always loves the homemade gifts. I give them to my friends and business partners before the actual holiday and they share them with their families over the holiday.

    They've all come to expect the goodies and aniticpate the day I deliver them. I think that if I started going out and buying gifts for people instead of baking that I would get lynched.
  • _ylime_
    _ylime_ Posts: 661 Member
    I make these cute little pretzle chocolate things... I pack them in jars with a little ribbon around the top... everyone seems to love them (beware they are addictive little buggers.... )

    the ones I make are similar to the link below... but I used melting chocolate instead of the hershey's kiss (you can get it at any craft store)

    http://spoonful.com/recipes/holiday-pretzel-treats
  • fabandfunat51
    fabandfunat51 Posts: 117 Member
    Oh my goodness! For the past five years, all I've given are homemade, mostly edible gifts. Go to Livingonadime.com She has TONS of gifts to make.

    One of my favorites is here: www.livingonadime.com/candy-christmas-wreath/

    Fun to make, and inexpensive and customizable to everyone.

    I also make handmade jewelry for all the women/girls on my list.

    Enjoy!
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    I bake for my family. I did it when I was on Mat Leave and I had a baby and an asshat that decided to go back to school while I was on Mat Leave.....

    so things were interesting.

    as a result the baking tradition has continued via requests...

    dad - shortbread
    mom - chocolate dipped biscotti
    brother 1 - hot toddy mix (in cute mason jars, he really really likes this)
    brother 2 - rum balls, strong on the rum
    sister 1 - nanaimo bars (if you do not know this, it's a Canadian treat...just google it)
    brother 3 - rum balls, again strong on the rum.

    so yeah....relatively cheap and they love it.

    Dad also gets a cheap but interesting bottle of wine, you can find cheap ones that had a great year.

    Mom gets bailey's irish cream.

    My daughter one year picked up plain ornaments and craft pens and decorated an ornament for each grandparent and all her uncles and aunts....that was awesome.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    Last year I made pumpkin spice brown sugar sugar rubs.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I don't know if this helps. I found a poem I liked about moms. Found a cross-stitch alphabet book and freestyled it.

    I made a frame mat out of those free paint stir sticks at the hardware store. Spray paint them the color you want. Then cut them to fit a standard mat and glue. And voila.

    My mom totally digs homemade crafts as presents.

    frame.jpg
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    I'm learning how to make soap :)

    I cheat and re-purpose soap to make new pretty stuff. I made some coffee ground swirled stuff.
  • Eat_clean_stay_tiny
    Eat_clean_stay_tiny Posts: 67
    I make soap, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, things out of clay, I bake, draw, sketch, knit, sew, play piano.. Heh I'm really crafty.
  • horseplaypen
    horseplaypen Posts: 442 Member
    - I'm handwriting a quote on a pale pashmina scarf with fabric markers for my sister-in-law... not sure what quote yet though!
    - everyone will also get a jar of different flavoured roasted chick peas in their stocking
    - I make jewelry as a hobby, so most female family members get that in their stocking too
    - thinking of making some quirky fridge magnets for brother-in-law by buying cool plastic toys (dinosaurs, robots, star trek figures?), spray painting them a uniform colour, and gluing them onto magnets
    - rice hand warmers... cut shapes out of fleece, fill them with rice, and then you heat them in the microwave and stick in your pockets/gloves when it's cold out!
    - coasters with printed/modpodged Harry Potter quotes for my bestie

    All of these are on my Pinterest project board: http://pinterest.com/victoriasarah/projects/ :)
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    Last year I made beer for friends and family :drinker:

    I also will buy some gift they asked for and paint a small picture of something they like, something about their personality, music icon, animal, whatever to go along with it - and always a little canvas - because I think they're cute and if they hate the painting, it's easy to hide. :bigsmile:

    I would love it if someone gave me their own home brews for xmas. For all that goes into brewing, that is beyond generous.
  • jennco3
    jennco3 Posts: 72 Member
    I make chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I get the packaging at the after christmas sells then use those the next year. Home made gifts are awesome! Way more personable.

    I so want to try that elmers glue painting. That is awesome!
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Fudge. I'm the girl everyone expects fudge from every year. They've even started telling me which kinds.

    I just can't escape it and my arms scream every year.

    Oh and snickerdoodles.
  • BritneysStuntDouble
    BritneysStuntDouble Posts: 849 Member
    Have you considered making Caganers? They're pooping figurines sometimes included in Catalan nativity scenes.

    caganer.jpg

    You could even make them cute and trendy, for kids and teens!

    6a011169000929970c0147e0c96d1a970b-320wi

    p10b.jpg

    Cute, huh?!
  • MeMyCatsandI
    MeMyCatsandI Posts: 704 Member
    Bump, because I could use some ideas myself. I already did the knitted scarves, so I can't do that again.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I'm learning how to make soap :)

    I cheat and re-purpose soap to make new pretty stuff. I made some coffee ground swirled stuff.

    Coffee in soap! That sounds awesome! I suppose it would work a bit like a scrub then?
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I've tried all kinds of things. I made one of my sisters a Christmas tree garland this year because she sent me a box of wooden beads that I didn't much like last Christmas, so I thought I'd send them right back to her.

    I buy semi-precious beads and make rose beads for necklaces; might get a few of those made this year. And I bought a kit to try silk scarf painting but don't know if I'll be any good at it. If I am, someone will get that.

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