Do you make Christmas gifts?

[peavey]

Part of Christmas to me, is knitting or making gifts for people and my family have come to expect it as much as cookies and eggnog. Does anyone else make things as Christmas gifts?

[stacybug]

I started out making Presents for my family when we had small children and I did not work. It was fun and stressful. I made every gift we gave from painted sweat suits, wooden nativity sets and a 3 wise men and 2 camel fireplace screen. Getting crafting is part of my enjoying Christmas. I don't make every gift now but I still make some. Part of my holiday traditions is making homemade goodies. One of my friends always hosts a cookie swap and we all try to make new things and share recipes with each other.

Thanks for getting me thinking about my crafting for this Christmas!
Stacybug

[sugarplum fairy]

I have crocheted some afghans and gave those as gifts before, but I don't on a regular basis.

[peavey]

Oh, my, I don't think I've ever made everything we've given! But I do enjoy making some gifts. One year I knitted hooded sweatshirts for 5 people and it almost did me in.

[Sunshine73]

I'm not a very "crafty" person but I do make a cookies/candy box for each of the ladies in my book club. I did it the first year because we were pretty skint and it was an inexpensive (but still thoughtful) gift.

The next year, Dh and I were in a better place financially so I bought everyone a little gift...and everyone was extremely disappointed that I hadn't brought in another "goodies" box. :-? It was actually kind of funny. I was the last one to arrive at book club that night and it seems everyone had been talking about the cookies and candies that I'd brought the year before and they were all really getting in the mood for some good Christmas calories and I showed up with absolutely nothing that was edible. They couldn't even fake it...they liked their gifts but they were definitely bummed that I didn't bring treats.

So, every year, I bake a box of goodies for all those sweet ladies. :cry:

[candycane]

I make scrapbooks, if that counts :treeguy:

[Billy Battles]

I'm not a very "crafty" person but I do make a cookies/candy box for each of the ladies in my book club.


I am also not crafty. I read a lot, but I have never heard of a book club unless it was like Doubleday or something like that. What is a book club?

[Amanda Elf]

I make scrapbooks, if that counts :treeguy:

Yes, that definately counts! I made my Mother an album and add to it.

[Amanda Elf]

I've made candies, ornaments and that's about it..I'd like to make more but don't really have the talent.
I'd love to make rag quilts for my kids this year.

[little miss icequeen]

I often make the gifts that I give, f.ex. chocolate, candy, paintings, cd´s, candles, soaps and yesterday I tried to make Kahlua to give this year. (don´t know yet how it worked out since I don´t drink Kahlua, my boyfriend will taste it in a week or so)
Sometimes I combine them with things that I buy but sometimes I make them all.
Last year I started making themed christmas cd´s and I have allready made the cd I´m going to give this christmas.
I made gifts that included the cd with personal reasons why I choose thees songs written with it, candles and matches and fine chocolate that I made in a box that I also made.
It turned out pretty cute.

[JanaBanana]

This year I made homade jellies to add to gift baskets for family and friends :D
Decorated the lids up with Christmas fabrics....Apricot and Raspberry preserves...

[JanaBanana]

This year I made homade jellies to add to gift baskets for family and friends :D
Decorated the lids up with Christmas fabrics....Apricot and Raspberry preserves...

[JanaBanana]

oops sorry about the double post

[Minta]

This year we are making yearly calendars for the grandparents. The pictures will be of the grandkids.

I am also doing basket gifts and will include homemade hot chocolate mix, homemade chocolate mint cheese ball mix (it's a dry mixture that they will have mix with cream cheese), I am making rice cripsy treats in the shapes of Christmas trees and snowmen and I am still debating if I will be making orange cranberry muffins. If I do I will add come to each basket too.

For a few other (non-baking)friends and neighbors I do bags of homemade cookies and muffins.

[peavey]

I made calendars for the whole family one year, with everyone's birthdays and anniversaries on them. That was a project! I have a large family and finding all the dates took forever. It was very well received though and they wanted me to do it every year. I told them we could take turns, but no one's taken me up on it yet.

[Chillywilly]

I will be making Christmas Stockings this year along with my family for our friends.

[MerrySouthernChristmas]

I always make something for my grandparents. Last year it was Birdhouses. One of my grandmothers live on the coast so I bought the bird house from micheals and made it look coastal. My other grandmother I got a cabin bird house. On both, I hot glued miniture christmas lights (I found them in the Miniture Christmas Aisle at Micheals) and bought Puff Paint for snow. They both adored them! For my teachers, I always write a lovely christmas story. (And a little $5 Starbucks gift card... just enough for a Venti Hot Cocoa.)

[joyfulheart]

As much as I can, I craft. Just depends on how busy kids keep me, son's health is, etc..

This year, I made a denim quilt for my husband's grandfather. He's homebound now, sits in his recliner all day long, every day, but is always cold. He likes to put a blanket in his lap. The fabric is from his great-grandkids (my boys) old outgrown jeans, and they picked the fabric on top, which explains the superman, spiderman, batman, flamingoes, etc.. LOL Makes if more special that the boys participated.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f240/diungerich/IMG_2792.jpg

All neighbors, co-workers, friends, will gethomemade food. The men get homemade jerky, and everyone gets some form of chocolate fudge or pumpkin fudge.

The boys and I do some kind of homemade ornament project every year to hand out, our tree is loaded with homeade ornametns they've done.

The teachers get homemade chocolate and macadamenia (sp?) nut caramel apples. If I didn't do that every year, theyve threatened to flunk my boys. LOL

I've made stockings, tree skirts, quilts, ornaments, wreaths, mini-christmas trees, garlands, anything I can "copy" inexpensvely I try to do it. :D I'm poor. Cant afford the fancy-schmancy stuff so I just copy it and do it myself. LOL

[gennifyr]

We have been trying to get away from the buy, buy, buy mentality of Christmas by making more of our presents.

Over the past two-three years I've made; fudge, hot drink mixes, cookies, boxer shorts, flannel lounge pants/pj's, rice bags, baby clothes, felt books for toddlers, scarves etc.

This year my daughter (turns 2 on dec 21st) will be getting clothes (value village) and books for Christmas. For her birthday my dh will be making her some wood toys and I'll be sewing her some diapers and clothes for her baby doll.

[Mumof2]

I make homemade items all the time,lotions,soaps,chap sticks,pillows,brownies.my family loves it,and its alot of fun to do plus it comes from the heart.

[stoerkel]

made mini bundt cakes for teachers last year - apple dapple cake & banana bread. did this in September and froze them all. it was great. Did a "dessert of the month club" for my father - kids & I deliver a homemade dessert the 25th of every month. And for my FIL I made a breakfast basket with some homemade oatmeal packets, flapjack mix, syrup, a little ham, and some homemade jelly. he loved it and asked for the flapjack recipe.

[angiejo]

I really don't have time to do crafts. I wished I did. There are really cute crafts ideas in craft stores now a days. I guess I just need lots of encouragement to do things. :snowball:Angiejo

[MissKringle]

I make homemade items all the time,lotions,soaps,chap sticks,pillows,brownies.my family loves it,and its alot of fun to do plus it comes from the heart.

How do you make chapsticks?

[Snowfall]

It depends for me. One year I made a quilt for my boyfriend with pictures of his car on it. Sometimes I make Christmassy earings for the women in my family but my mom usually does that and I don't want to steal her thunder. I do love to buy gifts for people, but as a poor college kid, it can get to be too much and I end up making something. In the end, I think some people appreciate that I put time into their gifts.

[MerrySouthernChristmas]

Every year i make my grandma's a handmade gift (last year it was a scarf, year before that it was a bird house, year before that, a frame) but that's about the extent of my crafty christmas gifts.
I scrapbook like there's no tomorrow, but that's usually just for me.

[MerrySilver]

I LOVE making gifts for people, such as gifts in a jar (not always food ones, either), and beaded or other crafty items. I'm taking up knitting, so hopefully there will be some knitted gifts as well :)

[Pumpkin's Mom]

I try to and always start out on Dec 26 making something. The year always seems to get away from me tho. I do homemade chocolate and cookies for the guys in my office. One year I made a blanket for my aunt and uncle and I am working on one for my sister and her BF right now.

I love doing them and seeing someone's reaction that you did it just for them.

[whitexmas]

Keep the ideas coming...its great to hear new suggestions from people. Last year I made candles and bought wooden matches in boxes and covered the boxes in christmas wrapping paper and ribbons and stuff. They turned out adorable!

[misjordi]

I buy everything, I'm not crafty!!