This past Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I decided to save some money and give handmade gifts to each other. I struggled to find a gift to make for him, since I generally make women's jewelry, but I finally decided on a scrapbook (manly, of course!). He wrote/sang/recorded me a song. It was very lovely and even made it to their first CD: Seraplane E.P. !
Our Valentine's Day was special because I knew that each of us spent lots of time (and lots of glue, in my case) on each other's gifts. We had a completely handmade holiday, with the exception of the lovely roses that he brought me. :)
This year, my mom and I have decided to have a handmade Christmas. She has always been quite the crafter (sewing, mosaics, painting, etc.) and I have always liked making jewelry, scrapbooking, decoupaging, and painting. We hope that, by combining our creative minds, we can put together the perfect handmade Christmas. We have already ran the idea past other family members and they have all agreed that it is a great idea. In fact, everyone seems excited about it. My brother, who rarely gets involved with anything family related, has even called me to discuss a present for our mom (it's a good one, too!)
So, if you are one of my close friends or family and you get a handmade gift for Christmas, please do not think that it is because I don't like you enough to buy you something! It means that I like you enough to spend time thinking, finding, and finally creating something just for you.
If you would like to have a handmade Holiday too, here are some ideas!
1. Baked goods (cookies, bread, cake, pies, etc) with a special note attached
2. Paint/draw/sketch a picture of something or someone that the recipient likes.
3. Write someone a poem or a short story
4. Sing someone a song
5. Make a book of coupons with promises like "I will do your laundry for a week" or "I will make you dinner one night."
6. Find a favorite photo of you and the recipient and put it in a frame. You could even paint/decoupage/decorate the frame to reflect things that the recipient loves or likes to do!
7. If you are able to sew or knit, you have LOADS of options:
a. Make someone a snuggly scarf
b. Make someone a warm winter hat
c. Sew someone a comfy pillow in a fabric that they would love
d. Make someone a blanket or quilt
8. Reuse a page of an old wall calendar by framing it. My boyfriend and I made four of these using calendar pages from 2009. Not only does it look cool, it is also a form of recycling!
The list goes on and on. These were just off the top of my head, but you can find a lot more by simply searching online for handmade gift ideas!
Even if you aren't the crafting type, you can spend a little time and make something that someone will like and remember for years to come. Handmade items are a way of telling someone that they are extra special to you!
I hope this inspires you to embrace the idea of handmade gifts and gave you a few ideas for some gifts that you can create yourself. If you have any handmade gift ideas of your own, please share them with me!
Happy crafting,
- She
