Sorry to start a thread about Christmas already, but I work in retail and it has already been Christmas for me for about 6 months, haha.

Due to the worrying state of my bank balance these days I was thinking of making Christmas gifts to give people this year. I only need to get gifts for my boyfriend, sister and parents (boyfriend and I usually buy presents for our own families and write both our names on them), and if we get some good ideas, something for his parents, grandmother and sister too.

Have you ever made your own gifts? What did you make? How did the recipients like them? I'm happy to spend a fair bit of time on stuff, and as I used to go to art classes, I have a pretty good variety of paints, brushes and different papers. We also like cooking, so foodie gift ideas would be most welcome!

Growing up, my Mom and I would bake a lot of our gifts for friends and family. We'd do the traditional shortbread, gingerbread, and then things like chocolate lollipops using Christmas themed moulds. If you combined some baking in a nice tin with a homemade card I think it would be a gift anyone would be happy to recieve.

In terms of making crafty gifts, I've only made my own wrapping paper before. I bought brown rolls of paper and stamped them with stamps or chopped up vegetables in paint. They turned out really cute!

Hand made soaps www.marthastewart.com . . . www.marthastewart.com . . . , hand made candles, bath salts, potpourri, kits for baked goods. The most fun thing about those is using cute ribbons and things to package it all together. I crochet and knit so scarves are really easy and fast. Last year I made a blanket for my boyfriend, I was nervous it would be cheesy and girly but he loves it because it is the colors of his favorite football team. I am doing some of these
Sachets for a couple friends this year familyfun.go.com . . . Sachets;16

There are some cheap bought gifts you can get as well, and again its all about making a cute presentation: inexpensive picture frames with personal family photos (my mom loves that kind of stuff). Even if you don't want to literally make things like candles yourself you can by cheap ones at the dollar store and dress up the jars yourself with beads, paint, ribbons. Same with soaps, you can buy a bunch of cute decorative soaps and tie them all together or put them in a cute, festive box.

I think the most loved food gift I had given was a combination of homemade fudge www.marthastewart.com . . . and peanut brittle, and put them in cute tins from the dollar store www.marthastewart.com . . . . You can do an assortment of fudge and its so easy to make. I am sure you have seen those mason jars with cookie mix in them, or a mug with a bag of hot cocoa mix in them, that stuff is fun for friends and coworkers. A lot of people like chocolate/almond bark, and it is easy to make, but I hate the stuff www.marthastewart.com . . . .

Martha Stewart's website always has some cool stuff www.marthastewart.com . . . while looking around there and seeing coasters I am getting some ideas together to make a bunch of different kinds and tie them up cute. Since you are artsy maybe you could do some of these. Seriously though, don't underestimate the power of the dollar store.

Boyfriends are probably the hardest, mine is a chef so I am just gonna try to find a cheap apron and some little gadgets he can use in the kitchen.

Edit: sorry my first link isn't working right, but you can scroll through the ideas on that site. Also just remembered for my boss at work one year I made a little recipe book, that would be good for you since you have paper and are artistic. Also about 5 years ago I made art for my bedroom, I went to the used book store and found copies of these books that were my favorite when I was a kid www.amazon.com . . . and I cut out full pages (they are really small, like 4x4") and I matted and framed them in shadow box type frames from ikea that were only like $2. I am thinking of doing the same thing with different books for my nieces/nephews.

What I did one year since my dad is such a snacker is I made him some healthy snack mixes and put them in some Christmas clear bags w/a twist tie. My dad wouldn't care about ribbon or anything fancy but for gifts for others I would do that. I don't have a recipe on me but just google homemade snack mixes and you will come up w/tons that sound really yummy. Same w/popcorn, you can also make mixes w/them too.

Another thing I did one year was to color intricate pictures of snowflakes (I had a coloring book but now you can get some on-line) and put them in those clear plastic frames. Everyone loved them. Of course someone else also said make your own cookbooks. I've done that too. Dover Publications is a good source of coloring books for adults that you could frame the pages when you are done w/them.

Homemade baked goods are always a success!! Things like slices, fudge, shortbread etc.

Another thing I've often done is decorate photo frames with something cute, and then put a nice photo in it, I've also done the same with scrapbooking pages, you can decorate them as if you'd put them in a scrapbook, but then they can be stuck on a wall or something. Also cute.

But I'd say your best bet is to do some baking!

Hampers! You can fill them with whatever you want, pretty much please everyone, they're personalized and they're cheaper if you make them yourself. You can put gourmet foods, toys for kids, wine, etc.

Like many of the above posters said, baking. When I was little, every Christmas, I used to bake cookies, cakes, etc and then decorate a little Chinese take-away boxes and fill them with what ever I made. I would usually end up eating half the contents before actually giving the present, but no one seemed to mind.

Along with baked good, you can make a ginger-bread house for your family, as a shared gift, like the hamper.

I usually buy for my hubby and our immediate family members, and make for everyone else. This year I'm making chocolate truffles. Last year was a selection of cookies. The year before was homemade marshmallows in a couple different flavours. I buy some cheap cello bags, cute ribbon, and make designer looking tags with nice markers or rubber stamps. Everyone has always loved them.

This year sounds to be like that for me too...

Anyway, last year I did baskets of baked goods (cookies, chocolate syrup, caramel corn, etc) for all parents and grandparents (my parents and two sets of grandparents, boyfriend's dad/gf and mom/step dad, and boyfriend's grandparents).

Then I also did a homemade bath and body stuff (bath bombs, bath jelly, lip balms, massage bars, etc.) for friends and the gift exchange on my dad's side of the family.

And for a family of 5 girls I did small tins with some homemade stuff and some bought (homemade hot chocolate on a stick, homemade lip balm, homemade hair stuff like bobby pins with flowers, hair pins and headband and then tins from the dollar store to put it in and fuzzy gloves from the dollar store).

ETA: Also if you have a StumbleUpon account if you just put your interests as crafts I'll bet you'll find tons and tons and tons of handmade gift ideas. I'm going to be doing that for some of my gifts I think...

I've done...

* Iced gingerbread men in nice Christmas-y tin boxes
* Knit scarves
* Framed cross stitch projects
* Knit dish cloths

The cross stitch projects get the biggest reaction because they are so time consuming, and they look it! But I enjoy making them, so it's a win-win.

I may also make an attempt at knit mittens at some point, but I haven't made a pair of those in years, so we'll see.

In general, everyone loves the homemade gifts. It usually just comes down to how much time I have as to how many I actually end up making.

I like the idea lee_britt posted about picking one thing to give to everyone, rather than trying to make a different thing for each person. If the stuff you made was really awesome, I could see it becoming something that people looked forward to each year, to see what you would come up with, and that could be really fun.

I've always run out of time to make gifts for Christmas, but for other events (birthdays especially), I make gifts for people. I crochet, so amigurumi always goes down well, especially if it's something they're really into, like a Dalek for a Doctor Who fan, or a character from a video game. I'll also make scarves and wraps, or a set of resin coasters or something.

For us, baked stuff or home-made confectionery isn't really "gifty" - it goes onto the table with the rest of the goodies, so that may be a know-your-audience thing.

Wouldn't the time and money you spend making the gifts be more expensive?
If you spend 5 hours knitting a scarf, wouldn't you just save money if you did overtime for 5 hours and bought a scarf? ( Especially if you work in retail. Do you get a discount?)

I would make $125 in 5 hours, and I could buy the whole family scarfs for the price of making one scarf. ( factoring in the time you COULD be making at work, if you weren't home knitting)

How about "gift certificates" for people? For example: For your boyfriend you can make a packet of massages, anything naughty he wants, cooking any request, cleaning his car etc.

I'm a good cook but not good at needlecrafts so I've stuck to baked goods. My family and friends love my Irish bread, so I make a lot of it at the holidays to give as gifts. I've also given gifts of homemade:
- chocolate truffles
- fudge
- various Christmas cookies, packed up in pretty Christmas tins.

My neighbor always gives me a bottle of her homemade version of Kahlua. A friend used to give bottles of her own version of Baileys Irish Cream.

My daughter made these knotted fleece blankets for Christmas last year. She chose different fabrics for each person. Mine perfectly matches the colors in my comforter. She made one with horses on it for the friend she rides with, one with trucks for her dad, one with surfboards on it for her brother. All you need is fleece and scissors! www.google.com . . .

I've done grape vine wreaths. I make them this time of year when it is easy to collect vines, then decorate them as time allows.

I've also ordered t-shirts from Dance World Bazaar for as little as $5.50 each, and have the family name printed on them with some inside joke. Sometimes it is something like "Smith College of Hard Knocks", or "Jones Family Players"....not exactly, but you get the message. Everyone loves them and usually wear them to the family 4th of July picnic. Everyone gets the same gift and yet it is personal.

One year I took all the funnies from the Sunday papers, and put together individual scrap books of comics than reminded me of one person or another. Golf for my dad, hockey for my brother in law, health food for my other BIL, hospital related jokes for my sister who is a nurse...etc. It did take time, but it was personal and practically free.

Also, I make jelly or jam and then make bread with frozen bread dough (cheating, I know...) and put them both in a basket with a nice cloth napkin liner. You can make jelly from frozen juice, as well.

Another easy and inexpensive "food" is chocolate covered pretzels. I add them to cookie trays and it saves a ton of time.

Keep On Dancing*

This year I am going to try to sew some apron's for the ladies in my family and give them with some homemade vanilla!
It's really easy to make vanilla, just really good vodka and some vanilla beans, let them soak for about 8 weeks and shake it often. then strain!!
www.diynatural.com . . .

YumYumDoughnut wrote:

Wouldn't the time and money you spend making the gifts be more expensive?
If you spend 5 hours knitting a scarf, wouldn't you just save money if you did overtime for 5 hours and bought a scarf? ( Especially if you work in retail. Do you get a discount?)

Not everyone has the option of working overtime, you know. Plus, this is more fun!

I always make a gift in addition to buying gifts. Something about a homemade gift really shows you care in my opinion. Every year my grandma makes sugared walnuts for my Christmas present and it makes me so happy, much happier than a check or gift card.

I have made calendars with photos I took in Scotland, homemade greeting cards, chocolate covered spoons and homemade cocoa mix, crocheted soap saver pouches and washcloths from cotton yarn, velvet scarves backed with satin and edged in glass beads with matching clutch bag, beeswax candles, recycled plastic grocery bags crocheted into purses, glass bubble magnets, handmade ornaments such as crocheted angels, cinnamon dough hearts and ceramic Santas. I always make a ton of cookies as well.

I want to make everyone a special apron one of these days. One with velcro loops that hold measuring cups and spoons and big pockets full of utensils. I would also like to try my hand at bread dough ornaments.

This year I am felting soap (google it to see how) and making Scottish tablet with my mother-in-laws special recipe (the best candy ever!) I have also made a bunch of beautiful fancy yarn scarves. I started making Scottish sea glass jewelry last November. Anything that doesn't sell in my etsy store by Christmas is fair game for giving away!

Just a few more. Christmas Ornaments are always appreciated. I make salt dough ornaments and initial and date them. They are practically free to make but you have to be sure to allow enough time to do several coats of polyurethane to preserve them. There are lots of other fun ornaments to make. If someone has a particular interest, collection, or memorable occasion, it is nice to make ornaments to compliment these. Sea shells or sand dollars, pine cones, even walnuts, can be fashioned into lovely ornaments. There are tons of suggestions online.

Another easy and inexpensive gift is picture frames, scrapbooks, or photo albums made with fabric, batting, and glue. Other materials work well too, if you have them. Puzzle pieces, sea shells, pine cones. Corks from wine bottles can also be glued into frames, or made into hot plates.

I too am a great fan of food. Sometimes I make something different every day and put together collections in a basket or even just a wrapped gift box. Small jars or cellophane bags tied with ribbons can make a pretty collection. Check out the Cookie Swap thread for some great cookie recipes www.dance.net . . .

Don't overlook the "Dollar Stores" or the "Pound Stores". You'd be surprised at the fun things you can find there.

Keep On Dancing*

One gift that, years ago, my then-boyfriend and I gave to both sets of parents and siblings is one that everyone still remembers and talks about to this day. We could not afford much, so we decided to throw everyone a murder-mystery dinner party as a holiday gift. however, the best part was giving them the invitations for Christmas. Bear with me, it sounds complicated, but it really was fun. We printed out the invites on card stock, then cut them up into 8 pieces like puzzles. we then took 7 puzzle pieces and hid them in different places around their homes, each puzzle piece hidden in a different spot in a small box along with a small cheap plastic "hint" (ie, a small magnifying glass, a fake mustache, a plastic police badge, a fingerprint on a piece of paper, along with an index card. The index card had on it a short, silly riddle that they had to figure out in order to find the next clue (ie, these keys will not open just any old locks, but they will lead you to the very next clue-filled box - box was in the piano; in order to find the next important clue you must put your best foot forward - or at least your best shoe - box was in mom's closet on her shoe shelf). At the end was hidden the most important puzzle piece, which they needed in order to put it all together.

They all had a BLAST, and so did we. The murder mystery dinner was awesome, we cooked it ourselves, everyone came in character and had a GREAT time. Nowadays I understand you can even buy inexpensive kits with murder mystery themes to help you plan it.

Just an idea, but it's something I enjoyed doing, and would LOVE to receive as a gift myself one day!

I knit, a lot, so inexpensive gifts from me are usually hats/ mittens/ scarves. I usually try to make my mom a sweater, though my schedule is so tight that it might not happen this year.

I wanted to comment on what YYD brought up-- the assumption is that you're making gifts in lieu of earning money, which is a very naive assumption and usually not true. If you're on salary (in the US), you absolutely don't get paid for overtime. So I'm making the same money whether I spend 5 more hours at work, or 5 hours knitting a scarf. Some people on an hourly wage don't have the option of working more hours even if they'd like to. The other issue for me is that I (and my colleagues) are expected to work crazy long hours, which means that I can't take on the commitment of a second job. So the time I devote to making a scarf is time that I would definitely not be earning money in (like 10-11pm). I've found that if I shop for yarn wisely (or get creative with yarn left over from other projects), I spend less time and money than I would shopping for a store-bought scarf.

Just saw that mandakp has made the same point, but wanted to reiterate/ elaborate.

Last year I made a scrapbook for my Nan with photos of all her grandchildren. The 12" albums are fairly time consuming to fill, but you can get the smaller albums now. The alternative is to do a single page and then frame it. Buying some of the paper and stickers and whatnot can add up however. My Nan really loved the album and it's something that she'll be able to keep forever.

Every Christmas one of my friends picks a great photo from that year and paints or sketches it onto a canvas. She's done a few photo collages that are really great as well. Suffice to say, my walls are full of her artwork.

Another friend of the family embroded towels with all our names on them for Christams last year. For her daughter's wedding she embroided a pair of underwear for all of the bridesmaids, so you can get creative with what you choose to do.

Mendel good point. I just assumed that the OP was working on hourly wage and she had overtime because she is working retail. All my friends who have worked retail had the option of staying extra to close. I also assumed she got a great discount rate on presents because she worked retail.
I can see how this might be a problem if someone is on a salary like you are.

The dinner mystery party seems like SUCH a great gift idea. I wonder if that would be a good idea to try this year. Hmmmmm

One year, we actually made a quilt for a friend with a brain tumor. We called all the important people in her life, and we had them give us a quote. She had a huge quilt filled with messages of love from family and friends. It was very time consuming, but it was very worth it.

I enjoy making different soaps. For Christmas you can get different shapes like trees, etc. and make different soaps & put them in a pretty bag with a twist tie. It is easy & fun 2 do. Or candle making is also a fun idea for christmas. You can get really creative with those.

I've developed a recent fascination for calligraphy and though I'm not amazing at it, I bought red and green ink and made my own Christmas cards that I'm going to send to my family. I'm the first child to go out of state for college and I'm going to take a picture of me when it snows (probably throwing a snowball at the camera!), then gluing it onto inexpensive blank cards. If you're good at copying, check out lovejenna.blogspot.com. I wrote Merry Christmas 2011 on the front of each card and only the recipient's name and address on the envelopes all in calligraphy and they look really pretty! I know my family is going to like that I took the time to write them all handmade cards. It was about $20 with all the supplies and I have enough for 25 cards. Don't know if you were looking for something more elaborate though. Unfortunately, that's all the money I can spare at the moment so they will all be getting cards from me!