Okay… I have a bit of a dilemma… I’m naturally a fairly giving person, to a fault almost when it comes to family. I always spend too much on presents.
Now this “Santa Season” DH & I are on a VERY tight budget, so I’m making pretty much all the gifts.
How does this look to y’all?
My Parents
Handmade Holiday Hamper (description below)
Photo Album for their recent trip to the UK - which was also part b’day/father’s day pressie as it’s about $70.
His Parents
Handmade Holiday Hamper
Sewing Tote & organiser for MIL (FIL doesn’t want anything special)
My Sister & BIL
Handmade Holiday Hamper
Set of Boye’s for Sister
My Niece & Nephew
Small ceramic angels with their name on them
“Reindeer” Bell (like in Polar Express)
Polar Express DVD
His Aunt & Uncle
Handmade Holiday Hamper
His 3 Cousins (girls, 13, 16, 20)
Knitted face washer
Girly soap from Lush
Knitted eye pillow
Handmade Holiday Hamper - All made by me
Gingerbread Men & Teddies
Shortbread (usually 2 or 3 different flavours)
Moulded Chocolates
Lady Kisses (almond based biscuits)
What great gifts! it’s obvious that you have put a lot of love & thought into each and every gift! Sounds like you’ve hit the ball out of the park with these :cheering: :cheering: :cheering:
I made everyone’s present last year but got crunched towards the end so I’ve already started Christmas presents here. Hat and matching scarf sets and felted bags for the gals in the family. Not sure about the guys yet…
:cheering: Sounds wonderful to me… I think homemade gifts are the best I just usually tend to run out of time LOL… If I ever get this baby afghan done by Friday and then the helmet liners I’m gonna be locked up in a knitting room till Christmas working on gifts :shock: Everyones getting a knitted scarf/shawl…
I third that!
I have several Aunts and Uncles to include my godparents and they are hard to buy for. They are all retired and really have all they need so I try to get them something thoughtful, yet consumable that hopefully creates a memory. Like: a gift certificate to a new restaurant, bread mix and dipping oil (last year’s idea for the GP’s) jars of homemade coco mix and a polar fleece lap blanket. etc. That way there’s limited items left to store and worry about dusting and such.
Oh, and I would LOVE a holiday hamper… i wanna live in a country that has such colorful (or should I say colour-full) ways of naming their stuff (over here a hamper is what your dirty laundry goes into–not to belittle your type my dear… in the play Oklahoma they auctioned off hampers of fine farm girl cookin’ ) ((a play I may add my fave hot Aussie was in… )
I think that your list sounds wonderful!! I too, am making lots of gifts this year, and I find myself resisiting the urge to consider what else I might get them to go along with the homemade gifts. I made clogs for my sister, and am working on a sweater for her. I made clogs for her husband. I am making clogs for my grandmother. I made a sweater for one of my best friends, and I think I might make clogs for another friend. I would like to make a hat for my dad- we’ll see how much time I have!!
All of my our relatives have passed on. Just our son and daughter and and the two of us. My DH and I don’t exchange. So except for the kids, our Christmases are pretty meager. I think your gifts sound marvelous and I’ll put in for a holiday hamper right now. (I love shortbread!!!)
I am doing scarves for the girls at the office and 2 cashmere ones for the bosses. They may not appreciate them, but I know how much work I’m putting into them.
The eye pillows sound intriguing. Pattern please, for next year.
My husband and I are both teachers–Handmade gifts have always been a part of our Christmas. I should also mention that I’m an artist and have always loved making gifts for others. When we started making a little more money(with less time off) we bought everything—. We decided to go back to at least making some things—we really missed giving from our hearts and hands!
Many people still have the gifts I gave them 15 years ago!!! I doubt they would still have something that I bought off the shelf.
Knitters are generous by nature*l