Handmade presents that won't go in the bin?

[prezzz]

I'm not working at the moment, so I have more time than money. Christmas and gift-giving is important to me, and I'd love to give people some useful and thoughtful presents that won't bankrupt me. I also love crafting and DIY, but am well aware that a lot of handmade presents can actually be a bit crap.

Is two months too short a time to learn how to crochet or knit something that's actually nice and/or useful? I did a bit of both about ten years ago, so I'm not a complete novice, but definitely still a beginner...

Any other ideas?

I need presents for a range of ages and both for men and women.

Sorry OP, anything knitted, crocheted or needle-felted (especially by a beginner) is going to be high on the Bin list.

Food is the way

So sorry for the repetition - the app hung!!

My DS's gf is an excellent crafter and made me a crochet tea pot cosy that perfectly fits my bone china tea pot I used every day. She even did it in a pale lilac colour to match my tea pot. I was only thinking the other day it is the gift I'd got most use out of from last year.

Gift me fudge too. I love it.

I agree on food. Wool for knitting is actually expensive, so I wouldn’t bother.
The one exception would be if you can get cheap sock wool and knit socks.. but they aren’t really for beginners and take ages, so you would probably only get one pair done before Christmas.

I started a few years ago buying 9" square pie boxes (with a clear section) in the lid and doing a variety of traybakes and mixing and matching them - they go down an absolute storm. Bit of nice ribbon...Favourites I'd say are brownies, baileys rocky road and caramel shortbreads. They have a reasonable shelf life too. My Dsis said it was the best Christmas present she'd ever had!

I see that you sew, how about making festive bunting? Trawl charity shops for fabric etc.

I wouldn't want a home made edible gift, but bulbs, something knitted or felted would be lovely. A beanie or snood wouldn't need to be expensive - places like Wool Warehouse always have good quality wool in their sale. And there are plenty of free patterns.

Why are you doing anything for DH's family? Let him learn to knit or crochet.

I made limoncello one year and it went down well. Very easy to make - lots of recipes online.

one Christmas I was very low on money I knitted snoods and scarves for everyone (big chunky wool and very very easy to do) and they are still worn 10 years later, also head warmers/bands

we have a sewing machine and i often do handmade gifts alongside bought ones - dolls clothes, dolls house accessories like bedding etc, big hit was roll up pencil cases (took about 20 minutes to make), hair scrunchies are ridiculously easy to make (you can get quarts of material in hobbycraft for £5)

I always put food in the bin for health reasons. You don't know how hygienic it is and things like jars might not be sterilised properly.

Chilli jam every time.

shortbread

@mamaduckbone Yes, but she doesn’t know if everyone loves them or my taste in socks! Therefore it’s risky. Preserved food is definitely safer.

I am a crocheter (definitely not a word) but my make this year is baskets and basically I get all my wool either from charity shops or I buy a big bundle on ebay or vinted, the best thing about baskets is you can just use up scraps of yarn and make it all multicoloured and it looks great so there is no need to buy expensive same colour/thickness wool from a shop (this is expensive!). It also is really simple crochet stiches, you can make big, small, set of 3, use it as a hamper for some homemade fudge or little cheap bits. something like this:

If I had a relative not working and short of money, I’d be horrified to receive a present from them. Adults don’t need presents.

Bluntly, unless something is very useful to me, I would charity shop/bin it.

we live in a different era to the era where it was the thought that counts. We live in a clutter era and the new builds (well over the past 30yrs) have small rooms and limited storage.

i cannot understand why Christmas is still like this. These days, it should be far more about spending time with family than acquiring yet more stuff, handmade or not.

mumsnet has a real obsession with handmade stuff so the views on here aren’t representative of real life.

sorry this isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s a blunt truth

I am knitting Angora gussets for all my friends.

thanks to this post I just went on vinted to look at wool bundles.... ooops there are loads that have ended up in my favourites lol

These would be a bin for me I'm afraid. Just more clutter and they will accumulate clutter. Within a month they're going to be full of charging leads that might be broken but no one is sure and a marble that came out of a board game but no one can remember which one.

I think the best gift you can give is a note now to say you aren't giving gifts. Thereby giving the gift recipient more brain space for themselves rather than what to get you in return.

Home made Gingerbread men is a lovely gift.

Last year my DD was buying a house and was short of money. She bought a lot of double cream and churned her own butters, flavouring them with herbs and various salts (the truffle one was particularly delicious. Wrapped each pat in its own little wrapper and put on it what it was, presented in a plastic box, which went into the freezer.

Particularly good on plain boiled pasta. One of the best food items I've ever been given (and am still using them, as I keep them in the freezer). This, or chocolate truffles...

Why would I want a crochet basket? I agree - clutter. These are really being made for the satisfaction of the maker, not the receiver.

Preserves, Xmas cakes, essentially anything most people would eat.

Ok, thank you for the honesty I guess I thought it would be a useful gift but will reassess. I was ultimately trying to look for a cheap way to buy wool that can be made into something without the expense of buying all the same weight and colour of yarn as this is expensive to do - buying bundles is really cheap. So other options if OP wants to crochet the same method could make coasters and table mats (easily washable) scrap blankets, cushion covers, hats, ear warmers, tartan scarfs are very in and easy but beautiful results etc.

Crikey! I would hate to live my life being this wary and suspicious!

Surely you have a rough idea of how hygienic your friends are?

Also, by their very nature, jams are cooked at a rolling boil and you can immediately tell if they contain any mould or not by opening up the jar! And biscuits and cakes go in to very hot ovens. I don’t think many significant germs would survive either of those processes!

And someone with enough skill to make jams and bake has enough knowledge to sterilise a jar I think!

I’ve never had any issues anyway and I have received some delightful home made jams and marmalades as presents over the years and have appreciated their delicious flavour - they often taste a lot better than shop bought - and the thought and effort that has gone in to creating the present.

Op someone bought me home made limencello liqueur in a pretty bottle last year with a box of home made cantucci biscuits and that combination went down a treat!