Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To hate homemade gifts

480 replies

Bearbehind · 19/11/2019 16:02

New thread with the vote enabled this time!

Unless the giver is actually good enough at making what ever it is to sell then I wish they just wouldn’t give homemade stuff, especially food

Fortunately I don’t generally receive them but I have a friend who’s a teacher who’s inundated with them at Christmas

It just seems such a waste as it pretty much all gets binned

OP posts:
Thread gallery
22
PlumMustard · 19/11/2019 16:32

I like handmade (as long as it's not food because we have a severe allergy in this house, and we wouldn't take the chance of cross contamination). Friends have made me some beautiful crotcheted tree decorations, the DC have had bags, felt fruit and vegetables when they were little. Other things, but I'm part of a sewing swap so the things are really well made and nice.

I also like etsy and ebay.

I would much rather something like that then shop tat they you are just paying for the packaging.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 19/11/2019 16:33

If I made someone a homemade gift they would think I hated them. I think those of us who are shit at crafts need to recognise that and just buy something half decent instead.

SteelRiver · 19/11/2019 16:36

I love homemade gifts. So much more thought and love goes into them.

I'm hoping to give a few homemade things this year, too. I'm pretty much housebound much of the time due to disability and I've recently made a few simple craft items with family in mind. I find it quite therapeutic and it helps me feel a bit more useful, tbh. I'd be devastated if I heard people talking about them the way some people do on this thread.

Livebythecoast · 19/11/2019 16:36

I don't think it's lazy /selfish. I suppose it depends what it is I suppose but when my DD was little a lady at work was into quilting and made my DD a beautiful quilt with her favourite things on. I didn't ask for it, she just listened to what my DD liked from chatting to me. This lady has sadly passed away since so it means even more now. A lot of time and effort went into that quilt rather than buying something off the shelf.

manicinsomniac · 19/11/2019 16:36

YABU - homemade gifts are so thoughtful.

With anything you get given rather than choose for yourself, there's a good chance you won't want it - whether it's bought or homemade.
So I don't think you can use the waste element as a reason against homemade. Bought stuff is just as likely to end up wasted.

Bluewall · 19/11/2019 16:37

If I was a teacher I don't think I would eat homemade food items from the kids ...... Especially with what they must see some days Confused

WaterSheep · 19/11/2019 16:38

It definitely depends on the gift.

I have in the past received a scrabble tile frame and homemade jam. Which would be lovely gifts, had the person made them because they knew I would like them. However this wasn't the case. They had just started a new hobby, and used Christmas as an excuse to give family / friends the stuff they made. As a PP said well this is what I make so this is what everyone’s getting

LittleSweet · 19/11/2019 16:39

When I was poor I had to give homemade gifts because I didn't really have the money for food and if I didn't make something they wouldn't have got a gift. My parents hated their homemade gifts and let me know. They would have rather me go without food and buy them a gift. One mother's day my mum spent the day crying in bed because I made her gift and card. Blue Peter said she'd love it.

Courtney555 · 19/11/2019 16:39

I’d love to see the correlation between those who vote for YABU and those who make their own gifts

Ohhhhhh yes

daisypond · 19/11/2019 16:42

I would be very happy with home made food items. I wouldn’t want any shop bought items. I’m sick of clutter. I’m happy with no presents at all. In my family we only do token gifts, so that’s fine.

justasking111 · 19/11/2019 16:45

My neighbour gifts us with jam, most are gorgeous, the blueberry was meh and watery. We gift bottles of home made sloe gin. Am wondering now if we should stop, everyone says they love it. mmmm...

Sparrowlegs248 · 19/11/2019 16:47

Yanbu. Last few years my sister has done homemade mostly sweet food gifts. Nothing that I would ever choose to eat, nothing that I like. Waste of her time and money, i'd rather have nothing.

Hadtonamechangeforthis123 · 19/11/2019 16:48

I love a hand knitted baby/children's cardigan. My mum is an excellent knitter and I'm often complimented and asked where I bought my childrens cardigans from.

An old boss of mine gave everyone handmade truffles for Christmas and they were delicious! When she announced she was making everyone truffles I did think Oh god this is going to be awkward if they're terrible but they were lovely!

Not all handmade gifts are crap.

Skysblue · 19/11/2019 16:48

Yanbu with food made by kids - teachers tell me it always goes in the bin because they suspect the kids won’t have been very hygienic with the cooking.

Yanbu with eg lovingly made handcarving by someone good at carving, etc.

PsychosonicCindy · 19/11/2019 16:50

For the record I am far too untalented to make homemade gifts but I still think
YABU

QuestionableMouse · 19/11/2019 16:52

I make soap at a decent standard. (I've sold it at craft fairs in the past)

I gave all of my team a handmade soap and candle with their favourite scent last year and they were very well received.

OMGshefoundmeout · 19/11/2019 16:53

I’m ambivalent here. Some handmade gifts are lovely, others are a burden. A relation knits very ornate sweaters and gives them to people at every opportunity. They are undoubtedly very clever and time consuming but they are heavy, scratchy, need handwashing and are in no way contemporary. She has boxes of them stashed away in every conceivable size and colour way and fishes one out whenever she sees an opportunity. I have given so many to the charity shop but they just keep coming.

OTOH I give handmade greetings cards, it used to be a business so they are of a high standard and when I have the time I like to make one for special events in peoples lives and they will be personalised with appropriate images/colours/messages. And a card is easily recycled and doesn’t clutter up a home. The one event I would never mark with a personalised card is a bereavement. I don’t want people thinking I have made their loss into an excuse for me to practice my hobby.

dontalltalkatonce · 19/11/2019 16:53

I'm not fussed about gifts at all, but I had flavoured alcohol. Yuk. Just wrong.

GrandmasMeatloaf · 19/11/2019 16:54

Depends on what it is I think. We have amazing sweets recipes and I would love to receive a box of those myself. I am sadly unable to knit, but absolutely loved getting homemade baby cardigans from my grandma for DCs.

NaviSprite · 19/11/2019 16:54

I love homemade gifts even if they do come out a bit naff looking - the time and effort to make something is much more appreciated than a ‘this will do’ approach that I would often see from friends when buying for parents/other adult friends.

I sketch as a hobby and also I paint, for my MIL’s birthday this year I did her a portrait of her late Dog who had a short life due to birth defects, she loved him so much and knew his time would be short so she made his life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, he made it to 3 when the vets had said he wouldn’t live to see 1. So she very much appreciated the gift. I’ve done sketches of family members, posters for nephews and nieces of their favourite cartoon characters and they go down well as far as I’ve been told!

My mum cross stitches and I have a load of cross stitched mementos for various life events, I don’t display them all but they’re precious so I keep them in a memory box Smile

Ummmmcake · 19/11/2019 16:55

I like to get homemade gifts, but that is only because those who give me homemade gifts actually have talent. YANBU who hate badly made homemade gifts.

Both of my SILs pretend to like homemade gifts because it is all the rage among their closest friends and family, so I fell for it a couple of times at first (The "Look at me I am a Mother Earth type. I am ooooooh so down to earth and relaxed. Ooooh!" and they are so not. They are both quite high strung and controlling). I spent a lot of time doing things exactly how they wanted and it was never appreciated.

I would like to add that I used to sell quite well, when I participated in craft fairs, so I doubt it is the quality of the gifts that was the issue. They just both really, really like plastic tat and getting gifts that have been endorsed by a "celebrity". Luckily we now only exchange gifts at X-mas if we spend it together.

Breathlessness · 19/11/2019 16:55

I agree with you

I’d never say anything and always make all the right noises but it goes in the bin.

Ummmmcake · 19/11/2019 16:57

Thank you so much, OP for giving me an opportunity to get that off my chest. Aaah. That felt good.

Lipz · 19/11/2019 16:58

Unless they are really good at their craft then I usually don't like them.

I've a friends dd who bakes then sits there watching you eat it, her baking is really bad, always smells of toilet cleaner.

One of my brothers has 6 kids, they all do crafts for gifts, I mean some of these things are 4d, made out of cereal boxes.

I once got a knitted teddy.... for my 40th. The eyes were sewn on wrong and it always looked like it was staring at you.

One year one of the teachers requested only hand made gifts, every kid went in with a sculpture covered in glitter. I bet she was sorry having received 30 glittery contraptions.

dottiedodah · 19/11/2019 16:58

My friend is very creative and makes us lovely decorations for Christmas .I however prefer to give some of M and S finest! Like baking but no good at anything knitted /crocheted Im afraid!

Swipe left for the next trending thread