To hate homemade gifts

[Bearbehind]

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

A homemade gift is 100 times better than some prepackaged ‘gift set’ chosen just because it says ‘gift’ and has Reindeers galloping all over it.

But those aren't the only options! It's not "homemade gift" or "£5 gift set from boots" - there are plenty of things inbetween.

I voted YABU but do not make my own gifts. However, I think there is a big difference between baking a lovely fruit cake for granny because you know she loves it, and making a scented cushion for every member of the family and friends whether they'll like it or not, just because you like making them.

I’d never eat something that had been homemade unless I knew the person well and was confident about their hygiene - I can’t bring myself to eat cakes people bring into work either but I do have some serious medical issues that mean I have to be very careful about getting sick so that’s the main factor.

I wish some of my family would be happy with store bought things at Christmas - I'm always getting requests prior to Christmas (crochet normally) and it takes so much time.

No gifts at all for me please. I don't really like 'things' and I've got everything I need. I always feel so guilty when I'm given something I don't like, want or need. Save your money, spend it on yourself and my gift can be the knowledge that you've treated yourself to a little something. That would make me feel happier than a watery body lotion set or some rhubarb wine.

As far as I am concerned a gift, regardless of its nature or cost is exactly that, a gift and whether we want/like it or not is pretty much irrelevant.

I wouldn't mind a handmade gift at all, I may end up having no use for it but I'd still appreciate the gesture, as I do with all gifts I receive.

I can't understand the "gifts for adults are stupid/a waste/etc" mentality, I love giving and receiving and gift giving doesn't have to stop at a certain age.

Katseyes7 wow your work is amazing, I'm doing amigurumi stuff at the moment as it nearly killed me doing a bedspread!

Not sure if it counts as a gift, but during the year, my sister gives me empty Kilner jars with instructions to have them refilled with pickled onions in time for Christmas. 😉 I'd say they were definitely wanted and appreciated.

Depends on the recipient tbh. My nieces love getting crotched toys, but they also get bought presents too.

I both agree and disagree with you.

The quality of homemade gifts does indeed matter a great deal and far too many people give quite crappy things. And I also agree that it's rubbish and lazy when people do the *this is what i make so it's what everyone's getting" thing.

but I like receiving a well thought out gift and I do occasionally give homemade gifts but always carefully thought through and generally i don't give the same thing to more than one person. Sometimes people have specifically requested things from me (cakes, chocolates that sort of thing). I don't sell my homemade things as a business but I have sold them in the past.

I think on balance the majority of homemade things might be tat. and so YANBU but the minority of hmoemade gifts are brilliant, thoughtful and so much more meaningful than a shop bought thing so YABU.

@ThunerDrewer I'll happily be your friend

My best friend can't work due to health issues, so for birthdays and Christmas l always ask her for a coffee and walnut cake. lt's my favourite and hers is amazing. She makes biscuits and little Christmas cakes (in small baked bean tins!) and decorates them for her neighbours and in laws. She's also bought nice glass bottles/jars in charity shops for a quid or two, last year she decorated one and put fairy lights in it. Her sister wouldn't believe she'd made it, it looked like one she'd admired in a shop. l'm half hoping for one of those this year!

It depends. My husband makes a lot of chutney and also quince jelly. He gives it our friends because they ask for it.

However, if someone made me something home-made and whimsical, like a framed twatty slogan in modern calligraphy, I’d be regifting it pronto.

Yanbu! They are pointless and I think often thoughtless- I hate chutney and not a fan of jam but frequently receive them! Most craft stuff ends up shoved in the attic because I feel too guilty to throw it away.

Geepee1 Thank you! Now you have the advantage of me there, l've tried amigurumi and l only managed a bee. l cannot for the life of me understand crochet patterns, which is why l only make blankets! Strangely enough knitting patterns are no problem at all.

teachers tell me it always goes in the bin because they suspect the kids won’t have been very hygienic with the cooking
This! Little kids are likely to have dropped snot in it. Older kids often think it’s funny to put something unhygienic in it, especially if they don’t like the teacher. I never eat anyone’s homemade food unless I know them well enough to be sure they’re scrupulously clean.

I don’t mind homemade gifts if they’re nice. In the past I’ve received a lovely knitted scarf and a baby blanket, homemade cake and limoncello. But if you’re not very good at crafts or make things that are tat I’d prefer you didn’t bother.

YABU and i dint make my own gifts because I dont have the energy to do that. I really dint think it’s lazy. If anything I would see it the other way around. A bought gift can be extremely lazy, found quickly at the end of the curser wo any thought. Of someone makes something, they will have to out the effort in, regardless of whether the gift is great or not.
As the receiver, whether I like the gift or not (the same than if the gift is bought btw), I know they will have to spend time ding it. And for that, I will always be appreciative. Plus let’s be honest, people who do home made gifts like edible, are the wines which an do them well. The ones who dint know how to cook just dint even go there.

like a framed twatty slogan in modern calligraphy, I’d be regifting it pronto
I wouldn’t regift it - someone might think YOU made it!

katseyes7

That's so beautiful!

My v creative BIL always makes the most brilliant gifts. Everyone always looks forward to seeing what he makes next. It takes a lot of planning and hard work and we all appreciate his pressies a lot more than any other tat we might get! So far he’s made mobiles for the kids, a puzzle board for storing unfinished puzzles, lamps out of funky tin cans, plastic picture frames, tiered cake plates. He’s v clever indeed 🎄

@TiceCream, don’t you think that there are plenty of shop bought present that are just tat too?
Why is it more acceptable to give tat when it’s bought than when it’s made?

@Thinkingabout1t Thank you, definitely getting there.

This is going to give a lot of homemade present givers a complex haha. I think it's sweet and involves more time and effort than simply buying something off the shelf. Must admit though, they'd probably end up in my bin unless they were good.

In my experience and judging by MN threads every year from @ mid November onwards, too many people go the home made route because they want to reduce their spending. Nothing wrong with that of course but when you see a thread along the lines of Help!! What HM gifts can I make, three weeks before Christmas, from posters with 50 quid to spend on 12 people ranging In age from 10 to 80 you can be pretty sure that poster isn’t exactly “crafty” . If they were they wouldn’t be desperately seeking help from MN.

You’ll then read dozens of responses from posters who truly believe that this amateur should take up soap making, or do dishwasher vodka, or make everyone lip balm, all despite the fact OP has zero knowledge or experience of these things and could actually cause someone harm if they’re not done correctly!

My personal favourite (as in I love to hate them) are the cheapo food gift suggestions:

Ooh! Ooh! Buy some cheap mugs (B&M have loads), pop in a sachet of hot chocolate and some mini marshmallows and finish with a lovely ribbon!
Yeah cos people are just desperate for more mugs taking up space in their cupboards, especially cheap ones!

Ooh! Ooh! Buy a cheap dvd (B&M have loads), get some striped paper bags, fill with popcorn and finish with a lovely ribbon. Instant movie night!
Right. I think I’ll skip dessert after Christmas dinner so I’ve room to enjoy a delicious big bag of stale popcorn while pretending The Polar Express is a new and exciting movie experience for me .

I’m sorry but SOOO many HM gift ideas trotted out are absolute shite no matter how lovely the ribbon you finish them with! If people are seriously handing this crap out to their friends and family it’s no bloody wonder homemade gifts are unpopular.

If a person has an actual skill then fair enough although bear in mind that just because you’ve spent time on something it doesn’t mean it’s to the recipients taste. Be sure your friend really wants knitted cushion covers in that particular colour before you start clacking the needles. If you don’t see them on her sofa please don’t take the hump - your “effort” doesn’t mean you get to dictate my decor!

You may well make amazing jam or gin but that doesn’t mean all 20 friends and colleagues like jam/gin so please don’t keep asking how it was. I made the appropriate impressed and delighted noises when you handed it over, can’t we just leave it at that?

So yeah OP YANBU!!

I think a lot of people are very touched by home-made gifts - look at the success of MN Woolly Hugs - those blankets are a work of art and love