What can I make for Christmas?

[yesiamyesiamokaycallmeback]

I don't want to buy anything for Christmas except for secondhand books and soap from an easy shop which I love.

I want to make presents for my family and children this year. But I have no idea what I can make for a main present

I so far have
-knitted hats/ scarves/ mittens
-christmas cookies

thats it. thats all I can think of.
what can I make thats sustainable (ish)
I have a printer so was thinking of making some Harry Potter bbbeans and maybe a magic wand each for the kids but it seems pretty lame for Xmas.

the kids have tons of toys. I don't know what to do. I don't want to buy toys they don't want just because I think they should have more to open.

any idea? anyone else doing a more simple Xmas?

kids are 3 5 and 7 so a range of ages.
adult gift ideas too please
God help me

Can you sew? Barbie/Doll clothes?
A dolls house?
Jewellery?

Are they boys or girls? What do they like?

2 boys one girl

barbie clothes is a great idea!
how would I make a dolls house? I have pallet wood...

superheros
Harry Potter
dolls
kids stuff

I make 'rainy day activity boxes'. Lots of heuristic resources, glue and paint. Have to hand a ton of boxes, egg cartons and string to the bairns to complete any projects.
For Adults version, look at homemade sugar scrubs, bath bombs, moisture bars and/or soup in a jar.
Add second hand book and maybe a homemade candle/knitted loofah or bath glove. I would be delighted with that.

Home made super hero capes.

Pinterest is your friend here!

If you can sew a simple puppet theater or teepee?
Dressing up. Bean bags?
For adults how about making beeswax wraps? V simple and eco friendly.
Agree with pp, get yourself to Pinterest.

Food- jams pickles & jellies, chocolate coated nuts, candied peel, preserved lemons, flavoured vodka/gin.

Bath salts.

Cooking kits for the children? Apron, chef hat, oven mit. Jars with: cookie mix, hot chocolate mix etc.

Sock puppets of all your family members.

I did this for the youngest of our family one year and it went down a treat - they made up all kinds of stories to act out from behind the sofa, and it was extra funny since we were all the characters.

Devil’s advocate here, and not asking to be mean, just curious myself - is buying yarn and knitting a scarf that much better for the environment than just buying a scarf?

Personally, I would appreciate HM flavoured alcohol, chutney, jam. Agree that doll clothes and capes would be great for kids, and DIY activity kits could be good too especially if tailored to their interests.

@HaggisTheGreat not really but I still have a huge stash from before I even thought about this stuff

Pinterest is a good idea and I love the capes.

and we have a little puppet theatre so family puppets are a great idea. I have lots of fabric scaps for that

No idea for kids but I made "baileys" last year, saved nice bottles or found cheap ones, put pretty ribbons on. Everyone loved it and it tastes great too

Ooh, do you have a recipe @Subeccoo?

That makes sense, @yesiamyesiamokaycallmeback. Using up existing supplies definitely a good idea.

Baking kits, jar with all dry ingredients for cakes and some decorations.

Fudge. Kites. Colouring book. Them cut out people with cut out clothes you can put on

This might depend on the child, but maybe a booklet of vouchers for things like "Family Game Night-- You Choose the Game!" or "You Choose What's for Tea Tonight!" and so on. You may already let them choose the nightly meal often enough that it's not a treat, but they could be tailored to whatever they do enjoy doing. A "Go to the Park" pass that can be claimed whenever they like, for instance, or "One Afternoon of Crafting with Mum"... "One Hour of Your Choice of Video Game with Dad", etc.

Three might be too young for that, but maybe 5 and 7 is old enough to think it's fun and not so old they think it's stupid.

Do the adults in your family want home made gifts ? I mean this in a polite way but I’d rather not have anything then something you mashed together.

Sticks and twigs are your friend.
Make wall hung Christmas trees from sticks, then decorate with home made decorations. I made these a couple of years ago and they went down very well. Also large Christmas stars. Take a look on pinterest for inspiration.

I was probably a greedy ungrateful materialistic little brat, but by the age of 7 I had very clear ideas what I wanted for Christmas, and none of those things could be hand knitted by my mammy.

I agree none of our children really NEED more toys, but unless they are very unusual children there will be something they are asking for?

Slow cooker fudge, raspberry gin/vodka

Why don't you want to buy anything for the kids? Genuine question. I've got a 5 and 7 year old and they definitely will be 'asking' for certain things.

I like crafting things and my dc are fine with some of their gifts being made my me, in fact they like it.
But it is important to know that

1. Making decent stuff takes a long time. Much longer than the time between now and Xmas. Particularly if you aren't practiced in what you are making.
2. If you don't already have most of the materials it is usually more expensive in the long run than buying a similar item. Because labour is very cheap in some parts of the world and you won't have the buying power for materials that large companies have.

On the plus side you get something individual made with love that you get to enjoy making (when it is going well and you aren't running into a deadline)

If you have loads of craft materials and are a whiz at hat making etc then the above isn't going to apply to you but in the past I've made both mistakes.

Christmas Cake, or Christmas Pudding, for the grown ups. Or gin with infused flavours.
A dressing up box for the DC. Lots of outfits you could make.
Home made fudge for. adults. Home made fudge or sweets for DC stockings.

Fudge
Chutney
Bath bombs
Fruit vodka
If not sure how to make any of them, google lol

What are your kids actually asking for?

This may need some planning ahead for future years, but I grow a pretty evergreen, holly and ivy in my garden, collect pine cones etc and you can then make a nice display for a hall table with a candle in it or a wreath for a door.

How about forcing white narcissus in a glass jar with pretty paper ribbon or twine wrapped round. Or amaryllis- you have time to get it to flower if you start next week.

For the kids, a superhero cape popular with girls and boys. Or a red riding hood cape with a pretty lining, if you have the materials. Also can make a cotton mop hat with furry ears attached so a friend can play wolf (you can source furry stuff easily eg 2nd hand furry gilets).

Home made HP wands can be popular if you go to town on it. You can find a list of all the wand woods online, with their magical properties and owners. You can simplify that, select some of the important woods, print the list as a Wand Shop Store List in fancy font and mount it on card. Go to a local wood and collect some small fallen branches, or consider what you have in your garden. Get different types of wood. Strip off the bark and sand until smooth, label by writing the name of the wood (eg holly, elder, oak) on greaseproof paper and tying it onto the branch so the word is hidden inside the knot. The child can then select a wand and discover which wand he has got by looking it up on the list (which will describe each wood's magical properties). Obviously doesnt matter if you can't find the correct tree branches as long as they look different, but bonus points if you actually do!

Agreed with PP saying making stuff is hard work, but I would check out Purl SoHo’s website, they have tons of project ideas that are actually nice, not just tat. Some homemade stuff is nice if you know what you’re doing but I would so rather just get to spend time with friends/family than be given a gross homemade sugar scrub or badly knitted hat... the number of tiny jars of jam I have in the fridge from weddings... some people don’t like jam/chutney/whatever, so knowing your gift receiver is important to.

Also agreed on costs, knitting DD a properly nice wooly jumper would easily be £30, if the goal is to do handmade, great, but chances are if it’s cheap it’ll be a bit rubbish...