I'm not sure what to do for adults at Xmas

[Christmasthatcutsit]

Sahm with loads of time on my hands.
Handy with (hand) sewing, knitting and baking and making bits.
Give me ideas! I'm out of money and still have my parents, inlaws, grandparents, inlaw grandparents, my brother and sister left!
I've also got one nephew to buy for, but he's 10!

I have lots of time and fat quarters and wool and baking bits.

Come on mumsnet! I've looked at pinterest but some of the ideas I think are really naff, so some of my ideas I'm sure others will find a bit rubbish.

Is there anything home made and cheap or free that you'd like to receive.

I've done jam and photo albums and picture frames (charity shop) with kids school photos I'm previously. It's only got to be token really.

Make homemade fudge or biscotti and use the fat quarters to make fabric bags.

I love getting Jam, fudge or biscuits from people that they’ve made. Ignore the people who insist you spend bucket loads of cash on a present!

Oh yes, same here. I'd love lavender bags to keep the moths away.

I wouldn't say it's easier to knit or sew something than to buy it. Takes hours to make something simple.

It depends on where your talents lie and how talented you are. Consumables are always good so things like chocolate, biscuits, cake or soap. I would try and personalise things to each person. You can use gel to make chocolate moulds of real items and then make a chocolate version. You could use gold dust and silver dust to adds authenticity. This is great for someone who uses tools a lot and would like a chocolate version. If you like chocolate then try How to Cook That by Ann Reardon on YouTube. She's a wiz! If you're brave then homemade booze could be fun. Mulled cider might be popular. Home made fruit cake is delicious (heavy on the alcohol) but the fruit is quite expensive.

Home made gifts can be really tricky. If you're talented and can do something which is more personalised and better / yummier than a bought version then it's fantastic. If you our in lots of thought and make something that they want but couldn't easily buy them that's amazing. Many people home make because it's cheap and makes them look thoughtful. This can get very annoying as it can be rubbish and completely irrelevant to the person. If someone else is spending a lot and you don't but give them something rubbish to save money then that's lousy. I'd you do home make then do it carefully and for the right reasons.

I would live some really good biscuits. I wouldn’t want anything else home made. No because I don’t like homemade but because I wouldn’t need/want it so it would end up in charity shop.

Read her post- she already has the stuff.

What a nasty comment. Those pieces of fabric, wool etc can be purchased very cheaply. A fat quarter costs £2 in our local centre, no doubt she will already have threads and can be turned into a nice basket thing for cotton wool etc.

where can you get a ‘proper’ gift for that?

some people appreciate the thought of homemade items made by family members, which take time and love to make rather than an impersonal ‘proper’ gift

Agree with this! I got some as a secret Santa last year and they are ace.

How about a cushion cover with a pocket on the front. You may be able to get some cheap cushion inners from a charity shop or ikea. You could put a bar of choc or a book in the pocket. I'd love that.

I really don't like homemade sweet consumables like gingerbread, fudge etc although not averse to jams and chutneys. I love hand sewn, knitted and crocheted things. Especially Christmas things like Xmas pudding doorstop, hanging decorations, quilty things etc

It’s easy brain work. “I’m good at knitting/baking/crocheting and I enjoy it so I’m going to give everyone those gifts.”

Means you are only thinking about yourself and not the recipient, and of course they’ll say thank you even if they hate it because they’re forced to.

That’s why it’s lazy and selfish.

One year when I was absolutely broke I knitted 15 versions of a simple beanie in different colours and sizes. It was a huge triumph, there are many many many photos of everyone in their hats, and over the years I've replaced them as they got lost/o

I was gifted a homemade heart garland like this a few years ago that I loved and still put up each year. I added some more examples of things you can sew. You could also just sew a loop on top as Christmas decorations. Even better if you know what colours people use when decorating for christmas.

A gift that someone actually wants is a proper gift, not a handmade gift forced upon them because that’s what the gifter likes and enjoys making.

The cost is irrelevant. It’s the thought that counts.

That’s a lot of people to buy for, why not get your spouse to pick stuff for his/her relatives? Does your husband/wife buy stuff for your relatives?
Only buying for kids, or doing a secret Santa are options for reducing the tat deluge and expense.

Small hanging decorations for Christmas tree? I once made little black/white gingham hearts. You could take into account people’s colour schemes. If you have Christmas fabric or red etc, you could do drawstring bags with eg fudge in them (put fudge in cellophane inside!). They can use the bags for wrapping if they don’t want to keep them.

I continue to be amazed at the increasing number of really unpleasant replies on MN of late. My friend of many years knitted me a pair of gloves one Christmas. It is the one gift I still remember because she took the time and trouble to make it for me. Fudge, biscuits all good OP.

It's the same names every time. YTH is particularly nasty across a whole range of topics.

A gift that someone actually wants is a proper gift, not a handmade gift forced upon them because that’s what the gifter likes and enjoys making.

The thing is, you're doing exactly what you're accusing OP of. You're being incredibly rude because you're assuming the recipients of OP's gifts think like you do. But she presumably knows her family and knows that they would like this sort of thing. The fact that you don't like it is neither here nor there- you're not the recipient.

People really are being twats on this thread- rude, sneery and incapable of imagining that not everyone is just like them.

OP, I'd love a peg bag, lavender bag or anything from this www.theguardian.com/food/2022/nov/26/christmas-gifts-recipes-chocolate-log-spicy-cocktails-tequila-brandy-butter-yotam-ottolenghi

I'd love homemade fudge,homemade toffee,shortbread or flapjacks.

I love a handmade gift. Soap, lavender bag or Christmas decorations would be wonderful, as would anything edible.

If the OP knows what her family likes she wouldn’t be asking the question in the first place.

So it’s safe to go on the assumption the OP doesn’t know if they’d like a home made gift or not, since she doesn’t seem to know what they’d like at all

She presumably knows they appreciate homemade gifts, as many people do. I'm really struggling to understand why people are being such massive bell ends about it.

😅

Calling someone lazy and selfish for knitting gifts for friends is one of the weirdest criticisms I've ever heard. It's making me giggle, it's so odd.