Homemade gifts, your real thoughts.

[Itsmychristmasdress]

I am making a picture for a friend for her birthday.
It's not professional looking at all. It's obvious it's home made should I just buy something instead?
Are home made gifts really shit?
Honestly?
Yabu. Yes shit. Buy something instead.
Yanbu. The thought always counts even if the finished product is not amazing.

MiL gives us terrible paintings we dislike. SiL gives us gorgeous paintings we love. It all depends on talent.

My thoughts too!

I think it depends what it is, a friend of mine is into candles and pottery, she'll give me a small candle in a home made pot or a coaster, small bowls etc, she even makes small Christmas tree decorations which are lovely. If it's a picture I'd have to hang on a wall I might not be so keen .

So you have a paint imprint of someone else’s child’s bum cheeks on your wall? I find that so odd tbh!

I think it depends on the gift. Artwork is difficult, and if given as a homemade gift I think you have to have a talent for it.

But after I had DD1 a friend gave me a baby blanket she knitted. She knits a lot, it was beautiful colours and was lovely because I know it will have taken a lot of her time to do.

This baffles me too. Other than taking cake into work (which I guess comes under fair enough if you don't want to eat it!), anyone else I am giving a present to will have eaten at my house!

Luckily my friends and I do not exchange gifts at all. I would hate a home made gift unless it is chutney.

@Itsmychristmasdress if you don't expect her to display it, what do you expect her to do with it?

if you're not willing to post it on this thread I don't think you should give it to her.

I appreciate a homemade gift if its.... worth having?

• box of tasty biscuits/treats: yep
• batch of your dubious vegan no sugar high morality baked goods - no, unless you know I share your dietary restrictions don't impose them on me

• you're a genuinely skilled knitter/seamstress/potter/painter and have made me a useable scarf/personalised hanky/purse/mug - wonderful
• you're intended to give me some fairly shite craft item i'll clearly never use/display because "the thought counts" and its what you can afford to do - no thanks, don't worry about a gift!

I won't post it because it might be outing not because I'm ashamed of it 🤣

As you can see from the responses @Itsmychristmasdress , there's no right or wrong answer! You know your friend and we don't, and I really hope she appreciates the love and the work you've put into it.

(And I say that as someone whose relative makes the most horrendous crocheted things for Easter and Christmas - they've always got those stupid googly eyes stuck on them, not even in a straight line 🤪)

No I wouldn't like a 3D painting.

Sorry. I always used to non homemade food gifts when I was teaching too. I'm a monster.

One of my friends crochets

I absolutely adore the first two hats she made me. The 5th and 6th were a little too much.

I like homemade gifts made to a professional standard - baked goods, clothes. I’ve been gifted art by an artist friend who displays her work and is renowned and it was lovely. You don’t sound too sure of your capabilities so I would stick to a card 😬

It depends doesn’t it on how good the gift is.

I can knit well and knew my friend wanted a knitted I phone case. This is years ago and pre Etsy. They were ridiculously expensive. I made one for her and her sister and they were delighted.

Painting's are hard though, my sister is quite good at art, note I wrote quite good but I wouldn’t put one on my wall.

There's some real snobs on here

And I'm baffled by "I'd throw baked goods away because gross"

I don't know anyone at work's kitchen but they bring in cake and we all devour it! Because homemade baked goods are delicious

Why is it snobby not to be delighted at being given a badly made thing you didn't ask for and don't want?

@Itsmychristmasdress How many people have you shown it to?

No, not shit at all imo but it depends on the recipient I think ! My best presents still are a knitted scarf, a painting of our dog and boxes of fudge made by sil. All used, and all loved!! I’d appreciate it but then I know people who would think it was someone being cheap

I'd have to say it depends. My SIL was very arty and quite hard up so she sometimes made us gifts rather than buy them. Some I absolutely love and have been on display ever since. Some were awful and are shoved in the loft. She died about 18 months ago and her art in our home is a lovely way to remember her. If it was all awful/shoved in the loft I wouldn't consider it so fondly though!

I'd be over the moon and incredibly touched by hone made! I've had a few and they mean a great deal to me.

Home made edibles, or home knitted/sewn things or jewellery, yes love them! Pictures or knick knacks, just no. Only because people don't have the same tastes. I wouldn't be rude if someone gifted me something like that, but I'd feel obliged to display or keep it, even if I disliked it.

If it is art, would it lend itself to being a card rather than a gift? I would love a home made card because it shows such a lot of thought but doesn’t come with quite the same expectations of being kept. I would probably keep it up for a year and then not feel guilty if I replaced with something else.

If they’re not expected to display a picture, what are they supposed to do with it? It’s either store it somewhere (which is a nuisance for the recipient and is also a waste of your time and effort) or display otherwise they feel rude. I’d keep it for yourself and if they like it, say I could make you one if you fancy. If they haven’t commented on your artistry etc already then I wouldn’t. I knit and am conscious I do it for my pleasure, not to create stuff for other people which they may not want.

Can you just make it smaller and turn it into a card?

3D amateur flower art would definitely not be my cup of tea, I honestly wouldn’t know what to do with it. You can’t regift it or take it to a charity shop, seems a bit wasteful.