for those who handmake presents, does the recipient like what you've made?

[lucykate]

we are a bit skint atm and i have no income to call my own as am currently a sahm, starting to work freelance. so, this chirstmas, i made my mum, my mil and sil, a felt and embroidered flower brooch.

to cut a long story short, there has been an family incident involving my mum, and a comment has been made by my stepdad regarding this present. he said ' and the fuzzy felt brooch for christmas, what's that all about?'

i feel really hurt that i spent many evenings working on the brooch, and that its very much the case of them knowing the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

the way i feel about it today, is i doubt if i'll ever make another present for anyone again

anyone else ever had this happen?

oh, thats a really mean comment! Please don't take it to heart and stop giving handmade pressies.
On the whole, people really appreciate a gift that's given with love and thought.

id be delighted to recieve something with so much thought and time put into it,

your parents are rude and mean

ignore them, carry on making beautiful presesnts, not everyone will be so ungrateful!

In my own family, most adults don't exchange Xmas gifts, except maybe a small joke thing.

I have often received handmade gifts from my more talented relations, and if sometimes they weren't exactly to my taste, I would still appreciate the effort; that would be the case with a storebought item as well. I might comment in private to my dh, that it isn't quite to my taste, but he wouldn't ever repeat it-is that what happened do you think?

The real issue is the extreme thoughtlessness and rudeness of SD. But if they both really are so concerned about the cost of the gift, I would probably not make any future effort to make OR buy anything- FOR THEM. Don't write off the idea of handmade gifts in general, I think. Though items to wear are more difficult, maybe food gifts. (Having said that, my SIL is into handmade cards, and I sometimes feel that dh gets given the ones that didn't quite work!)

Lucykate, that's so awful. Yet another example of how commercialisation is ruining this society and turning people into ungrateful, materialistic wretches. I make edible goods for presents occasionally; they're usually well-received but you do get the occasional "I'd have preferred a voucher, thanks" look from some of my relatives...