Home-made Christmas gifts

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

What have you made/are planning on making for gifts for Christmas this year, we really need to trim our gift budget a little so any ideas will be every much appreciated.

All i have on my list so far is homemade fudge and framed photos of the kids - it looks a litte poor doesnt it!

wow ! some fabby ideas on here
mil is very "finicky" as she calls it therfore wouldnt eat anything we had made
not sure about fil though ! maybe i will find a recipe for whisky based truffles

I am supposed to be making:

Sock Monkeys for each of my 3 DC

Knitted Scarf for DD

Knitted Scarf for my mum

Cross Stitch Bookmark for my mum

Small basket with chutney and jam in for my mum.

Big hamper with several types of jam, chutney, marmalade etc plus shortbread, fudge etc for inlaws.

Fudge for teachers and TAs (x 6)

Mulled wine kits to go with bottles of wine for my work colleagues (x 5)

I am having a bit of a wobble today though (see other thread) that I won't have time to finish everything and/or they won't like homemade gifts.

I feel with gifts that it really is the thought that counts, and if someone thinks enough of me to spend their precious time making something for me then i would be delighted I saw your thread, and understand exactly where you are coming from though. Don't break your back, prioritise and do what you can and want.

domesticsluttery - thats the same worry im having, it looks lovely all written down, but then am i going to feel a bit of a tool handing over my homemade efforts when they give me something bought (and invairiably more expensive) We are moving and have no money so I was hoping people would understand, but tested the water with my sister and she wasnt pleased at the idea. was hoping for some confidence from her tbh so feel abit wobbley now too

I love HM gifts, and in my job (I teach nursery school) my favourite end of term gifts are things that the children have made themselves. But I'm well aware that not everyone feels the same as I do!

I told my DC that we might buy presents for their teachers instead of making them and they were really disappointed and are insistent that we made fudge the same as last year. At least that can be made in advance!

domestic - what is in your mulled wine kit?

Yes, the mulled wine kit sounds intriquing!

I did a search and found this. I've bought 4 bottles of wine and I think I have 4 suitable baskets to put the kits in so am on my way to actually completing some of my home-made gifts this year!!

Can i just say 'Damn you lot!'

I was planning a nice easy stress free christmas buying tat from tkmaxx, boots 3for2 etc and now i am planning all sorts!

For my sister and her partner - biscuit barrel/tin filled with homemade biscuits

For my nieces - a muffin mix jar and apron each (i think, may still go down the Hannah Montana route yet...)

My grandparents - obligatory bottle of sherry, some homemade biscuits and homemade chocolates, some of my sloe gin?

My Mum???

My Dad and his GF - biscuits, rasberry vodka, chocolates.

PILs?

For kids we (the kids are helping!) are making "travel roads" and felt cup cakes, buns and biscuits.

The Travel roads are made from black felt, cut into arcs and straights (like pieces of a train track, but wider), then I sew the white road marking along the middle. I'm putting 8 curves, 4 straights and an intersection in a little draw string bag with a few toy cars.

Felt cakes etc and stuffed with cotton wool, for imaginative play.

Asrophe, I really love the felt travel roads idea. Can I steal it?

Felt roads are a great idea! I might make for DS if I have any time left. He loves building "roads" out of tea towels and dishcloths at the moment, creating a slalom for me in the kitchen as I try to avoid the debris while cooking!!

steal away - I got the idea from a friend.

With some of the felt scraps I've done traffic lights and car parks too.

I've made one for DS using some black jeans I got from the charity shop - cheaper and more duarble than felt, but I needed to zig-zag stitch all the edges, which was too time consuming for me to make multiple sets as gifts.

Bit gutted, my homemade plans are off :( have now been told by three of the 10 people I was planning on homemaking gifts for that it's a pants idea and no one will won't a hamper, better to just get something people want as Its not fair if they spend money and I just 'do some cooking' feel shit now but not got the cash either so bit stumped as what I'm going to buy. Don't feel much like buying them anything but that's not really an option :0(

I would tell them not to bother buying you gifts and you won't give them any. I would seriously begrudge spending any of my precious time or money on them. Or go down the charity present route, in fact i think that is what i would be tempted to do.

"You were obviously ungrateful so instead i have bought a goat for someone who will appreciate it"

i do feel quite shutty about it tbh. wasnt expected at all. first my sis then my dad 90was very shocked at him) honesty i have already put a few days into it with just planning and sourcing items.

I was thinking of going ahead but putting a few bought items in like alcohol and photoframes, but my hearts not in it now, was looking forward to it though :(

Hope you all enjoy your 'making' though, and Im sure you all have a better class of recievers than me x

shitty not shutty

Aww babydubs, it's awful when people react like this. It's a shame you asked them really as surely they'd find it harder to be if you said "I've just finished making your Christmas present (even if you hadn't started, more to tell alert you to the forthcoming ), so excited about it! Hope you love it!" Also with you not having much money this year they should appreciate that.

I have already said to several people that I can't afford to do shop-bought presents this year (well I could buy from shops, but it would be cheap and nasty tat so what's the point) and so I am either making them something or proposing a small limit on presents. I think people who know you shouldn't make you feel bad for not having the money to spend.

having said that I haven't told my mum I'm making her a present, nor would I in a million years, lovely though she is, she would without doubt expect an expensive present even if I had not got two pennies in my pocket. In all other respects she understands about lack of money and economising, but when it comes to presents it's like Hyacinth Bucket takes over!

I think your ideas sound lovely and TBH I would stick to them anyway. What's the alternative, getting into more debt and spending money you haven't got? Don't do it. Make your things and be proud x

I agree with Girlsworld, make your gifts and prove them wrong, show them how lovely homemade things can be

BabyDubs I understand - I am not bothering making things for most of DH family as we did this last year and I got a raised eyebrow and some of the food gifts (chutney etc) was still sitting in the cupboard wrapped up when we visited in summer!! I was pretty miffed as I spent ages doing the presents and I am not going to waste my precious time on people who don't appreciate it - hence they will get some DS artwork and thats it