Hand made Christmas gift ideas please

[GrouvilleMaLuv]

I’m hoping to make a few Christmas gifts this year so am looking for ideas of what I can start to do now or a signpost to places with crafty type things.

Ideally I’d like things that are food based. I know I can make sweet treats closer to the time but what can I prepare ahead.

I can also crochet (after a fashion, the scarf I’ve started is turning into a triangle 😂 so will start that again tonight). Can also sew. I’m not a very creative but can usually follow clear instructions 😂.

I like being gifted chutneys or jams. Also a traditional Christmas cake is amazing. I also love marzipan. Anything sweet would also go down well but appreciate that’s usually a closer to Xmas thing to make.

I would not like alcohol of any sort made,’like flavoured gin etc.

In terms of non edible stuff- I think it’s quite hard to find something universally
loked. But something personalised would always be appreciated- so with kids or grandkids (or dog?) names on it etc. HTH

You can make photo calendars with pictures of those you're getting them for or their pets or beautiful places nearby, etc. Here is a guide on making your own calendars, and you can add birthdays, anniversaries and other important days in there.
I wouldn't be sure about food because some people are just so picky with what they eat, let alone what they get as a gift, so might not go dow so well, though it really depends on people!
Handmade soap or candles might be a good idea but it also depends on how skilled you are in that. These are easy to make though and you still have plenty of time.

Last year my SIL did caramelised apple curd and strawberry & Prosecco jam, which went down very well with the family!

Last year my creative friends send flower arrangements, lavender wands, jam, Christmas pudding, and socks all gratefully received and appreciated.

Depends what "level" of gifts you want to give - a big main gift for a partner, or little bits for friends...

Foodie stuff - consider fudge, flavoured salts or vanilla sugar. Homemade vanilla essence? "Cookies in a jar" are a very American concept, but might play well with some of your people - maybe "gingerbread men in a jar" with a cookie cutter tied artfully to the lid? I'd be delighted if someone gave me a jar of homemade mincemeat to make mince pies with.

If I were you, I'd do hampers - 3x homemade jams maybe wrapped in a nice tea towel with some posh crackers. The jam could be made now and put away. Look for fruit on sale and make something fun with it - I did kiwifruit and chilli jam once, that was lush with cheese. Another time I did mulled wine jelly (basically just stewed mulled wine with jam sugar so it set) which was delightful on a cheese board.

Nigella’s chilli jam is always a hit. Also her Christmas chutney. Flavoured gin- blackberry season so could pick your own.
Sainsbury’s have a recipe for clementine and gin marmalade which is lovely.
if you can get hold of a copy of Nigella’s Christmas she has some other ideas you might like.
I would start saving some jars.
Look on instagram or Pinterest for some great ideas.

I saw a free pattern on instagram for a fold-up tote. That kind of thing always does well. The one I saw was from madswick_studio.

Craft project bags for other people they sew/knit etc.

Christmas tree decorations - there are lots of options for nice felt hand-sewn one. this is one maker with loads of ideas and patterns: https://swoodsonsays.com/

The Sophie Scarf from Petite Knit is a lovely little thing and a fairly quick and easy make.

Those are where I’d go!

I’m really into making candles, and it’s easy to do!
You can start saving jam jars now (or buy them online), and then you need wicks, wax pellets and oils. And you can either make your own stickers, or get some sticky labels with nice borders and hand write the scents on etc. I’ve done this a lot and they always go down really well with the recipients!

I've made mincemeat before, time consuming but easy. It will happily sit for weeks in the jars and makes the house smell amazing. There are loads of recipes, I use Delia's.

Gingerbread, I've made the various parts for a house before and taken the bits along so we can build it (after discussion obviously). Straightforward biscuits always go down well.

Most members of my family have something I have cross-stitched. One year I didn't know what to get for my grandma so i made her mince pies. She was very pleased with them, but said she would have given them back if I hadn't made them myself.

If you cann crochet I suggest checking out Etsy for some patterns. They have really awesome ones! (I knit but don't crochet.)

Quilted make up / wash bags are quite easy. Could combine with some homemade soap.

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/ideas/how-to-sew-a-quilted-makeup-bag.html

Fudge is really easy to make and to make it look pretty in a cellophane bag with some ribbon.

Last year I bought a pretty sugar bowl from a charity shop and made a candle on it for my Nana. I already have another sugar bowl from another charity shop and will probably make another candle for this Christmas.

In the past I've sewed tote bags (like a fold up shopping bag but in nice fabric not that white calico) which you can fill up like a hamper, a personalised A5 book cover over a journal type notebook, little personalised Christmas tree decorations, a fabric Advent calendar from a kit.

I found some very quick and lovely beanie tutorials on you tube. just getting a really beautiful colour changing wool and you can make a realy special hat in a few evenings.

Food-wise. I have made, mead, candied nuts, plum jam, lemon curd and hot chocolate truffel balls (wayyy better then the balls with powder in them, or the solid blocks of chocolate that don't melt properly in hot milk)

The hot chocolate truffels are really easy. make chocolate gnashe (50/50 cream to dark chocolate) set in the fridge then scoop out chunks and roll (very quickly as they melt) into large walnut sized balls. chill again them stab them with a wooden fork and dip to coat in liquid chocolate to give them a hard coating. sprinkle with edible glitter, sprinkles and mashmallows, set them on grease proof paper and allow to harden. drizzle with white chocolate if you like. wrap them in cellophane with the fork handle poking out of the top, tie with ribbon and instructions (melt into hot milk). Because the gnashe is already soft it melts way faster and you have cream to add richness.

Stuffed Dates, with nut butter or marzipan with further nuts inside them. Eg: Pistachio butter & Pistachios; marzipan & either almonds or walnuts.

Saving this for later

I often make tree decorations for people. Either crochet, felting, clay, sewing… so many options for micro dosing on crafts.

These sound fantastic

I am making jams and old fashioned preserves atm from the fruit from trees in our garden.

The harvest has been poor this year but I have made plum jam and added nectarines and redcurrants to make it a bit more zingy for Christmas.

And I am making apple and pear old fashioned preserves with cinnamon that are sterilised and sealed in water baths.

And I will make Christmas puddings when the time comes.

Nigella’s Christmas book has an excellent chapter at the back on making gifts.

For sewn gifts I think cushion covers go down well, as do quilted cosmetic bags, shopping bags that fold up in to a pocket, and not home made exactly but if you go to a specialist picture framer and get a print made of a special photo for family, that is always appreciated.