Homemade gifts a thing of the past?

imkaydee · 11-16-2006, 10:09 AM

So many people I've talked with recently, seem to dread the holidays, especially the shopping part.

I think the commercialism of Christmas has gotten way out of hand. I remember when I was young, we used to make a lot of gifts for family and friends. I always enjoyed that part of the holidays the most. We would fill baskets with homemade cookies, breads and add a few handmade ornaments, candles or soaps. Each year we made something different. Does anyone else have memories from Christmas past like this?

Do any of you make handmade gifts? If so, what kinds of gifts do you make?

Do you think a gift of your time and creativity are more cherished than store bought gifts or do you think people who make gifts are looked at as being "cheap"?

**Kris10** · 11-16-2006, 10:20 AM

I love handmade gifts, I wish I received more of them. I dread Christmas because of the financial drain it puts on my husband and I. We have a lot of people to get gifts for, and I just know handmade gifts would be frowned upon.

My most cherished Christmas items are things my relatives made ages ago, like ornaments and decorations. It's nice to have a memory of people that are gone.

This year I am making tulle Christmas trees. I'll be lucky if I get one finished! They are very tacky and 1950's looking, totally my style! I also love those ornaments that are made with styrofoam forms, pins and sequins. We have a lot of these ornaments that my husband's grandmother made. I'd like to add to the collection.

rudedog · 11-16-2006, 03:31 PM

we make some gifts and make fruit baskets for others.
i made a stand against the commercialism of Christmas a long time ago. you go out and buy all this junk, then a person takes it and sticks it in a closet somewhere, and forgets about it, then they whine that they didnt get what they wanted. no thanks, I'll avoid all that.
my kids make christmas lists for grandparents, but my wife and i dont, if it isnt homemade, do yourself a favor, save the money. this has caused a minor riff in the family, but life goes on.
every year i do make an exception for fishing magazines though, i like my fishing mags. as long as they don't come from the empire of materialism, i mean wally world.

Crys · 11-17-2006, 04:59 AM

Christmas isn't a holiday for us, but it's a tradition within both of our families, so we still do a few cards and some gifts. We even have a Christmas tree and I put mistletoe and evergreens all over the apartment. And really, we love getting gifts for each other so we will take any excuse, even a holiday we don't celebrate.

My father's family is huge. There's no way everyone could get gifts for everyone else so all the kids get a few gifts apiece and everyone else who's going to be there puts their name in a hat and gets one person to buy for. Going around the room and seeing what everyone gets is fun, but it's fun because we're all together. I live too far away to make it there very often, but that's the kind of Christmas that always seemed like it meant something. It's about fighting off the dark cold of winter with family warmth and light.

I worked retail in a mall one year and by this time of that year I was so sick of Christmas I wanted to shove those jewelry boxes down the throat of every person who came to the kiosk. I try to avoid malls and large stores as much as possible now between Nov 1 and Jan 3. I'm heartsick over the commercialization of Christmas and it's not even my holiday!

Frankly, I'm not so happy about receiving gifts as I am about giving them. If someone gives me a gift that looks like some thought went into it, it doesn't matter if it cost them anything or not. I prefer gifts I'll use, so homemade food, hand-woven rugs, hand-made ornaments, I love stuff like that, and I'm just as happy with that as I am with gifts like an iPod or a video game or a camera or a rolling pin and cookie cutters. If I get no gifts at all, I'm happy with that too so long as I got the chance to make someone else smile when they unwrapped my gift to them.

**j10asen** · 11-17-2006, 05:01 AM

Back when I was out of work(down sized a few years ago) and being re-educated, I gave homemade gifts of Chex-Mix in empty round Dakota bread mix containers.

I could make it while I studied.

Now I make it cause I like it

I do not make my own bread because I do not kneed it.

hand-made is better in my mind.

pk · 11-17-2006, 06:40 AM

I love sending photos in nice frames to family members. They enjoy the new pictures and I enjoy taking them. It's also nice to include some homemade goodies that you know the person likes. Maybe homemade fudge, or a tin of Christmas cookies, a small box of homemade candy.

It's the little things that takes time to put together that means so much to give. It doesn't take much thought to run out and buy a tin of popcorn at your local Walmart. But it shows the person you care when you actually take the time to put something together yourself.

Of course our kids are a different story. They love if I make something for them, but there is always something special when they see a game boy, or favorite toy, new clothes, etc.. under the tree also. lol

I would like to add that the one year I remember so clearly is the year my mom wanted to give something to each one of her kids so she spent the whole year crocheting each of us an afgan. That is something I will always cherish because I know how long it took her over the year to make each one.

imkaydee · 11-17-2006, 09:42 AM

I agree that being together is the best part of celebrating holidays. We have a very big family, so we draw names, too. I always get the younger children and grandchildren new toys and clothes, but for the adults I like to give handmade gifts. I try to really make it a gift that is just for that person.

One year I canned homemade BBQ and Salsa using peppers from my garden for a family member who loves spicy foods, but his wife doesn't. I designed and printed my own labels and top covers, too!

Another year, I purchased a gift for a relative who was always being teased - cause he likes doilies. Instead of plain wrapping paper, I found some unusual handmade doilies, a small pine branch for a bow and made the gift tag out of Birch bark. He loved it more than the gift!

I have another family member who buys all his gifts at the gas station the night before and usually uses the brown bag as wrapping. But, he will have a tantrum if he doesn't get the exact designer brand, color, cut and style clothing he requested - and he's 45!

Some people may look at people who give homemade gifts as being cheap, but they're usually the ones standing in the long return lines the day after Christmas anyway!

**MrKhay** · 11-17-2006, 10:13 AM

I used to make things for the wife, while I was married. She liked them. I divorced her anyhow.

xswinnyx · 11-17-2006, 06:03 PM

I have made pillows, Christmas ornaments, candles, and easter things, and yes, I think people like us are looked at as being cheap. I put a lot of hours into it, and there were a lot of people to give gifts to, and it wasn't very cheap for the materials. My mother seems to cherish the stuff more, but not the rest of my family. Kids really don't like it.

Crys · 11-20-2006, 05:17 AM

Quote:

I have another family member who buys all his gifts at the gas station the night before and usually uses the brown bag as wrapping. But, he will have a tantrum if he doesn't get the exact designer brand, color, cut and style clothing he requested - and he's 45!

Perhaps it's uncharitable of me, but I just don't get gifts for people like that. Not worth the time, money or effort, and I'm not shy of telling them why either. On the other hand, people who don't really care if they get gifts, I'll go out of my way to find out what they want and get it, regardless of the cost in time or money.

In about 75%, roughly, of cultures throughout history that I'm familiar with, there's some kind of mid-winter gift-giving holiday. It's only recently that it became about _receiving_ the best gift. Used to be, even when it was competitive, it was about who could _give_ the better gift. It was a mark of prestige if you could appear to afford the time and money for lavish gifts while expecting nothing in return. I think the problem is part and parcel of the "the universe revolves around me" epidemic in our modern society.

Something else that's sort of traditional for me is to pick someone I know for a fact isn't getting me a present and isn't expecting one from me. Then I get or make them something. Sometimes, I don't own up to having gotten it, depending on the person. I love the way people react to true surprises.

pk · 11-20-2006, 05:27 AM

It is also so fun to give to the foster program and then go to their Christmas Party and watch how excited they are when they open the donated gifts that Churches etc. help put together for them.

For years we use to be in charge of the 'giving tree' that supplied gifts to the foster program in our city. It was great. These kids get so excited if they receive a ball, or puzzle. Thats when you feel you have made a difference.

pk

Crys · 11-21-2006, 04:20 AM

That's a great idea pk! How does one go about getting involved with that?

Which reminds me -- I haven't bought my Toys for Tots donation yet!! I generally like to do that before Thanksgiving so I can avoid the Christmas crowds :roll: Too late to do that now.

imkaydee · 12-01-2006, 04:35 AM

When my grown children were very young, I was a foster parent. I remember how very special it was to see a child receive a gift, sometimes for the very first time. Times were hard back then with four children of my own, but somehow Christmas was always a magical time. The years when we didn't have a foster child, we would pick a neighborhood family and give gifts to the children anonymously, like Chris.
Thank you, for reminding me of these wonderful memories

Scarberry2003 · 12-01-2006, 06:22 AM

A good idea for a homemade gift,, take empty mason jars,, layer them with all the ingredients for homemade cookies, etc. put on the lid,, cover with some pretty Christmas fabric, or if Christmas is not your holiday ( sorry can't spell,,, oh wait,, Festival of Lights

) etc. ) then with a winter print fabric, snowmen, snow flakes, etc. Put on the ring,, tie with a pretty ribbon,, attach a tag,, in the shap of a gingerbread man,, with the directions on the back of the tag.

( Hommade cookies that you don't have to bake!!!!!!!!!) you can put it in a gift basket with some cookie cutters,, and there ya go,, quick easy last minute present for who ever,, child's teacher, bus driver, doorman, you neighbor who swept your car off too when they did thiers.
This can work for a lot of recipes where the ingredients are not perishable,.

Happy Holidays! what ever your holdiay may be

Tracy

pk · 12-01-2006, 08:20 AM

Quote:

layer them with all the ingredients for homemade cookies, etc. put on the lid,, cover

just thought I would stress that ALL ingredients ONLY includes the dry ingredients.

Quote:

This can work for a lot of recipes where the ingredients are not perishable,.

I realize you pointed out later ingredients that are not perishable, but some new bakers may think 'oil' or 'water' is not perishable in the mix. .. lol lol one never knows how some people see things.

Maybe that would be a fun new topic having users tell us their cooking diasters, or mistakes, or how they read how to make something incorrectly and what happened! Was it for company? Or worse, your first dinner for your new in-laws? Some of the stories could be fun!

anyone want to start this? lol

pk