DIY Home made Christmas Presents

[artistache]

What do you all give?  Last year we gave some handmade, Martha Stewart-inspired hipster family portrait cross stitches, framed.  It was meaningful but not super-cheap (maybe $250 for both extended families, plus the sweatshop-like labor that it turns out cross stitch family portraits require.)  This year I'm thinking of making natural dyes and dying plain white cloth napkins in sets for each family. (Large Catholic families here.)  I've seen regular cotton fabric napkins for $1/each from China, which makes me a little sad as I'd prefer some organic fabric, which is running at the cheapest $3/napkin.  I just don't have the sewing machine/skills to cut and hem 40+ napkins from yards of fabric, which doesn't seem much cheaper anyway.  Anyone tried anything similar?  How hard is using fixative with natural dyes? 

[zinnie]

I learned to knit last year, so all my gifts were knitted and it went over really well plus at $5 a gift it's a steal! I did slippers and scarves last year and they turned out really cute.

[carolinakaren]

Our family gets together every October to make apple butter.  It's a very labor intensive process (big copper kettles over open fires cooking all day)  but makes great gifts.  It takes about 30 of us 10-12 hours to make 220+ pints.  The apples come from our family trees and the applesauce has to be made in advance of the big day.  My friends seem to really appreciate this treat at Christmas. 

[boy_bye]

I learned to knit last year, so all my gifts were knitted and it went over really well plus at $5 a gift it's a steal! I did slippers and scarves last year and they turned out really cute.

knitting in the winter is the best -- so cozy and relaxing! here's a few things i've made that have gone over really well:

- cupcake hat! the cutest hat ever for little ones! http://chileconyarne.com/freebies/cupcake-hat

- dishcloths: lots of patterns online and lots of different ways to do them. they go quickly and cotton yarn is cheap

- fingerless gloves. these are fun because you can tailor them to your recipient's style. one friend -- who loves colorful accessories and bright makeup -- got a mismatched pair with one hand yellow and teal stripes and the other pink and fuschia stripes. i loved these! my other friend with long hair and a kind of mermaid-y style got a lacy pair knitted from green/blue/purple variegated sock wool. so many options.

- hats. i usually do a simple oversized beret, since it's easy to wear a lot of different ways. usually give this with a pretty pin from the thrift store, too.

[R62]

Another canner here:  jams, sauces, pickles, condiments - some from our garden produce, some from the farmer's market. 

We make up an attractive basket (or bucket, or box - depending on what we can glean) for each household on our list, and it seems to be well received.

I just have to remember each June to hit everyone up to get the jars back in time for the next season.

[sideways8]

I've done homemade Christmas cards a few times. Sometimes they've been silly and sometimes they were kind of pretty. Last time, I colored the cover of the card with crayons (purples and blues blended). I made a paper snowflake, put glitter on it, then pasted it on top of the purpley-blue face of the card. It's pretty fun making cards when I can sit down and get myself into the mood!

One of my cousins usually makes a bunch of batches of muddy buddies/puppy chow and hands them out to us at Christmas in big ziplock bags. It's not fancy but I really look forward to it! Mmm!

This year, I'm thinking of making sugar scrubs.

[cats]

I only give gifts to my immediate family and my SO.  Otherwise, I do a lot of holiday baking and so if I am seeing a friend, I will give them a nicely wrapped package of cookies or cheese straws or what have you.  You can adjust what you're baking to fit pretty much any budget.  Usually I'll pool together with my siblings to gift my parents a restaurant gift card or theater tickets and will pool with one sibling to get something for the other.  We usually also give pretty useful/practical gifts (e.g., when my nice technical running shirt was seriously at the end of the road so my sibs gave me a new one, saving me the trouble of buying it myself).  It doesn't totally eliminate the giving of "stuff" but it at least keeps it pretty well reined in and limited to items that will get a lot of use.

I do usually give 1-2 handknit or sewn gifts for Christmas, can't ever seem to find time for more than that.  Hats, socks, gloves, scarves, and lace shawls have all been done and loved.

[gestalt162]

Last year my fiancee and I went hardcore on canning. We made several varieties of pickles, jams, and applesauce, containing produce from our local farmer's market (and partly from our garden). We put them in decorative baskets obtained cheaply through the local dollar store. We hoped for the best.

The reaction was even better than we had hoped. While people usually forget what they got for Christmas around February, people were raving about our pickles and jams for months, and returning empty jars to us well into May. We have been canning continuously as fruit and vegetables have come in and out of season, and are ready for this December. Highly recommend it.

[igthebold]

I'm really interested in all these replies. I hope to hear more from other folks.

It's important to me to reflect my values in my gift-giving. Keeping cheap toys from my kids and then giving the grown-up equivalent to my friends seems in conflict with what I've come to accept regarding ownership. As such, home-made consumables or other *thoughtful* presents seem like what I want to do. And that's more work. :)

[kkbmustang]

If you go to Pinterest you can find lots of ideas for homemade or DIY gifts. Handmade soaps, lip glosses for little girls (or big girls), infused vodkas or cooking oils, homemade vanilla, etc. We plan on doing a mix of both inexpensive gifts of things the recipient would enjoy (and employing smart shopping strategies to keep the expense down) and homemade gifts. Each grandparent and great grandparent will also get a photo album with pictures of the grandchildren. We help with financial support of my grandmother so she will also get cash.

We usually use an online source for the photo albums, like Picaboo. They always have coupon codes/specials/groupons. Also, if we do buy something online, we go through ebates.com and get a rebate of a certain percentage of the purchase price. I also keep my eye out for USEFUL groupons that I can use for gift buying purposes. Also, a friend of mine is a Stella & Dot stylist (jewelry sold through in-home parties - awesome jewelry). If you host a party you get a percentage of the sales in free jewelry, so I use those dollars for purchasing gifts for family members and teachers. Last time I did that I was able to get a $300 jewelry credit.

Another idea is "Movie Night." Depending on your recipient, you can purchase a DVD you know they will love and a bottle of wine (Whole Foods has lovely bottles of house brand wine for $2.99 a bottle and it's very tasty wine). The total for that gift should be around $15 or less depending on how much you spend on the DVD. Or, insert an amazon gift card and they can rent one online.

Another great gift idea for coffee lovers is a coffee mug and a package of coffee beans/grounds. Swap out tea if they like tea. You can also make homemade flavored coffee creamers.

For our kids' classmates, I found an adorable idea on Pinterest. It's called Reindeer Noses and it's a small cellophane bag with 8 chocolate malt balls (like Whoppers) and one red gum ball. Tie it with a red ribbon and print up some inexpensive labels. I can't imagine the total expense for making these would be very high. Plus, it's consumable and won't litter up anyone's house with a junky toy.   

[bogart]

I don't know whether this counts as "DIY," but I have had (IMO) good results from putting together calendars using family photos on Shutterfly (my preferred site, there are plenty of others).  I put a fair amount of effort (time) into this, though it's certainly possible to do quickly.  I've also organized it as a group (extended family) effort for grandparents, as well as having done it individually.  I forget exact costs, but pretty affordable, and there are also other options for sharing photos as gifts on items like mugs that may have appeal.

[kisserofsinners]

I've been baking bread since 2001. I've developed my own receipe and at most produced 16 loaves in a day. I always tried to them deliver warm for our families Christamas eve party. I got away with not buying anyone a gift for nearly 10 years with that. :)

Since being gluten free, I've started buying at restaurant supply places and getting the same something super high value for everyone. Last year it was really good metal tongs i got for <$3 each.

I want to get back to baking again, but i'm still a little heart broken over my inability to eat baked things.

[happy]

I second the personal calendars idea: my son did this one year for our family when it was quite novel. He used photos he had taken himself. You can also  add little photos on family members birthdays and other significant days . Grandparents loved it.

Some years we also make candles. Its fun and not too hard, and works out quite cheaply per candle if you buy a reasonable quantity of wax etc. We tend to use these for friends/acquaintances etc.  I try not to add to mindless giftgiving, but often its hard not to reciprocate...so this is a good option, that costs way less. Its also easier.. you make them in advance, saves shopping, making decisions about what to get and if you make plenty you are never embarrassed by not having something to give at the last minute.

[Perpetual_Student]

kisserofsinners, that's harsh, not being able to enjoy the fruits of your baking anymore.

If you share your recipe with me, though, I promise to make it as gifts for friends!  Your bread will live on...

[kisserofsinners]

kisserofsinners, that's harsh, not being able to enjoy the fruits of your baking anymore.

If you share your recipe with me, though, I promise to make it as gifts for friends!  Your bread will live on...

MAGIC MONKEY HOLIDAY BREAD

Room prep: Kitchen must be humid and hot. Get ready to sweat. close all the doors and windows, if possible. Boil water on the stove, optimally with space to rise the dough right next to it. Have a spray bottle with water and spray librally around the dough (not directly onto it) while rising. Home made bread can have a thick, dry crust do to non-optimal condisions while it's rising. The full process takes 4 hours and it looses a lot of moisture if you let it. It took me 5 years to really get this right. :)

For high volume production have a full set of gear x3. That's two bread pans and one large bowl for each station of mixing, rising, and washing. Contact me if you'd like the timing.

Preheat oven to 400degrees

Yeast mixture
i pack yeast
2tsp honey
1tsp sugar
2c warm water

dissolve yeast, sugar, and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy (10min)

Dough ball
1c milk
1tsp salt
2tbls butter
3c flour

Combine yeast mixture with milk, butter, 1/2 of the flour and salt. Mix in remaining flour half a cup at a time until you can no longer mix in a bowl.

1-3c flour

Roll dough onto floured counter (i got a hold of a scrap slab of marble for this, as i could never be sure of the quality and amount of the countertop I would have access to in my 20's). Continue kneeding in remaining flour until smooth.

Oil a bowl turn dough to oil both sides, cover with damp towel and let rise (1hour)

Cinnamin sugar filling
6tbsp butter
2tsp cinnamin
2 shakes all spice
1/2c brown sugar
10ish shakes nugmeg

On a stovetop melt butter on low heat add other ingreadiants, mix till combined.

Back to your dough ball
Punch dough and separate into into two equal parts. Shape both halves long and flat. Spead filling evenly across bottom 2/3rds, edge to edge. Roll (bottom to top) up tucking in sides and turn into oiled pans with the last flap tucked underneith. Cover with a damp towel and let rise (40 min)

Place a metal bowl filled with water in the oven to keep humid. Mist loave tops with water and bake for 35-40 min, or until golden brown on the top and sides (pyrex is best for visual) and sounds hollow when tapped

Cool on a wire rack. Wrap and pack gently


There you go. May the tradition live on forever. :)

[Perpetual_Student]

That sounds amazing.  So when you split the dough in two, is that two separate loaves?  And when you roll it out long, and spread and sweet mix on the lower 2/3, does it look like this?

____
I      I
I      I
InnnI
InnnI
InnnI
InnnI

(the "n" represents the spice mix)

If this is going to go down, I'm going to need some pyrex bread pans and a big bread bowl...I only have a crap nonstick bread pan and my biggest mixing bowl is tiny.

[momo27]

We do food items, a habit that was born in our living-under-the-poverty line days.  We didn't usually have any spare cash, but always had a little extra in food benefits from the state.  My husband does meat processing as a hobby, so homemade sausage or jerky are usually a good option.  We live in an area where wild blackberries are abundant, and I love to can, so blackberry preserves of many varieties top the list also.  We make a killer blackberry cordial that always goes over well.  This year we are doing condiment baskets.  Each will have homemade jars of ketchup, beer mustard, zucchini relish, two varieties of salsa, barbeque sauce and sauerkraut. 

[artistache]

Homemade condiment baskets are an amazing idea!

[igthebold]

Themes:
- hand-made and meaningful (knitting, sewing, the classics)
- home-made and consumable (yummy, goes away)
- personal (like special packaging for photos)

Enjoying the ideas. Since it takes more work, we're starting the process now, but it's nice to think about each of the people we're giving to.

One more possibility: give the family a morning or afternoon to volunteer on some activity together. There's an opportunity that comes around every once in a while which involves packing 1-bag dinners (beans, rice, spices, nutrients) for people in places like Haiti and Bangladesh. They accept volunteers of all ages, including toddlers, so that seems ideal. You end up with stories to share, a shared experience, a better perspective, and no junk to clutter up your life.

[windawake]

I made secret hiding place books.  Where you hollow out the pages in a book so people can hide stuff in there.  Made them for my brothers, it was not too difficult and cheap since I got the books, and box cutters for free.  I think I used this tutorial: http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-make-secret-hollow-book.html

I always thought this flower jar candle was a great holiday gift idea, but haven't made it yet: http://gardentherapy.ca/flower-jar-candles/

And I think these wine flower vases are pretty too: http://green.thefuntimesguide.com/2009/12/diy_wine_bottle_vases.php

One thing I've started doing for myself recently, is taking cuttings of my one thriving houseplant and starting them so I have more house plants.  If you started working on this now, it might be ready for next Christmas.  You can even pot them in mason jars for extra kitsch/cheapness, just make sure to put some rocks at the bottom of the jar so excess water can drain out.

I make ginger beer, which is super tasty, healthy, and cheap.  You could make and bottle ginger beer (it's not alcoholic) for friends.  I also enjoy making puppy chow or cookies as presents.

[Russ]

My aunt is a pretty big fan of bourbon, so every year she makes boxes of bourbon balls to give out to the family.

Last year I made my mom and sister a couple bottles of scented bubble bath, using castile soap, glycerine, essentail oils, and water. My dad was getting a lot of inflammation and soreness at the time for various reasons, so I made him some capsaicin jelly by liquefying a tub of petroleum jelly on the stove and simmering it with a half cup of ground cayenne pepper for a few hours.

[igthebold]

I make ginger beer, which is super tasty, healthy, and cheap.  You could make and bottle ginger beer (it's not alcoholic) for friends.  I also enjoy making puppy chow or cookies as presents.

What's your recipe? I used to make it using Ginger Beer Plant, but I let it die, and will probably use water kefir grains, which are similar. I've been looking for a recipe with a punch, because mine's too "subtle" for my tastes.

[kisserofsinners]

That sounds amazing.  So when you split the dough in two, is that two separate loaves?  And when you roll it out long, and spread and sweet mix on the lower 2/3, does it look like this?

____
I      I
I      I
InnnI
InnnI
InnnI
InnnI

(the "n" represents the spice mix)

If this is going to go down, I'm going to need some pyrex bread pans and a big bread bowl...I only have a crap nonstick bread pan and my biggest mixing bowl is tiny.

I feel like i'm thread-jacking a little, but last post.

Yes the two haves are for two loaves.

It's flattened by hand, no rolling. You don't want it to get too thin.

That looks perfect (nice picture ;o). Edge to edge because the last bit of dough, when it wraps around and the ends are tucked, makes a nice bread case that hides the inner goo.

Anchor is the generic of Pyrex. They are exactly the same and cost  $1-2 less per unit. You also see a lot used for sale, as folks are fond of "upgrading" to Pyrex and leave the Anchor stuff for Goodwill. :)

Happy Holidays!

[galaxie]

I've been fixing things for people as presents.  Like cleaning out the car, repairing something around the house, hemming pants, sewing buttons, building a little organizer shelf for the work bench, that kind of thing.

For people who don't live in my house, I think I might make limoncello this year.  All it takes is a big bottle of respectable-but-not-expensive vodka, a bunch of lemons, sugar, and several small bottles.  Delicious, and folks are impressed.

[FI@2022Jem]

I am super impressed by all of you!
We have slowly become a presents-for-kids-only family (with very few kids) so that saves a bunch.  Then we usually buy activity gifts for kids (movie tickets, zoo passes, science center, etc.).  Super fun and minimal waste. 

Holidays tend to stress me out and I am much happier with a coffee and bailey's (we get together in the morning, your drink may very...) and no presents. 

That being said, if I received any of the items mentioned in this thread I would be very excited!

[fidgiegirl]

I always thought the idea of parbaked goods or homemade mixes is great.  I love me some food goodies as much as the next person but it can get overwhelming to have them all at once.  With something like partially baked loaves of bread, or those cookie mixes in a jar, or even a frozen tube of homemade cookie dough that the person can slice off one, or two, or five cookies at a time to bake, they can save it for a few months and have a sweet treat after Christmas has left the building.

Nice ideas, all!

[travelbug]

yum, i am salivating.
Great ideas.

[Nudelkopf]

I made secret hiding place books.  Where you hollow out the pages in a book so people can hide stuff in there.  Made them for my brothers, it was not too difficult and cheap since I got the books, and box cutters for free.  I think I used this tutorial: http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-make-secret-hollow-book.html

I love this! I think I know what I'm going to be doing this year :P

[Angelfishtitan]

I make a huge batch of fudge every year to give along with whatever small thing I had made up to my immediate family. It is cheap, easy, and so delicious, it is hard to give it away. I use a recipe on allrecipes.com, similar to the one you can find on the back of marshmellow fluff during the holidays, with a little less butter. It only take about ten minutes of cooking/work a batch, but no one will know it was that easy when they eat it.

I try to find a new ornament to make every year as well, though some years have been more succesful than others.

@windawake: I really like that flower candle, I think I will have to try that out this year. Thanks!

[PJ]

Similar to the fudge idea - a delicious treat that doesn't take a lot of work - I once made something like these: 

http://www.recipebridge.com/g/186/10148880/cardamompoached-dried-apricots-dipped-in-chocolate

A co-worker had brought them to work for everyone, I grabbed the recipe from her and made them to give out to neighbours - I'm on pretty friendly terms with a number of neighbours and they sometimes drop off Christmas gifts, so I wanted something inexpensive and quick to give back. 

[N]

I have bought sets of white cotton bandanas or napkins online from Dharma Trading many times over the years.
They also sell the dye you can use to paint or dye them.
I have given out many sets of tie dyed or painted napkins. I have also bought other of their "blank" clothes/scarves/silks and dyed them, which is fun, if not necessarily super cheap.

I have also made cloth grocery bags for people. A very simple pattern can be found here:
http://www.morsbags.com/

but you can find many free patterns online. I use thrifted fabric, like sheets and pilow cases, table clothes, etc. I found a budweiser beer printed sheet and made grocery bags for my brothers in law one year. Funny.

I second the idea of perusing on pinterest. many many ideas there on homemade gifts. I plan on making my brother one of those hiding spot books. One year I made him a toilet paper cozy- a little bag that hung off the toilet paper bar, that you can put the roll in. Good also for people who have cats or children that tend to unrolll the paper.

There are lots of fun food things to make that dont require canning or other special equipment. Flavored vodkas, homemade kahlua or bailieys, etc.

[prosaic]

We are making felted soaps this year. I got 72 bars of soap from thesoapguy.com for about $1.80 per bar. Good quality (we use it for our daily soap, no detergents in it) and I bought some felting wool for super cheap ($1 an ounce).

If you google "How to make felted soap" you find lots of instructions. It took me fifteen minus to gt my first bar ready to set. Two days to cure. We are using it now and it is GREAT.

I figure each bar will be around $2 to make. At Whole Foods felted soap is $11 for a comparable bar.

[Worsted Skeins]

I have bought sets of white cotton bandanas or napkins online from Dharma Trading many times over the years.
They also sell the dye you can use to paint or dye them.
I have given out many sets of tie dyed or painted napkins. I have also bought other of their "blank" clothes/scarves/silks and dyed them, which is fun, if not necessarily super cheap.

I have also made cloth grocery bags for people. A very simple pattern can be found here:
http://www.morsbags.com/

but you can find many free patterns online. I use thrifted fabric, like sheets and pilow cases, table clothes, etc. I found a budweiser beer printed sheet and made grocery bags for my brothers in law one year. Funny.

I second the idea of perusing on pinterest. many many ideas there on homemade gifts. I plan on making my brother one of those hiding spot books. One year I made him a toilet paper cozy- a little bag that hung off the toilet paper bar, that you can put the roll in. Good also for people who have cats or children that tend to unrolll the paper.

There are lots of fun food things to make that dont require canning or other special equipment. Flavored vodkas, homemade kahlua or bailieys, etc.

The Morsbag link posted above is very straightforward, intended for those with minimal sewing experience.  I also recommend it!

People know that I enjoy sewing.  This year I received an interesting request from a family member who wants some drawstring bags (simple to sew) for storage.  She even handed me some old sheets to use for the fabric.  I feel this is a real breakthrough in that she is acknowledging my preference for making gifts over buying.

One of the most appreciated gifts that I gave last year were fingerless gloves which have already been mentioned on this thread.  The recipient is a college student who finds the campus buildings to be chilly. They would also be a great gift for a Mustachian who wants to turn back the heat a few degrees.

Our tradition is to give neighbors and geographically close family Moravian Sugarcake, a yeast risen coffee cake that freezes well.  I do think though that people are inundated with sweets during the holidays.  I wonder if a better gift might be something like a frozen homemade chicken pie that a busy family can enjoy after the holiday hubbub has passed.  Thinking aloud now:  how about making a large batch of smaller portion lasagnas with instructions for baking? Or make up bags of beans and spices to be dumped into a crockpot? 

[swick]

Similar to the fudge idea - a delicious treat that doesn't take a lot of work - I once made something like these: 

http://www.recipebridge.com/g/186/10148880/cardamompoached-dried-apricots-dipped-in-chocolate

These look amazing! Coincidently, I have everything to make them in my pantry too:)

Love all the ideas! I will be making customized perfumes and useful aromatherapy products for Christmas this year.  I'm studying to become a Registered Aromatherapist so I get to knock off school work and gift giving in one go.

[PJ]

These look amazing! Coincidently, I have everything to make them in my pantry too:)

 
 
LOL!  Love the cross fertilization between this thread and the grocery challenge thread! 
 
It was Canadian Thanksgiving over the weekend, so our family was all together.  Typically, that's when we draw names for our gift exchange.  There are a couple of us on tight budgets, so I broached the possibility of skipping it or changing it or ... we're all going to mull over some possibilities, such as still doing a gift exchange but limiting the cost to $5, or doing that thing where you each bring a generic gift, and can "steal" gifts that someone else has, etc.  We'll be together again later in the month so we can decide then too.  What was great is that it opened up a whole other conversation about the way we celebrate Christmas, and I think we're going to drastically pare down the meal, or do potluck, or something like that, to reduce the strain on my mom, who is still hosting all the family get togethers. 
 
Hope everyone else's holiday planning is going well!

[kdms]

We are making felted soaps this year. I got 72 bars of soap from thesoapguy.com for about $1.80 per bar. Good quality (we use it for our daily soap, no detergents in it) and I bought some felting wool for super cheap ($1 an ounce).

If you google "How to make felted soap" you find lots of instructions. It took me fifteen minus to gt my first bar ready to set. Two days to cure. We are using it now and it is GREAT.

I figure each bar will be around $2 to make. At Whole Foods felted soap is $11 for a comparable bar.

I love this idea...I hate slimy bars of soap, and my toddler likes playing with the liquid soap dispenser way too much.

I usually make custom stained-glass tree ornaments (for those that put xmas trees up) and other personalized glass art for friends, but it's proving quite difficult this year - I just don't like the idea of cutting glass with a toddler hanging around - so all of these ideas are great.  :)

[Jack]

Our yard has pecan trees, so my wife makes candied pecans. We put them in jam jars, but even then it costs us almost nothing because we tend to get the jars back. (We did buy one of these -- totally worth it -- and I'm about to buy one of these for this year.)

(On another note, I wish I'd signed up for the Amazon.com referral link program...)