Well, the time of year when stores stock up on candy canes, Christmas music, and flowery displays is fast approaching. This is the one time in the year that I enjoy going to the mall, for the Sinatra Christmas songs play over the speaker, and the trees donated by various organizations sparkle the hallways. Yet, this year we have begun a new tradition. Our family, being people who enjoy giving and receiving homemade gifts, are striving this year to have the majority of our gifts being handmade. Of course the variety will not be as great, for we of course cannot hand make items such as books, electronics, etc. but the items we do give will be of much more value sentimentally. Although that will not mean that anything not homemade will be excluded, for we do still enjoy the comfort of store bought gifts.

Around this time of the year, we can get a good start on homemade gifts that may take longer than some. Sweaters, afghans, quilts, clothing, etc will have a good amount of time starting now to be finished by Christmas time without much stress.

To get started, you can look through patterns, catalogs, craft magazines, etc and find all sorts of goodies through simple browsing. Christmas cards that are handmade are often valued above the store bought ones also :)

Some ideas of handmade items are: socks, scarves, mittens, gloves, hats, clothing, cotton dishcloths, leg warmers, handmade toys, soaps, baskets, paintings, portraits, and…look at etsy for some other ideas. The possibilities are endless. And if the men of the family enjoy working with their hands, Christmas will spark ideas for them also.

To see some handmade items of others just look through last year’s posts hosted by my cousin here.