What are all of you crafters making for Christmas?

[2dream]

I don't have much family to buy or make for. DH and I do not exchange gifts since we kind of do all year long what ever needs to be done. I just purchased a mixer and we are saving for a load of gravel. Yep, thats what he wants is a load of gravel for his new pole barn.
The grandkids each get one suit of clothes, one toy and one book. There are 6 of them and they are all boys ranging in age from 3 mos to 12 years.
For our few friends that we give happys to I make a basket with bread, preserves or jelly, and this year everyone is getting a Christmas Spider ornament for their tree.

 

[Farmfresh]

I will probably do boxes or baskets (I find them at the thrift store) filled with soaps or jellies or herbs. Depending on the person.

Jellies and a loaf of homemade bread or a pan of cinnamon rolls is a favorite around here.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well, I am making throw pillows with tigers on them for my daughter for her bed. Would like to make her a quilt to match if I can find enough material to do it. She looooves tigers!

Making Dale Earnhardt throw pillows for my DH.

The boys I am working on making matching quilts for their bunkbeds, and maybe curtains to match the bedding for all the kids. Depends on how fast I get the quilts done. I can only work on it when they are in bed at night.

 

[Homesteadmom]

Hey Quail, JR or Sr? my dh is a fan too. He nearly cried the day Sr died. Our house went thru a mourning phase that week. He is acquiring quite a collection of things for both though as he likes Jr too. This yr I am not getting him anything Earnhardt though, maybe for his B'day in March I will. Earnhardt, JOhn Deere or John Wayne & I know I am safe for a gift.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Hey Quail, JR or Sr? my dh is a fan too. He nearly cried the day Sr died. Our house went thru a mourning phase that week. He is acquiring quite a collection of things for both though as he likes Jr too. This yr I am not getting him anything Earnhardt though, maybe for his B'day in March I will. Earnhardt, JOhn Deere or John Wayne & I know I am safe for a gift.

We are fans of both, er well, I'm the Jr. Fan. My DH had the same reaction as yours when Sr. died.

We are the opposite, we've slowly been selling off the SR. collectibles. He picked his favorite pieces to keep, and I was adamant that he has to keep a wood mounted photo I had bought him, and he has sold most of the rest. I am making him the pillows because I got the material on sale. Not that he needs them. I could make deer throw pillows for him and he'd be happy with that as well LOL

 

[annmarie]

Okay, heres a somewhat sensitive question for all the crafters/homemade goods makers
Who are you making your homemade gifts for, mostly? Neighbors, friends, family? Do the people you make gifts for also tend to give homemade gifts? I ask this question because no one in my family does this, except me (and DH), and as far as my parents and in-laws go, theyve been buying us rather expensive gifts the past few years, and Im starting to feel a little sheepish about our gift baskets. Weve tried to tell them that we dont want or need anything expensive but they do it anyway. So I guess Im wondering if for the rest of you, this is basically a family tradition, or are you all the black-sheep like we are, giving homemade gifts? No one has ever complained to us, and in fact people look quite happy, but at the same time, I think everyone in our family is too well mannered to complain!

 

[annmarie]

Okay, heres a somewhat sensitive question for all the crafters/homemade goods makers
Who are you making your homemade gifts for, mostly? Neighbors, friends, family? Do the people you make gifts for also tend to give homemade gifts? I ask this question because no one in my family does this, except me (and DH), and as far as my parents and in-laws go, theyve been buying us rather expensive gifts the past few years, and Im starting to feel a little sheepish about our gift baskets. Weve tried to tell them that we dont want or need anything expensive but they do it anyway. So I guess Im wondering if for the rest of you, this is basically a family tradition, or are you all the black-sheep like we are, giving homemade gifts? No one has ever complained to us, and in fact people look quite happy, but at the same time, I think everyone in our family is too well mannered to complain!

Edited to add, sorry for the double posting, I'm getting the same error message I think Quail complained about and I didn't realize it posted even though I got the message!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I will answer your question, and it isn't a sensitive question for me.

My parents do store bought gifts, but this year I am doing homemade gifts for everyone. We only concentrate on our kids and our parents for Christmas. I have politely explained to extended family members (my brothers and DH's siblings) that we simply can't afford to do more than that. We also explained that we are trying to simplify our lives, and by just including our parents in our Christmas Holiday it helps keeping things simple.

I do not feel guilty. I wish my and DH siblings a Merry Christmas, tell them we love them, and that's it. Besides, Love's the greatest gift, and if they expect more than that, they are celebrating Christmas for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Homesteadmom]

There were people around here that loaded up their vehicles with stickers & dh put 1 on his back window. I like Mikey although since he went out on his own he has not done too well.

Annmarie, we do both & my family usually does storebought. But they love getting my handmade gifts. I used to give one of my sil's homemade mixes & things & she said she loved them too. But we no longer exchange gifts with her. We just do her kids, other sil's kids, our kids(of course), parents & my brother. My time making the gift is the value, because it is made with thought & love.

 

[ScottyG]

Annmarie,

We don't really give gifts to anyone but family and our child's godparents... not out of any moral choice, just seems easier, and we've never had anyone else give us gifts... and besides, the gifts are just secondary to seeing everyone anyhow.

But we are definitely the only ones who do homemade stuff. My family tends to just give cash (which feels so un-sentimental it makes me roll my eyes) and my wife's family tends to just badger everyone until they produce a list of stuff they might like, and then buy those things (which, similar to my family, is booooo-ring, and doesn't really require much thoughtfulness).

So we've made a point of making stuff ourselves. We figure if we keep at it, eventually some of them are going to think, "Hey, I like how unique their gifts are! Why have I just been writing checks? Making stuff would be more fun, now wouldn't it?" And, okay, so maybe no one will ever convert, but no one is complaining either, and we figure our gifts are reflections of who we are, so everyone can do their own thing.

I guess there are family members who spend more than we do, but we've never felt odd about it. Time and effort are worth something too, and our families usually seem pretty impressed with the time we put into things even if they spent more.