Home-made Christmas gifts are a great solution when your budget won't stretch far this particular year, and you still want to go beyond the pair of socks or a box of mid-range chocolates. They are also fantastic for children to make (smaller ones might need help!) for their parents, grandparents or other relatives.
Planning is absolutely crucial here, even more when making gifts on the budget then when making gifts in general. What you can make will, obviously, depend on your budget: you usually need at least a bit of money for materials and, crucially, on your skill. But even if you don't normally devote much time or effort to crafts, you can still make some memorable presents.
Spend some time thinking about who would appreciate what. People appreciate the effort and the thought that went into home made gifts, but only if the thought actually did go into them. Think about the giftee's taste, lifestyle and interests. Make a list of people and enlist close family's help with suggestions. START EARLY.
Really, I mean it. START EARLY. This way you will not only have time to actually make the things, but also will be much more likely to be able to pick up materials and other supplies for lower prices or even for free.
The reality of making hand-made things is that you will need to invest time: they are generally propositions for cash-poor, time-rich people, although some things (food, simple personalised items) are obviously quicker to make than others (woodwork, crochet, sewing).
Packaging is important: you can create mini-hampers with baskets, tins and boxes recovered from other products or bought in charity shops, car boot sales and similar. Cellophane from flowers or other gifts can be recycled, as can be bows, raffia and ribbons.
COOK IT!
The best option as the skills are universal, and it's the effort and presentation that counts although in all honesty it won't necessarily be the cheapest cheap present. But a lot can be achieved by effort made while looking for a recipe and some finishing touches with packaging. Food is good for more generic presents, and especially to people who are not likely to encounter home baking a lot (busy bosses, old bachelors who don't delight in cookery etc.).
Still, try to choose the best quality ingredients you can afford: it's better to give a smaller quantity or size made with the best than a large one made with poor material.
*Cake
Make a rich fruit cake that would keep for a longish time, wrap it in crinkly cellophane with a big bow (you can use raffia for more sophisticated recipients). If you want to save money, just make a mini one! Fruit cake is actually VERY easy to make: just follow a recipe (I am going to post my favourite one on Helium soon) and be patient while baking.
*Biscuits and cookies
Look up some unusual recipes, pack in a nice cardboard box (you can make one yourself) or just wrap in smart cellophane. Make if festive and luxurious: use butter, real vanilla, nuts and fruit, best chocolate. Put less in a package if you are pressed for money.
*Sweets
Easy (though not necessarily that cheap, but still fairly affordable) options include truffles, dried fruit (try prunes, candied orange peel, candied stem ginger) covered in chocolate, home made fudge or tablet (use good cream and a drop of whisky or brandy).
*Fruit products
This is the best option if you have your own fruit or are good at picking the fruit in the wild. It probably requires some planning as fruit is in season well before Christmas, although you can freeze the fruit and make the preserves later. Find or collect some smallish, pleasant looking jars, cover them with nice paper covers (you can cut your own lacey patterns in them), tie with a ribbon possibly recycled, or raffia, make effort with the label.
Try making some more sophisticated jams (plum with vanilla or cinnamon, pear with cloves, strawberry with a bit of white wine, hedge-picked blackberries), clear jellies for meat (redcurrant jelly with port, apple and rosemary, rowanberry and apple), pickle fruit (pickled pears are fantastic!) or make some elderflower, cherry or blackcurrant cordial.
PERSONALISE IT!
People pay relatively a lot of money to get objects "professionally" personalised, but a lot of the same can be done at home. It costs about 5GBP to get "paint your own mug" set, but you can get a plain white mug for 50 pence and a set of acrylic paints in a pound shop (and one set of paints will do more than one mug!). Or get one "paint your own" set, but use it to decorate more than one item of crockery.
I think it's a great idea for kids: you can get a plain white mug, a vase or even a cup or a plate and get a set of acrylic paints suitable for painting on china and have your child (or yourself) decorate it and personalise for a particular person. The result can be used as a sentimental ornament, be practically useful as a desk tidy or even (with some care) be even used for coffee or tea!
Clothing can be easily personalised: a t-shirt, a scarf, a simple dress or an apron can be easily personalised and make special with help of cheap fabric paints or crayons. Again, the key is to get very cheap basic item (maybe even adapt a second hand one, or make at home); basic set of fabric pencils or pens and make more than one to make better use of your investment in pens. Another option is to get a transfer: you can get one on-line quite cheaply with an image of your choice.
FRAME IT!
Ideal for children, have them paint, draw or otherwise create a special picture for a family member. When finished, give it a bit of a lift with a white (or dark) background sheet, or maybe even use an old frame/glass to have it ready to put on a wall rather than just on the fridge! These can be picked up really cheaply at charity shops sometimes even for free, car boot sales and jumble sales.
Interesting techniques (for adults also!) include making a mosaic from coloured bits of paper, a collage from magazine pictures, a cut-out decorative pattern or a collage from fabric, feathers, seeds and dried flowers and leaves. Frame it with glass and you will be surprised at how good it can look! Play and experiment, don't be afraid to try many times and you might surprise yourself.
If you need a book for inspiration and instruction, borrow one from a library, don't buy one. Most libraries will have a good selection, and if not, you can get one ordered for free or very symbolic amounts. If you need it for longer, just keep renewing!
Another good and very cheap present is a story, part of a memoir or a poem written especially for a person. Print it out nicely and bind it (if several pages) or present in a cardboard folder.
Make a collage with photos that relate to your relationship with the recipient. Choose beautiful, funny, touching, important moments. Frame it (in a recycled frame) or present in a smart folder.
For a grandparent or another older member of a family, a good photo of children, grandchildren or a whole family, smartly printed and framed is a great present.
For anybody interested in family history, you can make a photo family tree. Make it decorative rather than just informative, select (and find) good photos.
Take a diary or calendar, and instead of getting one with ready made quotes or images, use your own. Think of something meaningful and personal for every month or every week.
MAKE IT FROM WOOD!
There are so many useful and/or beautiful items that can be made by woodworkers that I feel a bit embarassed even including this section, but I wanted to make a point about materials.
If you dabble or even seriously engage in woodworking as a hobby (by woodworking I mean anything from wood turning to carving to carpentry and cabinet making), you might rely on professional hobby retailers and suppliers for your tools and materials.
Leaving tools aside at the moment, it's really worth looking for sources of free or cheap wood. Depending what you do, and particularly the size of your objects, you can really find rather wonderful material completely for free easier for wood turners and carvers than for somebody needing clean and well seasoned planks for furniture making, but still worth a shot. Tree surgeons and park keepers are a good source of often unusual woods. Sawmills and carpentry workshops may provide interesting offcuts. And sometimes real gems can be found in a firewood pile!
The downside is that you need somewhere to store the wood, and that it needs to season, often for months if not years, before being used. But it can save a lot of money and provide fantastic pieces!
And if you are pushed for time and money, again, make things smaller: a cheese board/small chopping board, especially if made from solid, thick wood, will be welcomed by almost anybody. I have never heard anybody complaining about having too many chopping boards. Boxes and little bowls are good for keys, change, bits and pieces as well as nuts and sweets. And the most interesting bits of wood with the best figure can make fantastic pendants, brooches and bracelet components!
CROCHET IT!
If you can knit, crochet or sew, you'll probably have your own ideas: but just remember that you can give somebody as much joy with a smaller item (which will cost you less in materials) which is well thought out as with a larger one. My grandmother used to have crochet jewellery!
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I hope this few ideas will start you on your way and provide inspiration. From your nearest and dearest to strangers, you can always find something suitable to make! It's not that hard, though it requires time, thinking and effort. Also, you are pretty much guaranteed that your gift will be unique!