You can be confident that once my husband’s s list is complete, he goes right to work making those gifts or, more accurately, giving directions to his elves. What would he ever do without his wonderful helpers!
Giving handmade gifts takes you a giant step away from the commercialization of the holiday and more importantly you are saying to the receiver you care enough to put yourself into the present.
If you are handy and like to make gifts for the special people on your list, then you must not delay. Start working NOW!
Decoupage gifts are easy to do and don’t take any artistic talent or ability. All you need is something wooden (a board, box, or bowl,) and lots of fun pictures and paste. I made this present for my many-times great niece. I’m very old! Download instructions here. I’ll stuff it with fancy socks for her young feet.
Perhaps you’re a Knitter
Give your reading friends this bookmark, that you can whip up in no time. Download the pattern here.
The sooner you get started on your gifts, the sooner you’ll finish. Trust me—the elves and I know every hand-made gift takes longer than expected. You don’t want to be staying up the night before Christmas hemming the dress you made your daughter.
Tell us about any gifts you’ve made (send pictures and instructions, too.) I always need new ideas.
If you’re not a crafty person, don’t worry, shopping hints come in the next blog.
Until then, let’s all strive for a stress-free, love-filled Christmas . . .
Mrs. Saint Nick 
such a great idea–also those paint on pottery places are great for kids to go & “make” gifts for parents. I treasure the ones I’ve received!
Color me mine! I just spent a day with my many great-times grand nieces and nephews who are now all set for their parents’ holiday presents and it’s only November.
great ideas!
Like you, Mrs. Saint Nick, I think hand-made gifts are extra special. When I was a kid, I didn’t know that gifts could be purchased, because I always made all the gifts I gave.
A quick-and-easy present that any normal girl or woman should love is an EXTREMELY MINIATURE PERFUME BOTTLE, made by gluing together two beads, one larger one for the bottle, one smaller one on top for the bottle cap. Choose beads that go well with each other and that your gift recipient might like.
For example, make a mini-bottle from a pastel blue bead with a pastel pink flower on it, with a pastel pink top. Another example is a bright blue bottle with a silver-colored top.
Take it several steps further by making not just one bottle, but a set of two or three. Note that they will turn out better if you don’t try to make identical bottles (they would never match perfectly). Instead, make them from bottle-beads of different sizes and top-beads that are all the same.
Shopping for the best beads at the bead shop can take hours of fun, and in the end it will only cost a few dollars!
You can see a photo at my blog: http://www.stemcareers.blogspot.com/2012/04/creative-fun-easy-to-make-mini-perfume.html
Love the picture on your blog. Hope other readers will try to make those charming “bottles” too.