Christmas Gift Ideas You Can Make
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There is something extra special about receiving a gift that is home-made. You know the person giving it put time, thought and effort into it. It may, or may not, be less expensive than a purchased gift… And some things you can’t buy in a store.
Give the Gift of Your Time...
Do you have any special skills or specific interests? Think of how you can share these in a way that would be beneficial to the person you would like to give them to.
Last year I made gift certificates on Canva for a few of my family members for interior car detailing. I have a great deep extraction cleaner for upholstery & carpets that I have found to be invaluable. I’m not as good at exterior car washing though, and I figure that it is worth spending $10 just to go through a car wash. You might actually like washing cars by hand, so you could offer to do that if you wanted to.
Here are a few other ideas for gift certificates of your time and skills. Keep in mind what you actually like to do and how much time you want to give. (If you are retired it is easy to get overwhelmed with extra demands on your time.)
- Babysitting for young parents.
- Respite care for a caregiver.
- Dog walking.
- House cleaning session.
- Window cleaning.
- Carpet and upholstery cleaning.
- Music lessons – guitar, piano, etc.
- Photography lessons.
- Photography session for children, family or special event.
- Computer check up/repair.
- Car oil change
- Seasonal tire change.
- Other basic car repair/maintenance.
- Snow shoveling/blowing
- Grass cutting
- Garden prep/weeding
- Handy “man” repair/service.
- Painting
- Home organizing session.
Creative Gift Ideas...
Consumable Gifts...
Who doesn’t love delicious edible items? Baked goods are especially popular during the holidays. Homemade jams, jellies and pickles are also great. If someone on your list has any special dietary needs you can modify recipes to suit them. Do you make wine? A wine lover might appreciate a bottle.
Even if you aren’t talented in the kitchen, you can put together a gift basket with an assortment of goodies. I love an assortment of cheeses, crackers and salamis.
Crafty Gifts...
What is your craft? Can you make something for someone special? What would they like or use?
- Do you sew, knit or crochet?
- Is wood working your passion?
- Are you an artist?
- Do you make soap or mix essential oils?
- Jewelry-maker?
- Photography?
Make a memorable Gift...
There are many services available to make a gift of your memories – yes, I’m talking about your photos. There are calendars, photo books and canvas prints that you can get made. You may not actually be making the physical item yourself, but you do have to select the photos you use and put in the text.
As the family genealogist, I inherited a lot of old photos. I have been working on some photo books of our family history. This is not an inexpensive undertaking and is also time-consuming so you should start early if you want to do this for next year. First you will need to scan and upload all the photos you want to use. You can use the existing layouts to drag and drop your photos in place or make your own layouts. There is a little bit of a learning curve with each company, but I didn’t find them too difficult. Take advantage of special sale offers to save some money.
What gift ideas can you make?
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