Homemade Christmas Gift Suggestions

One year my sister made a pretty box for my mom that has dividers in it with labels for all different occasions like birthday, valentines, easter, sympathy etc. Then she put an assortment of greeting cards for each occasion that my mom could use to send for those occasions. Added a roll of stamps. It was a great gift and mom still uses it though she has had to refill the cards from time to time.

One year, here's what I made for my mom & MIL:

Take a tea towel and some acrylic paint (must be permanent, not washable). Have them make a handprint on the tea towel (or kitchen towel, whatever type you like) and then write "World's best Grandma" above the hand, and "Hands Down" below the hand.

Then I took some washcloths with each kids' hand and wrote their name on it. I used the liquid paint in the squeeze bottle for the writing and a matching acrylic color for the handprint.

Holiday Aprons
Table Runner
Wreath for the door
Soap-all supplies at Hobby Lobby with instructions
Jelly and Jam
Fleece blanket for her to snuggle under while watching TV
Fruitcake or breads
V. B.

One of the nicest homemade presents I have ever seen was the gift that my daughter brought home from her preschool last year for her daddy and me. It was a throw pillow with an angel on the front of it. The angel's body was made from a triangle of calico-print fabric, the face was a painted circle with eyes and mouth and rosy cheeks, the halo was a thin gold circle painted on, but the wings were my daughter's gold handprints! No telling how long it took that poor teacher to get two little handprints just right for each child, but every child made an angel with handprint wings. We leave ours out year-round, and when I go to her friends' houses, their parents leave them out all year too.

If you can sew, great, you can make the pillow yourself. If not, you can buy a cheap throw pillow, fabric scraps (Jo Ann often has little bundles of scrap fabric), some fabric glue and fabric paint, and you can do this!

Edited to add: I can't believe I forgot to mention fleece scarves! They're so easy to make. We made them for a church craft project to give to the elderly. We grown-ups cut them out and let the children glue on cut out shapes to decorate them. You need fleece, scissors or rotary cutter and mat, and fabric glue for this project, and that's about it. Painted handprints would be lovely on this as well--you could call it "A Hug for Grandma" or something sweet like that, since the children's handprints would be on the scarf that's tucked around her neck. Sometimes when you cut fringe on fleece, you can pull the cut end out and it will curl up. Some of the fleece we used curled up and some didn't. It made for a nice variety.

Here's a link to the fleece scarf idea: http://www.makeandtakes.com/no-sew-fleece-scarf

Pine cone bird feeders. They are messy, kids love that, but a lot of fun to make. The birds love them and feed them in the winter.

Take big-medium size pine cones and strand them together with twine. Use a large disposable foil pan, buy the cheapest and largest peanut butter (maybe 2 if your making for a lot of folks) and a bag of bird seed. Using your hands, squish the peanut butter deep into the pine cones, cover them thoroughly. Roll them in the bird seed. Wrap each pine cone in saran wrap, place in a gift bag and your done. Our friends, relatives and teachers love them!!!

Potpourri pots are always a big hit.

You need -
1 strand 25 light white Christmas lights
I decorative vase/pot - something that is rounded at the bottom that bends out to a lip - cheap at Wal-Mart $2-3
1 doily - big enough to cover the opening in your vase
potpourri
ribbon

layer the potpourri and lights into the vase leaving enough cord to plug in the lights hanging out at the top of the vase - weave ribbon into the edges of the doily - generally 1/2 - 1 inch from the end of the doilies. Place doily over vase and use ribbon as a drawstring. Tie into a bow. This is a cheap and beautiful gift and it smells good to.

Easy for the kids to do.

By just adding a different color/ scent potpourri and different size vases you can make have a nice variety and they will each be unique.

We did plates that you can get for a 1.00 at walmart or a craft store. they are white. then you put non toxic paint on their hand or foot and press it to the plate and then you can make the foot look like frosty or the hands into reindeer. or you can just to finger prints all over the plate and turn them into caterpillars or other bugs. We have also made our hands into turkeys. If you want some pics let me know.

I also found this site that has a lot of stuff on it.
http://enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/

Remember if it has something to do with your kids she will love it. Also crafts with pictures are great too.

Your children could make her a stepping stone, flower pot, or
picture frame. They have kits at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.
GL

I suggest Christmas cookies - buy a pretty tin to put them in, maybe dress 'em up with some fancy cupcake holders or something and just bake and decorate together - it's so much fun, inexpensive and you really can't mess up! There are lots of home-made recipes on the web - I found one for bath salts - and you can dress up a jar and fill it up with just about anything. I made cake balls for my family last year, found the recipe on Allrecipes.com, I think, they were super easy and everyone loved 'em.

Hi L., I am also going to suggest ceramics. I know I'm on a budget this year so I found out that you can go to a place called Reicks Ceramics or B'pers Ceramics were you can buy your own paint and pieces for a fraction of the price of the Quigglies type places. You do the painting at home and then take it back where they fire it. It requires a bit more effort but we are doing about 20 pieces (some smaller, some bigger) for $100. If you just explain what you are doing to the staff they can put you on the right path!

We like to cook for homemade gifts...Your mom might not need a lot of sweet treats but might appreciate some single serving favorite meals that you can put in disposable plastic containers that can be frozen and then give her a few nights off from cooking! It's something she would use and appreiciate. Good luck with all the options. :)

What about ceramic plates that the children paint and the ceramic store fires for you? It's crafty, fun for them and your mom would probably love it. Good luck!

So many great responses already! For a more practical gift, you can take your mom's address book and type address labels for her, we did this for my grandmother when her handwriting became too shaky to read and she loves the labels! I also made homemade recipie books for my mom and mother in law a few years ago. It took a while to handwrite the books, but they are keepsakes to both of them. You don't have to be crafty to do the stepping stones or the pottery places, I am seriously crafty impaired and I've done both of those for gifts and they turned out great. The pottery places are very user friendly and you can actually erase boo-boos before they fire the pottery! I was amazed!
Good luck and have a good time creating something special!

How about a stepping stone for her yard or garden with foot and/or handprints? Be sure to put the year on there, too. She'll treasure it for a long, long time!!

how about cookies. The kids can help, it's great learning for them, and put them in a pretty tin and you are set. Happy Holidays!

I have a great book called "Cookies in a Jar" where you put together all the ingredients for a recipe except for the wet stuff in layers (in looks like sand are) then attach the receipe to the jar and put a cute little topper on it. I am a teacher and make this with my students to give to parents, also give them to my fellow teachers. The grandmothers whom I teach with say it's a great activity to do with their grandkids.

I have read the responses and love them! As a mother of grown children I would rather have time with my children than anything else. Do your children play an instrument? Give a coupon for a private concert. What about coupons for each month of taking her to "tea", making her a fondue lunch, lunch in which your children perform a skit,sing, or say a poem (or all 3!). What does she like to do? If she likes to exercise, how about a coupon where you and the kids take her for a walk in a beautiful park?
The problem(or not) could be you--not scheduling her into your calendar on a monthly basis (or to phrase it another way: not honoring your commitment. this is where I might raise my hand so I bring it before you to consider)
If you want to get her something you could think of some food she likes but would not necessarily get herself (special coffee, tea, wine, cheese,...)
Have a Blessed Christmas!!!

one year i took all of my moms old reel to reel videos...from teh 60's adn 70's and had them put on dvd. your kids could help by decorating the cover with clippings and photos and they could help you pick out background music. this is a great gift and one everyone can enjoy. we ended up having extra copies made for all of my brothers and sisters to enjoy as well. it was the hit of the holiday and a total surprise. if she does not have old film, you can take old photo albums and make your dvd that way as well. you can devote a dvd to her childhood and family with song from her era. make another at a later date from her young adult years and so on until she has a dvd history. good luck!

If you like edible things, I have some ideas, let me know if you want to go that way.

I blew out eggs one year and painted them, then turned them into ornaments and my family loved them.

My nana was the same way so I went to Kinkos and they made her a custom calendar every christmas. Go armed with 12 photos and they will print and bind it for you... they used to only be 20 bucks. If you are computer savvy it is easy to download the calendar template off word and then just print the pictures to the back of the pages.
Anyway, I would fill in all the birthdays and anniversaries for her with really bright colors because she had cataracts. I did it for over 10 years.
My nana passed away this February and my aunt told me how much she loved her calendar. After her funeral, she handed me 10 years of calendars- they have nana's scribbles and love notes in them. I get a little teary just thinking about it but it got to that was the ONLY thing she would ever let me get her. Good luck- also check at the office supply places too.

Scrapbook pages from each child.

apron with kids hand prints

photo ornaments

photo calendar you can make online and have printed (love these!)

paint your own pottery santa cookie plate or coffee/tea mug with hand prints

They aren't all necessarily homemade, but they are uniquely made by you and your kids.

GL!

If she's in town, I would suggest a coupon book. Get a camera and get some good shots of her grandchildren and frame it. I'm going to make a book of recipes for my parents that were given to me by their parents.

Good luck!

Hello, I don't know if this has been said but,I think that a canvas tote bag decorated by your kids with fabric paints or markers with handprints, footprints or pictures that they draw is a really great presents. There are aprons, bags, ect.
Hope this helps. V.

Hello L.,
I have sent you a message...it is kind of long so too long to put in "advice." I think your mother is SMART....she wants something personal and home made. That is what I would like, too. Have a great day!

You could have the kids decorate glass ball ornaments with their handprint and glitter, etc.

One suggestion is to goto www.etsy.com and buy something homemade and tell her its homemade (she does not need to know who made it :o)!

OR you could create a photo book for her online at www.kodakgallery.com I know you did not make it in your home but its still from the home...

My business offers Custom photo calendars both desk top and wall...

But a great idea for a home made gift is make her a garden stone for her yard... go to michaels or hobby lobby and buy a kit to make a stepping stone... you can add everyone's hand prints and special rocks to it and even etch words in it...

Good luck :o)
A. J
www.celebritypartyfavors.com

You should go to Color Me Mine. It's a ceramic pottery painting place. The people there are so helpful and will be full of ideas for what your children could paint for your mother. Here's the website www.colormemine.com

Hope that helps!
K.

I have always had my kids do handprint projects for gifts. A t-shirt/sweatshirt or blanket with their handprints...the kids (all ages) love to do it and see it year after year. Grandparents love it too! No need to buy a bunch of fancy paints either...most craft acrylics from walmart or a hobby store will do great (just read instructions on back). Paint their little fingers and press...for super little ones I often used their footprint. Have fun and let the kids get messy!

There are lots of different kinds of homemade christmas ornament patterns and directions online--just do a couple of google searches and you will find lots.

A package of homemade notecards and envelopes. Go to the scrapbooking section at Michael's, Joann, or a local scrapbooking store (I love "Scrappin' bunnies" in McKinney). You can buy plain cards and envelopes, then get different papers, stickers, quotes, etc, and have your kids decorate a pack of cards grandma can then use for different occasions--thank you, get well soon, happy birthday, etc. Scrappin' Bunnies also does classes for kids crafts--cards, photo books, etc--so you might check their calendar, or just stop by and ask for advice! http://www.scrappinbunnies.com/

Bracelets and/or necklace: to keep in simple, and hopefully end up with something attractive enough for grandma to actually wear, go to the jewelry making section at Michael's and pick out some coordinating beads and cord. You could even get letter beads and have each child spell out his/her name. If you pick out good-looking coordinating beads, it won't matter too much what order your kids string them in.

Your 8-year-old is old enough to learn to knit or crochet--I learned when I was that age. If you don't know how to do it yourself, there are plenty of kits aimed at kids that you could help her with, so she could make grandma a scarf.

I think it's great to have kids make Christmas gifts--it teaches them that the holiday is about giving of yourself, not about spending money! GL!

Candles and soap are fun to make. They are easy as well. You can go to any craft store and find directions and a lot of diffrent ways to do them. My Mother-in Law still has the soap that we did for her out with her decrative soaps in her guest bathroom.

My family said the same thing this year, so we are baking tons of cookies, and at wal-mart you can buy these round boxes in the craft section. They look like cardboard or something, and they cost $1.93 each. So we are wrapping the boxes with pretty paper and ribbon and filling them with cookies.

I'm going to make something like this stepping stone with my 2 year old this year for his grandparents.

http://gifts.redenvelope.com/baby/hexagonsteppingstone-25...

:-) A.

We took a canvas (from Michael's) put paint on the kids hands and did their handprints, signed and dated it. We used Acrylic paint - just had to be careful! I would think this would make a cute idea for a t-shirt too, just use fabric paint. Michael's has lots of great craft ideas... they have those totes that you put photos in the picture slots on the outside, Grandma's love those! Have fun!

Have you ever made cinnamon ornaments? you use apple sauce and cinnamon then make shapes...they smell wonderful and are very easy

You can always make stepping stones with their hands or feet. They also have glass pieces that you can put in them and make a design. THey cost me about $10 apiece.

Pictures are awesome! Make her a scrapbook. Or blow up a/some favorite picture/s and frame them for her! If you really want to abide by her no-spending rule, use a frame you already have. But a scrapbook that you and your two girls could make together would make a great gift!

One of my friends makes a calendar every year and gives copies to the grandparents and aunts and uncles. She starts with an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of scrapbook paper for each month (snowflakes for January, hearts for February, etc., whatever "theme" you want). You can get those for 25 cents each if you watch the sales. Then she finds her favorite photos for each month (sledding pictures for January, frosting cookies for February, etc., whatever goes with the "theme") and arranges them on the scrapbook paper. When all 12 are done, she takes them to Walgreens and, in 2 weeks' time, they turn her photo pages into a calendar. I think each calendar costs about $25. My friend does one every year, so they have become a family tradition. They keep one for themselves and the kids love "reading" them, like books.

Go to snapfish.com (or some other photo website, but this one is good) and order something with the kids' photos. You can do a calendar like someone else suggested, but also something as simple as a coffee mug! It's personal so I think it counts as "home made" :-).

There are lots of "gifts in a jar" recipies that you can find online where you put all the ingredients for the dish in a jar and attach directions for finishing it off. Or, what about baking her some cookies. Check out familyfun.com for lots of ideas for crafts too.

If you got to www.samsclub.com, you can upload pictures and put together a photo album for under $10.00 (or more if you want a different cover). That would be something she might want.

Final thought...what about adopting a family and writing her a letter about how the money that would have been used for a gift for her was used to help this family and how that experience touched your life and the lives of your children.

It may seem intimidating at first, but a scrapbook would be perfect. Go get an 8x8 scrapbook album at a crafting store, pick out some pics, add some embellishments and your mom will LOVE it. I have to admit that I'm a scrapbooker so I love doing it, but last year I made one for my husband's mother and she is still talking about it. The rule for my scrapbook was that the photos could only be photos of our kids with grandma and grandoa. This also helped to limit the number of photos that I had to do. That's what we are doing again this year :)

The kids could bake her a dessert she likes, you could have the y'alls pictures put on a t-shirt or sweater for her or have an ornament made with all of y'alls names on it for her. All of these items are easy and not pricey at all. And, then you could all do a scrapbook for her together.

L.,
Think about what only you can give, such as:
Current, framed photos of children and family
Autographed, dated and decorated christmas ornaments from the children.
Poems, drawings, letters
Hope this helps!

A scrapbook Calendar. Go get the 12X12 inch board (I used Black and white), then pick out 12X12 inch themed papers, I used a different one for each month. I downloaded a blank claendar from Microsoft.com (I have a blank 2009, if you want it) and added birthdays, anniv.s and Holidays. Then pasted the calendar pages to the black and white boards (alternating, and the themed papers went to the back so that when the calendar is assembled teh theme matches the month. Now cut out picks that kinda go with that month, season and paste them on the theme pages for each month. Drill or punch 3 holes in the top for ribbon to "bind" it and one in eht bottom to hang it. We did this for 3 sets of grandparents last year, and they have requested them for this year. The girls can decorate the pages however they want with glitter, stickers or other fun stuff.

Go to Color Me Mine in Frisco...it is a paint your own pottery place, where you can make some original and unqiue gifts. The kids will love it, and feel great that they had a "hand" in it. It is off preston in the shopping plaza before you get to Stonebriar Mall...good luck!

Hi L.:

Grandma's LOVE photos of their children and grandchildren! How about putting together a basic photo album, a Creative Memories type photo album, or you could use Shutterfly to make one!

The children could also make a mix (i.e. hot cocoa, cookies, brownies, soup, etc.) and put all the dry ingredients in a Mason jar. I'm pretty sure you can get the recipes online.

How about one of those fleece make-it-yourself type blankets that requires no sewing?

Have fun!

Hi L.,
I am a grandmother of 11, great grandmother of 14. My most treasured gifts and keepsakes down through my 70plus years are the pictures and cards made by my grandkids. My most treasured from my children are notes and letters telling me what I have meant to them, recalling special days in their life growing up.
You might make a few of these and tuck them in a small basket with cookies or candy you and your children have made. Love, B.

one year we made 12 month calendars with different pics of the kids each month. They were a huge hit. I made them for both my parents ,my in-laws, my grandma and my DH. The following year my SIL and I did them together and included all the grandchildren. We made sure to put note special dates on the calendar too(bdays,anniversaries etc...)We did it at Walgreens and paid like $12.95 at the time(about 10 years ago). I know you can buy DIY kits too. I promise your family will LOVE them.

i think y've already received so many great ideas. I hope y'all find one that works. I just wanted to point out how lucky you are to have a mom that doesn't mind not getting a store bought gift. My mother in law was told by her oldest daughter that they'd had a tough year financially and that her husband was really insisting that christmas be about the kdis in the family and that adult gifts would have to be forgone in favor of saving money. I personally think that's fine since in my family we always made christmas about the kdis and the grown up rarely got much from kids or extended family. Well my mil got all upset at my sister in law about that b/c she wasn't going to get a gift. when my sil started telling me the story i thought perhaps mil was more upset that the family as a whole would be exchanging less gifts---like it wouldn't be as fun for everyone or soemthign? well, since she said "will you "at least" have the kids draw me a picture?" i figure that i was wrong and she really was upset about being left out! i couldn't believe it. I certainly hope if my daughter ever comes to me saying they are having financial trouble, her husband's job is commission only, and they needed to cut back--well, i hope i'd say, honey, how can i help and don't worry about me. For one thing, my mil has more stuff than a person could want and more than she can store, that's for sure.

so, anyway, give your mom a hug, make her some fun handcrafted gifts and have your kids put lots of love into them....she'll love them and everyone will be happy.

I didn't read every one of your replies, and i know you got some good suggestions, but i'll stick a list of my own thoughts below. oh, and remember, consumable items are always nice b/c you don't have to store them, display them forever, etc. though sometimes kid crafts are too cute to every part with.

list:
handmade cookies, breads, etc

handmade bath products. I have a small business and make and sell bath and body products including glycerin soaps so i don't really recommend buying the craft store glycerin soap base...its not very good and really expensive. however, you can make great bath salts etc just from items you find at the grocery store. Pick up some dead sea or sea salts, epsom salts, and a little bottle of essential oils (usually from a health food store- peppermint is easy to find and also less expensive than some others) and mix it all together with a few drops of the fragrance. easy way to do it for kids- just get a gallon size zip lock bag. put in your salts, a few drops of essential oil, a few drops of food coloring (ok for a project like this but not what I use---the gel kind works best) and then seal the bag with as little air as possible (or the bag could pop open) and have them squish and shake it til it's all mixed. Put in a pretty jar, use a clean sea shell for a scoop, and put a ribbon on.....very pretty, cheap and easy!

make cinnamon/applesauce cookie ornament sets with the kids(look up recipe online- super easy- mix and cookie cut out/dry/bake)

handmade or computer created mini photo books. this can be as easy as colored paper, prints, stickers or just text with a ribbon binding. or go to a store like CVS and ahve them make one- though that's still "buying something".

A photo calender- instead of having photo shop do it, just print on your home computer/printer and add photos.

picture frame from scrapbooking paper and/or board. have the kids paint it or decorate somehow....decoupage is really really easy and you can do it with elmers glue!!!

reuse something in your house....redo it like paint and decoupage a chair, bench, frame, step stool...etc.

pick up some plant pots and have them paint with appropriate outdoor paint. these are really cute and don't cost much.

make christmas tree ornaments from anything- felt, fabric, paper...the ones the kids make at school or home are our most treasured. put their names on them, maybe a cut out for scohol or other photo, and the year of course.

good luck!