Custom Christmas Gifts
When you are making a Christmas gift, or for that matter any gift, it is not the cost of the gift that is important but the heart behind the gift. As such, a card that the gift-giver has painted himself, a handicraft item he has made himself, a delicacy he has cooked himself, or a poem he has written himself, becomes much more expressive of his or her love than the latest electronic gizmo in the market. So, if you have time, try to make a gift of something you have made yourself.
Baked Goods
Edible goods never go out of fashion. You need food on every day of your life, and the tastier the food is the better. For this Christmas, make a gift of home-baked cakes or brownies or any other delicacies to those who are close to you.
While simple cakes or truffles will be good enough as gifts, try to produce fancy stuff to make your gift more attractive. Using different types of molds, you can bake a cake in the shape of a cat or a boat or a flower, and make it realistic by proper icing and adding eyes and tail and ears to the cat, or mast and sail to the boat, as required. Many websites provide step-by-step guidelines for making fancy cakes.
Or you can make cookies and wrap them individually with sparkling paper and tie them each with a ribbon to make them appear like flowers, and then form a bouquet with these cookie flowers.
Homemade Jewelry Gifts
Handcrafted jewelry will make a wonderful gift if you have the skill to produce them. Semiprecious stones and pearls and glass beads can be threaded on wire at home into various patterns to make bracelets and necklaces and anklets. You will have to get the jump ring and clasp necessary to hook it, and attach it at the ends of the jewelry. Brooches can also be made at home in a similar manner. A jewelry box is also a good gift idea if you can craft it yourself.
Homemade Spa Gifts
If you know soap making, you can make beautifully colored and scented soaps at home. Massage oils can be made at home by all and will make a wonderful gift in a beautiful glass container with a ribbon around it. A simple recipe for a massage oil is a mixture of 8 drops of lavender with 6 teaspoons of safflower oil. Chamomile or jasmine can be used instead of lavender, and any other carrier oil can be used in the place of safflower. Fancy candles can also be made at home and will make a good gift by itself or with spa products.
Personalized Christmas Gifts
Personalized gifts are always wonderful, especially for people who have pretty much everything. You can use family photographs on mugs or T-shirts or caps for personalizing them. Or you can paint cushions or pillow covers or chair backs, or crochet table mats or center pieces or jug covers with beads hanging around. Other options are a monogrammed blanket, a scrapbook full of photographs, a collage, or painted bedcover.