It’s time: Handmade Christmas gifts

So, it’s November.  Seven weeks to Christmas.  HOLY COW!

Have you started whittling away at your gift list yet?  If you’re planning to make  any or all of your presents, then trust me – get started now!!

So many products for every holiday just end up in landfills when the season is over.  Last year I decided to do my part for the environment, making gifts using re-purposed items when possible.  My handmade gifts were some of the cheapest and most appreciated of all the gifts I gave! But be warned:  Handmade gifts take time!  I learned last year that the 30th of November is not the time to begin.  Start now, and see if you can work on gifts while watching TV at night, etc.

Some of you may have seen these ideas when I wrote a post for my friend Julia’s “Christmas in July” series.  But if not, here are my favorite handmade Christmas gifts:

Customized Coasters:
My homemade coasters were by far the cheapest gift I made last year – but they were also one of the most popular.

A measly $13 will get you a box of 80 white ceramic 4” square tiles at Home Depot. At that price, a gift set of 8 coasters will cost you less than $2, and you’ll have enough to make 10 gifts in one sitting! You can find the full tutorial here.

Ideas:  Any colorful paper or fabric scraps will work.  Print photos onto cardstock paper to make photo coasters.  For a newly married couple, create monogrammed coasters with pretty paper and a stencil.

Mini Scrapbooks
One of my favorite gifts to make and give is mini scrapbooks, created around a single trip or event shared by you and the recipient. They are gifts that friends and family members will pick up time and time again, and are perfect for those people who just seem to “have everything.”

When my dad and I climbed a mountain together last fall,  I made this mini-scrapbook of the hike for him.

All you need is a mini scrapbook, some colorful acid-free paper, a photo-safe glue stick, and a few colored pens.  It’s the memories that matter, not the embellishments surrounding them. A perfect example:  the way Katie at Making This Home creates her journals.

Scarf Display
With the heightened popularity of lightweight scarves, a custom scarf storage/display solution is a perfect (and much-needed) gift for many women. For less than $5, I created a custom scarf storage solution for my mom’s closet door. Supplies needed? A fabric remnant, some old ribbon, and shower curtain rings. She loved it.

There’s no hard and fast rule for how to make this item – it can be customized in size and style to hang in a closet, over a door, or even on a closet rod.

That’s it for now.  I’m sure I’ll be inspired with even more ideas as the holiday gets closer, and I’ll be sure to share if I am!  What are some of your favorite gifts to make and give?  And while you’re at it  – what’s something (handmade or not) that you’d love to receive this year?  I’m hoping for a dress form so that I can sew some clothes from scratch!