Between now and Christmas, I’m going to be doing a short series of blogs showcasing different ways you can give inexpensive but meaningful gifts to the ones you love. Today’s entry is about the Gift of Craft. You can read my previous entry about the Gift of Thought here.
You don’t necessarily have to be crafty to make a homemade gift for a loved one! There are tons of options for those of us who aren’t naturally artistic. Pinterest (of course) is a great place to look. My suggestion is to not base your gift on the Christmas season, but make it something they can enjoy all year through.
The Personalized Gift
Do you know someone who always brings a casserole whenever he or she is invited somewhere? What about making them a personalized baking dish so they don’t lose their favorite bakeware? There’s a fantastic tutorial here at http://www.makeit-loveit.com/!
The Food Gift
http://www.amomstake.com/2014/05/homemade-root-beer-barbecue-sauce-recipe/
This one is my favorite. I love to cook and bake, and I’m decently good at it. In the past I’ve made cookies, sea salt caramels, Portuguese golden cake, etc. This year I have a few new things up my sleeve that I won’t post here, but family is definitely getting homemade gifts this year. What about this great recipe for root beer barbecue sauce from amomstake.com? It looks delicious to me!
The Artful Gift
This is for those of you who may have a little more artistic talent than I do, but this Winter Tunnel from Crafty Kate is absolutely stunning. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a winter theme, but I love the 3d concept of something like this.
Others
Do you knit? Make a scarf or a sweater or even socks. I still have a scarf that my Gran made for me almost 20 years ago. Does your loved one read a lot? Make them a bookmark so every time they read a book they can be reminded that you love them.
Do you have a favorite gift someone made for you? Tell me about it below, and stay tuned for the third and final installment of The Art of Frugal Giving!
A Measured Life 
I love making things to give as gifts. Jam is a big one for me, but you can make just about anything with a bit of felt and a glue gun!!
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Jam is a big one for me, too! (Shh 😉 )
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I love these posts because it gets “giving” back to where it should be – just something kind or nice or thoughtful. One of my favorite gifts was for Mother’s Day when we had absolutely no money and my husband
was downcast at having nothing for me. He and the kids went out into the yard and picked buttercups that
were blooming there. They made a pink art paper card and the kids scribbled inside it. I still have those pressed buttercups and the card in a drawer. Completely free and a beautiful memory. Another gift I loved
was when you and hubs made all of us Portuguese and other treats for us to eat. It was a way of sharing some of yourself with us. It shared something of his background and yours and taught me some new things.
And . . . . it was delicious!
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Aww, those buttercups sound like a gift I would love, too. (You may be getting something Portuguese this year, too!)
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I love to give gifts of food. Each year I try to think of something new to give and a cute way to package it to my friends and neighbors. My favorites on your list are the etched glass casserole dish. What a great idea! Also, the rootbeer bar-b-q sauce. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas. Can’t wait to see your next post!
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Yeah I thought the casserole was a great idea, too, and one I’d never thought of! And I’m totally making that BBQ sauce, even if it’s just for me. 😉
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Hubs and I have often given this kind of gift to each other. It’s our favorite kind. 😉
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