Make Homemade Gifts Cool Again

They say your love language is usually the thing you do for other people. I disagree. Not that I don’t enjoy getting gifts, I do. ( I mean who doesn’t). But I LOVE giving gifts!

“Happiness doesn’t result from what get, but from what we give” – Ben Carson

My family has ALWAYS been big on gifts at Christmas time. I think Nick was a bit shell shocked our first Christmas together. While it has definetely toned down we still go way overboard. I received so many cool gifts from my family growing up but I had one uncle in particular, Uncle Michael, who always found the most unique and cool gifts. He never asked me what I wanted but always exceeded my expectations. They weren’t expensive (I don’t think) they weren’t flashy, but they were picked with intention and creativity. They were gifts that made me feel loved and thought about. That was always the neatest part.

I grew up in a small town outside of Ann Arbor MI. One of the many things Ann Arbor, or A2 as its affectionately known as, is famous for is it’s art fair. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is a force to be reckoned with. Artisans come from all over the country to partake in the weekend long event. You can find artists of every medium, jewelers, leatherworkers, woodworkers, clothing, pottery- you name it, its there. When I began making my own money and buying gifts for people I would do almost all of my shopping at the art fair. I took such pride in picking out unique one of a kind gifts for my loved ones, like Uncle Michael use to. I would beam with pride to see my family open something unexpected but exactly right for them.

When I first moved out on my own I moved to Martha’s Vineyard. I mean, what a cool place to find your independence- and boy, could I tell you some stories! One of my favorite things about being there was all of the unique shops. This brought a continued tradition of doing all my shopping during the summer (MV is very seasonal). I began tinkering with homemade gifts really just because I love crafts and you can only make and keep so many things. Plus as a 17 year old, living on my own, lets be honest- I was broke. But I found when I gave those gifts, they were really loved. The next year some of them were even requested again to my surprise. Were they being serious?

As I made more money I assumed no one really wanted something homemade so I gave up on that. I continued to move around and every place I lived I was able to find something unique about that area that would give me the ability to find creative gifts.

After moving to Florida in 2014 my life began to feel a bit established. It was the first time I ever stayed someplace for more than a year. I felt established, I started a business, got married, I settled down. Gifts became boring.

“What do you want this year?” Great, I’ll get that. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed giving gifts. Especially, if I managed a surprise. But it mostly felt boring. I got someone what they needed. It was practical.

Worst than practical is if its clutter. While not everyone is a minimalist no one wants more crap!

Honestly, theres so much to unpack here:

• If you live in America I can almost guarentee you have too much stuff. And hey, I’m not judging, I am right there with you. No one needs more stuff.
• How much of your shopping do you do on amazon? Be honest. Or Target. Do we really need to be supporting these big box super giants!? Yes, this one can be remedied by shopping small. Which if I don’t convince you homemade gifts are cool I will fully support you in buying your gifts from a small business. ( I mean, after all, I am a small business owner)
• Piggybacking off of the last point, not just who we are supporting but what are we supporting. Slave labor is still alive and real my friends. Real people are suffering for us to “buy it cheaper”.
• Not to mention the waste that comes out of these factories and overwhelms landfills. And thats before it even makes to the hand of the gift recipient who eventually realizes they don’t need it and throws the whole item away anyways.
• I don’t know many people who aren’t tightening their purses right now. Money is tight. Can you really afford to throw money away for something that is most likely cheaply made, won’t last and might even just land in the goodwill pile?

I am not saying any of this to attack. I do my best shop small. I don’t shop at target (#gowokegobroke) but I still order on amazon. I still buy the cheaply made probably made by children in India item now and then. But I do my best. I try to buy fewer things of better quality and more sustainability. I digress.

I have given you a bunch of reasons not to buy (or at least not buy from big box stores) but why should you give homemade.

• IMO time is our most valuable asset. Money is a replenishable resource. There is always more money to be made (if you don’t believe that you need to work on your abundance mindset but thats for another blog post). Therefore giving a gift in which you had to dedicate time to make is a much more valuable gift. It says “I took my most valuable asset and decided to spend it on you”. Wow, what a gift!
• I have been gifted many things over the years, many of which I still have. I will be honest, I don’t always remember that is was a gift. I don’t think of that person every time I put on that T-shirt or use those measuring cups. (There are of course exceptions). But when I see or use the gift that was made for me – I always think of the person that made it because they thought of me when they made it. How special is that!?
• Give ah-mazing gifts and save money. When making homemade gifts you can often buy supplies in bulk. One homemade gift that really cool may cost just a few dollars. What are you going to buy that isn’t complete junk for just a few dollars!?
• It saves on brain power. It can be tough picking our meaningful gifts for X number of people. When you make something it’s coming from the heart, thats what makes it special. Translation = batch making. You can choose one or two things and make them in batches for multiple people and its still special because it’s took your valuable time and was made with love.

Maybe you’re thinking- “Sounds great Liza but I am not creative”. Yes, a great homemade gift can be crafty but it can also be practical (in a good way). There are so many GREAT homemade gifts that require no creativity and can be very practical. No artistic ability required.

My mother-in-law use to made homemade vanilla extract every year at Christmas. I love to bake and every time I used that vanilla I thought of her. It was simple but meaningful. She passed in April of 2021 so that next Christmas I decided I would make vanilla extract in honor of her. I made plenty to have for myself and to use as gifts and they were a hit! I still think of her every time I use my homemade vanilla. Now each year I lean a little bit more into what gifts I can make instead of buy.

Here are some idea’s on homemade (non- crafty) gifts:

• Vanilla extract
• Limoncello
• Body scrub
• Hot coco in a jar
• Cookies
• Candied pecans
• Popcorn / kettle corn

Here are some crafty gifts:

• Soaps
• Bath bombs
• Candles
• Knit- dish clothes (super easy), a scarf (less easy), socks ( not easy)
• Paint – paint a premade bag, paint a small canvas, water color your Christmas card
• Ornament
• Make cards- print pictures to stick to the front of blank cards, water color cards
• Book marks

These are just a few suggestions but there are so many ways to make great gifts this Christmas season. But start thinking now because remember- the gift of homemade gifts is time. While some gifts may be easy to make in large batches in just a couple of hours, some gifts (ie. vanilla extract, limoncello) take quite some time – like four to six weeks. So start thinking now about what type of homemade gift you are going to bless your friends and family with this season.

I hope you’ll join me on my campaign of Making Homemade Gifts Cool Again!