A common suggestion in the realm of “how can I make Christmas more affordable?” is to give homemade gifts.
Inherently, I have no issues with this. As a person who does a little bit of sewing, I have given a few gifts that have been homemade. I have received some amazing hand-made items.
However, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, keep the recipient in mind.
I have been looking over many many lists of homemade gifts and/or gifts you can give inexpensively. I have to say that unless I had grandchildren and these gifts were from them, I would not appreciate most of them. Perhaps I am Scrooge-y, but sometimes it seems that the thought that counted was “one less gift to worry about” or “I saved a lot of money this year!”
Honestly, I’d rather receive nothing than be a chore or a burden. (It is OK not to give gifts to everyone you say hello to in December. You know this, right?)
That said, I’m sure there are some people who would love many of the things that I cringe at. It’s not all about me 😉 — know your audience.
I have seen jars with ingredients for chocolate chip cookies a few times. Here is a list of a whole slew of recipes in a jar — baked goods, drinks, soups, bath items. Lots of room to play with this frugal idea! (But most of these are not a good gift for someone trying to make changes to their eating habits. This time of year is hard enough without gifts that encourage poor eating choices.)
This list is a mish-mash of homemade and otherwise frugal gift ideas. 75 of them!
These items fall into the “not for Heather” category, but perhaps someone else in your life would love them. (However, if you click through #7, one of the suggestions is herb plants in a pot with recipes for each; I think that is a pretty nifty idea.)
What do you do for gift-giving this time of year? How many people do you shop for? Do you go for easy, cheap, both, or neither?