I know you think it might be a little early to start thinking about Christmas gifts, but trust me, soon it will be Christmas Eve and you won’t have anything to give anybody.  You know the story… you don’t have any time so you go out and buy some stuff, that you aren’t very excited about and that will probably be lost in two days anyway.

Tired of this scenario?   Try spending a little more time, pre-holiday craziness, making gifts.   Others will see the effort and thoughtfulness you put in and enjoy them even more.

Here are my Top 5 Handmade Christmas gifts:

  1. Homemade Paperweights

Our dollar store has really nice and smooth rocks, just perfect for making a paperweight. Just take a permanent marker and write or draw something on the rock. A nice and practical gift. (We found metallic markers worked best.)

bs-handmade-paper-weight

 

  1. A Doll

This one is definitely for younger kids, girls probably.

I have made two. One I hand sewed and the other I used my machine.

This one is dependent on your sewing skills so you may want to have mastered a few other small things.  The first thing you want to do is draw your doll out on the fabric.  (You can make a pattern on a piece of paper first, if you’d like.) Then once you have drawn your doll the way you want, cut it out. Then sew your doll together. Make sure you leave a hole to turn the doll inside out and stuff it. Then hand-sew the hole you made up. Make a few cute clothes to go with it and you have a nice gift that could become a family heirloom.

bs-handmade-doll

 

 

  1. Sugar Cookies

We make sugar cookies every year and we love this recipe. It’s from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Cookbook yes.  New?  New in 1968. While the book may be old most of the recipes are timeless.  So I present to you from page 149 the best sugar cookie recipe:

2/3 cup of shortening

¾ cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 teaspoons milk

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

 

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla together.  Add the egg; stir until light and fluffy. Then add the milk. After you have stirred all the wet ingredients together add the dry ones. Let chill for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough. Cut with fun cookie cutters and bake for 6-8 minutes at 375 Fahrenheit. Makes two dozen cookies depending on the size you make them.  You can make the sugar cookies in advance and freeze them and frost them later.

bs-handmade-sugar-cookies

 

  1. Knit a scarf

I have three in-progress right now.  They are coming along nicely.

This video is a good place to start when learning to knit.

You will need:

Knitting needles

Yarn

Scissors

This one will take a while so make sure you have enough time.

bs-handmade-scarf

 

  1. Dish Towel

This one is an easy beginner sewer project. I used an old shirt to make this. First cut a rectangle out of your fabric. Then sew a new hem on all sides. Then you can do a decorative stitch or embroider something on it if you want. If you had the right fabric you could also make a baby burp cloth.

bs-handmade-dishtowel

I hope you liked this list.  I’d love to hear your ideas for handmade gifts.  Please share in the comments below.