xmasgiftsforher.co.uk
Christmas is a busy and expensive time for most people, but you can create thoughtful and personal gifts for family and friends without having to use your overdraft facility or your credit card. Homemade Christmas gifts for adults add a personal touch to the presents you give to those you care about. These Homemade Christmas gifts ideas are so good, your recipients will presume you have spent far more time and effort on your present to them than you actually did. A bonus is that some of these presents will cost you very little.
Get the family involved, including the kids makes for a fun time for everyone. Some ideas just need items you may already have at home together with a little help from the internet. Some ideas will cut down costs not just on presents but on wrapping paper and decoration so that the presentation of the gift is as good as the gift itself.
Homemade Christmas gifts for adults
Photo calendars
There are companies online that offer free calendar templates on which you can add your 12 favourite photos by following some simple instructions. Print the calendar out on stiff paper, though normal office paper works too. Get the calendar bound at a print shop or hold it together with an extra large bulldog clip from a stationery store, with a trouser-clamp hangar, a normal hanger with a couple of bulldog clips or create a couple of holes and hang it with string.
Make a family calendar and add everyone’s birthday, so no-one needs to forget a birthday this year. If you’re making a calendar for your partner, look for photos that provoke happy memories, including old photos from your first dates. You can get creative with a calendar with 12 photos of you, just for the eyes of your love.
If you’ve artistic talent as a photographer, showcase this. Otherwise images can be of anything you like as these can be downloaded from the web. If you have a theme, a google search will provide you with plenty of options to make your choice.
Decoupaged photo frames
You can up-cycle old containers, frames, a table in fact most household furniture through the use of decoupage. Decoupage uses paper to cover and decorate items. You can used patterned napkins, wrapping paper, vintage sheet music, old books, comics or maps. One idea is to find a map that is relevant to the people you’re creating the gift for, to make it extra special. There are many tutorials online and within 10 minutes you’ll be able to decoupage an old photo frame that can be left for the recipient to fill or you can add your own choice of picture. One tip is that although most tutorials ask you to use decoupage glue, a watered down PVA works just as well.
Memory jar
An empty jar and some scraps of paper can create a really thoughtful Memory Jar. Go online to print out a ‘Memory Jar’ label to attach to your jar. Then cut coloured paper into 7cm squares and roll these up to be stored inside the jar along with a pen. When a good memory happens, it can be recorded and saved in the jar until the end of the year when your recipient can reminisce about the good times in the year.
This is one of the best Xmas gifts for adults that suits every age and is fun for children too, with adults filling in the notes for those too young to write. This is particularly good if you have young children as they can say the funniest things.
Personalised Cookbook
A perfect gift from one generation to another, type out some of your favourite recipes, print them out and tie the book together. You can spend a bit of money to create a hard-cover cloth-bound recipe book online, which can pass through the generations so that everyone knows the secret to Grandma’s chocolate cake or other recipe.
Wrapping your gifts
Wrapping your Xmas gifts for adults or children can also be done with something homemade. Wrap or box your present in simple cardboard or parcel paper, and add your own paper bows, for which there are several tutorials online. Print off or create your own gift tags that suit the style of your recipient and add additional embellishments for a really extravagant feel.
The simplest ideas that look great are to use black kraft paper and draw a picture and add your message directly onto the paper in chalk, or make tissue paper pom-poms to decorate the top of a gift box. Alternatives are to wrap using newspaper and tie with string or bright red ribbon or create decorations made from materials including lace and felt or even paper straws.