Are you making your christmas gifts this year or buying them

VintageEnthusiast · Joined: 29 Jun 2008 Posts: 30

This year I've decided (and it's a big project!) to make christmas gifts for everyone that I will be giving a gift to. Since making something says 'I love you' more than just buying something, here are my gifts so far. Most of the items I have crocheted, very few I have knitted.

Mum - Shawl
Dad - Jacket
Brother and his family (for new baby due soon) - baby blanket and baby set with bootees and hat
Friend no. 1 - 3 piece doily set
Friend no. 2 - 3 piece doily set
Friend no. 3 - Handmade gift basket in which I will fill with chocolates
Friend no. 4 - Handmade gift basket in which I will fill with chocolates
Friend no. 5 - Scarf and hat

These are what I've made so far but now I'm panicking. Christmas is close by and I've got another 14 people to make gifts for. I need to make something simple that wont' take too much time but have run out of ideas... Help!!!
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Astrid · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:16 am Post subject:

If these are people you'd give smaller gifts to: flower brooches, coin purses, cell phone cozies, cuffs/wrist warmers, headbands........
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Guinness · Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Posts: 379 Location: Cleveland, OH

My friends all seem to like the creepy little stuffed animals I make. They're never very large, maybe 6" high at the most, and they're just 2 pieces sewn together and stuffed. I like to make little hair bows or bow ties for them, and use weird/mismatched buttons for eyes.

In the Martha holiday special magazine, she has a bunch of ideas for DIY gifts - making "cookie in a jar" mixes (putting flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc) in a jaw and tying a ribbon around, or making mittens from felted sweaters. She has a neat scarf to make from tying and knotting pieces of thick yarn that I'm going to try. I think the magazine's $6 or $10, but you can probably use the ideas all year.

lazysundae · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 84 Location: brooklyn, ny

i'm hosting a holiday party w/ DIY gift exchange this year.

for my giftee i'm making bacon infused bourbon, rosemary salt and a spice rub. i also made her a necklace using onyx and coral.

for my mother i'm making recipe cards of my favorite dishes - on one side, i'm drawing the ingredients and on the other, writing the recipe.

for my brother i knit him a scarf.

my two friends in canada, i knit them scarves as well.

http://67.192.239.149/newyork/articles/shopping/
68872/make-vs-buy
some ideas from time out mag - i love the snowglobe!
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h_pets360 · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 328 Location: portland oregon!!!

bacon infused bourbon! stop the presses! really?! how?!

I'm making as much as I can, buying handmade as a second option, and buying things like boxer-briefs for the fiance from lame big box-y stores because I have yet to find XXL boxer briefs on etsy.

lazysundae · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 84 Location: brooklyn, ny

bacon infused bourbon:

nice bottle of bourbon (i'm going to use bulleit but i've heard maker's mark used also)

3 strips or so of bacon

glass jar
coffee filter
airtight container

1. cook bacon and reserve the fat.
2. transfer bourbon to the jar or other wide-mouthed glass container and add the bacon fat, let it sit 4-6 hours. the alcohol in the bourbon will draw the flavors out of the fat.
3. put the mixture in the freezer - this will allow you to scrape the fat off the top.
4. funnel it back into the bottle using a coffee filter to catch any bits. i bought some airtight containers from a kitchen supply store that resemble old italian bottles - very cute!

i haven't done this yet so i can't say how it tastes but i'm looking forward to it.
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h_pets360 · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 328 Location: portland oregon!!!

Thanks, lazysundae! I might have to give that a try.

AinsleyKath · Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Posts: 1

[quote:9fc1a07c79=\"lazysundae\"]bacon infused bourbon:

nice bottle of bourbon (i''m going to use bulleit but i''ve heard maker''s mark used also)

3 strips or so of bacon

glass jar
coffee filter
airtight container

1. cook bacon and reserve the fat.
2. transfer bourbon to the jar or other wide-mouthed glass container and add the bacon fat, let it sit 4-6 hours. the alcohol in the bourbon will draw the flavors out of the fat.
3. put the mixture in the freezer - this will allow you to scrape the fat off the top.
4. funnel it back into the bottle using a coffee filter to catch any bits. i bought some airtight containers from a kitchen supply store that resemble old italian bottles - very cute!

i haven''t done this yet so i can''t say how it tastes but i''m looking forward to it.[/quote:9fc1a07c79]

hi lazysundae,

The recipe is very simple. but you have said that you havent tried before then how it tastes.

let me know how it is? if anybody try cooking this recipe.
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jennjitsu · Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 210 Location: Colorado

I'm making most of them or buying handmade. The only people I'm not doing that for are my niece and nephew ages 13 and 15. I just don't think they'd appreciate it so they are getting gift cards.

I am doing mostly things like handbags, necklaces and placemats. My favorite gift that I can't wait to give is a purse for my MIL made out of vintage fabric she gave me from when they were stationed in Liberia in the 70's. She had about 5 yards of it and was pretty sure it was hand dyed/batiked. I lined it with the remnants of a skirt she gave me from the same era that I had to shorten because it was much too long. She's the emotional type so I'm expecting waterworks. Maybe I should make a handkerchief to put in there...

For my daughter we bought a lot of stuff, though they are the really good educational wood toys that hold up to several years of playing. I'm making some doll clothes for her Pansy doll...though I'm going to have to wing it because I don't think Daisy Kingdom still makes patterns for her anymore.

Sister is getting a tie skirt for christmas. I made one way back in highschool before the tie craze and she took it out of my closet and wore it more than I did! This one is well made whereas the other one disintigrated sometime last year. For her birthday (two days after christmas) I think I'll cheat and give her a WholeFoods giftcard, since she did ask for those anyway. I'll probably put it in a handmade purse.

Sister in law is getting either a purse or a scrub top, depending on where time goes and if I can get my tail off the computer!

DH is taken care of. We decided not to trade gifts this year since we purchased some bigger items over the course of the year. He bought a new camera (even though it was to replace one that was stolen from us shortly after we moved here) and I bought a totally materialistic and unwarranted but very nice handbag. It was a rough year and it was totally retail therapy but I don't have buyers remorse! We also just got a TV since our 15 year old dinosaur died. If we didn't, that netflix subscription would be wasted! So yeah, no gift swapping this year, but we won't notice because BOTH sets of parents/family are coming for the holidays. We are bonafide insane.

Astrid · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:03 am Post subject:

Christy Petterson · Co-Editor Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 118 Location: atl

I'm buying all of my gifts but they are 98% handmade. I make a few exceptions (like books, iTunes, Legos and DVDs). I was in Boston for Bazaar Bizarre and Providence for Craftland this weekend and got most of my shopping done there. Plus a trip to Magpie (indie boutique in Boston)...I'm almost done!!!
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quornflour · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:08 am Post subject:

I am going with, hand made, functional and repurposed...
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lazysundae · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 84 Location: brooklyn, ny

i'm trying the bacon bourbon recipe tonight and will let you guys know how it is. if it sucks i don't know what i'm gonna do for xmas!

i also tried a rosemary infused bourbon, mixed with pear brandy and pear syrup and a touch of lemon. delicious - might try the rosemary infused one as well!
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ShailynDonahue · Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Savannah, GA

I am a notorious last minute Christmas shopper. This year I am kicking myself in the hiney because.... thats right.... after a year of faithful service I was laid off this week. OI!

So It HAS to be a very homemade Christmas. Most of my friends and family live out of state now and a bulk of my money will be taken with postage to start, so I have decided to Illustrate and Re-write The night before Christmas to portray the year my sister-n-law decided she needed a hypoallergenic tree, then it wouldnt stand up, and then we tied it to the wall, hillarity ensued. Origianally I was going to get it laminated and print everyone a copy, but after checking at the print store I think that might even be out of my price range! The illustrations are coming along nicely, if only my writing wasnt quite so dicey! :P

I am also going to make a stuffed animal out of leftover fabric scraps for my niece who is two.

My BFF is in Vegas right now and is financially strapped as well, I know she doesnt have the moolah to decorate for Christmas so I made her a paper pop up christmas tree and went through all of my old magazines to cut out \"ornaments\". It turned out pretty cute and the mail man is coming to get it today.

I am making tacky Christmas music CDs to send to all of the friends/relatives who I cant afford to go see.

If anyone has anyother Repurposed, CHEAP, or even better FREEEEEE gift ideas please send them my way. I have lots of time on my hands and the craft itch is making me CRAZY!!!!!

chris9999 · Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 23