I don’t know about you, but most of my gifting is done during the fall/winter. I guess that could be pretty common because of Christmas and all, but almost all of my friends’ birthdays are in October/November (weird, I know), my parents’ anniversary is this month and my anniversary is in November. Oh yeah, and then there’s Christmas. Whew! So what’s a lover of thoughtful gift-giving (on a budget) to do? DIY, DIY, DIY.
And while most of these gifts aren’t really gifty (like a sweater or new pair of flats), I’d rather my friends come over on my birthday with a 6-pack of seasonal beers and/or cheap champagne, cupcakes and Hocus Pocus any day.
1. Buy a knifty knitter and knit to your heart’s delight! Don’t be intimidated by the way it looks – it’s surprisingly easy and there are tons of tutorials out there for different knitting patterns. I bought mine at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago and I use it every single year. I just go to my nearest craft store, stock up on the chunkiest knits that I can find and knit away.
2. Cold weather means yummy seasonal beers and ciders are available. I can’t wait for the seasons to change because it means getting to try lots of yummy seasonal drinks. Every autumn/winter, my friends and I get together and bring lots of different beers and ciders and either relax on someone’s porch or have a movie marathon. Go to your local grocery store and build your own 6-pack for your favorite beer/cider-loving friend. If they’re really your friend, they’ll share.
3. Indulge in something homemade. I’ve assembled lots of recipes in jars over the years, and they always manage to be a hit. This website actually has a ton of ideas if you want to mix it up a little!
4. Give the (always delicious) gift of baked goods. Pinterest has made yummy recipe-finding even easier. Find out what your friend’s favorite cookie/cupcake is and try to make them! Look at it this way, if it turns out to be an epic fail, you can always submit your photo to PinterestFail.
5. Make it one-of-a-kind. What kinds of things have your friends really been into lately? Have you discovered something music-wise that you think they’d enjoy? Do it old-school and make a mix cd, or curate a perfect playlist on Spotify and email them the link. One year for my friend’s birthday, I made her a mix cd of all the songs we used to listen to in Junior High. We even managed to find some of the old notes that we used to pass to each other! Ah, memories.
As I said, while it may be a bit too soon to start stressing out thinking about Christmas gifts, my gift-giving season starts this month and I’ve gotta get myself in gear!
What’s the most thoughtful gift that you’ve ever received? Do you try to make most of your gifts or do you buy most of them? Any ideas/tips for some DIY gift-giving on a budget?
guest
My favorite holiday gift is a bag of homemade cookies. For the last 4 years I’ve been baking several batches of cookies and packaging them in cute printed lunch bags and gave them to friends, family and coworkers. I think I finally got a mix that everyone likes, and aren’t too difficult to make. (Sorry, no fancy royal icing coated sugar cookies.) Each cookie gift costs me about $7.50–ingredients, packaging and parchment paper and hot chocolate packets. Each bag has 2 dozen various cookies, 4 packets hot chocolate mix and 6 to 12 small squares of fudge. I thought about not doing the fudge because my recipe uses a lot of chocolate which can get really expensive but people have expressed their appreciation for it. If I have more bucks, then I will buy presents for close friends and family.
guest
Oh dear, I have wished to my heart’s content that I could knit, or do something special for someone that was home made from the heart. I’m as klutzy as a cat on cat nip. But, my daughter has done several exquisite counted cross stick pieces for me, all framed, and the detail is amazing. They are all on my wall,along with her water color pieces. My son has given me pencil sketch pieces that I’ve had framed in black, so one wall in completely done without color, including the family’s portrait, my husband’s portrait at 5 (he’s 61) fishing at a lake), me in my dance class at the age of 4. Now that you’ve brought this up, I’m going to try to think of something special for everyone, maybe a fancy jar of jam or something. It’s worth putting some thought into, isn’t it?