How to Make Handmade Family Christmas Presents

Christmas does not have to mean spending a lot of money on unnecessary expensive items that you may not be able to afford. Spending time with your family and those that you love at Christmas is what is important. If you still feel the need to express your love throughout the holidays, try making something from your heart and own two hands. It is easier on the wallet, and also has more meaning. Continue reading for some great handmade Christmas gifts that you can create for the holiday season.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Coffee mug
• Paint
• Gift bag
• Beads
• Charms
• Jewelry wire
• Old photographs
• Scrabooking accessories
• Ingredients for homemade cookies

1. 

   Go to Wal-Mart or a kitchenware store, and buy a coffee mug. Personalize your coffee mug by painting the words mom, dad, brother, sister or best friend. Paint the coffee mug in the recipient's favorite color and use stencils to add decorations. Put the coffee mug in a Christmas gift bag to give it as a gift.

2. 

   Create pieces of jewelry or key chains for members and friends. Purchase beads, jewelry making wire, key rings, clasps, charms and other decorative ideas. Find out everyone's favorite colors and create jewelry and accessories that correspond with their colors. Try buying letter beads to personalize key chains or bracelets. Store finished jewelry in any old jewelry boxes that you may have kept from past purchases and then wrap to give as a gift at Christmas time.

3. 

   Find old photos or ask family members for past pictures of your friends and family. Purchase some decorated paper, stamps, stickers and pens or markers at a scrapbooking supply store, Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Create a collage of past and present pictures and then put them on a brightly colored background with decorated paper. Add a journal entry along with some stickers and stamps to make it more personal. Cover the page in a page protector or put it in a frame.

4. 

   Crochet or knit blankets, scarves or hats if you have the ability. Beginners can try a Knifty Knitter's loom (see Resources) that makes such projects easy by wrapping yarn around pegs and then pulling them off the hooks. Find out everybody's favorite color textures and knit or crochet accordingly. Projects such as these need to be started months in advance before the Christmas season in order to finish them on time.

5. 

   Cook up batches of cookies, homemade candies and other goodies and put them on a pretty paper with a bow. Ask to look at old family recipes so that you can create some past magic of desserts from long ago. Pass them around at Christmas and make plenty of extras stored in pretty jars or on a plate for some extra Christmas goodies.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have children in the household, let them be a part of making special gifts for Christmas.

Resources

• Homemade Christmas gift ideas
• Knifty Knitter Looms
• Homemade Christmas gifts