It’s “that” time of year again—holiday time. A time when we find ourselves feeling obligated to do certain activities (shopping for gifts, sending cards, baking), whether we really want to or not. Not doing the activities can bring on feelings of guilt.
And who wants to spend the holidays feeling overwhelmed and guilty? My guess would be, not you (and not me, either).
One of the biggest challenges people have during holiday time is the gift-giving process. Not so much the giving part, but the “finding the perfect gift” part.
This year, let yourself off the hook.
Rather than shopping the crowded stores for your holiday gifts, put your creativity to good use and make your gifts. It’s the thought that counts anyways, right?
Why Use Your Creative Gifts
Why have creative gifts if you don’t use them or share them with others? This is the time of year to let your creativity go nuts and to show off your creative gifts in a way that celebrates others.
Plus homemade gifts allow you to give people cool things they never even realized they wanted or needed.
For example, maybe you noticed this year that your sister is not very organized. In fact, you saw her jewelry pile the other day, and it was a tangled mess. A perfect homemade gift for your sister could be a homemade jewelry organizer, so she can find her stuff a lot easier, and keep her necklaces from getting tangled.
There are hundreds of tutorials online to teach you how to do pretty much whatever you want to learn. (I even saw DIY instructions the other night for cutting bottles!)
What I’m Making This Year
This is my first year being self-employed, which means I’m living on a tight budget, at least for the time being. Plus I hate all the uppity madness of Christmas shopping and gift-giving. People go nuts!
When I was a kid I loved it, but now I find it annoying and would rather do without. (It’s nice to get gifts from people, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes you just want to avoid the stress of it all.)
So this year for the first time, I’m avoiding the mall and making all of my gifts.
Not only is this more pleasing to my budget, but it’s also a chance for me to use my creative talents to brighten other people’s lives.
What I’m making:
- Photo collages
- Canvas prints with photos and/or quotes
- A Recipe book
- A monogram wall hanging with “established” date
Killer Resources for Homemade Gifts
I’ve been scouring the web like crazy these last few weeks to find the perfect homemade gifts for my friends and family. To get your ideas flowing, here are 7 links that have some killer DIY ideas that would make amazing gifts:
- 25 Handmade Gifts Under $5—very affordable, awesome homemade gifts; great for creative people on a budget
- 34 Great Gifts You Can Make Yourself—a compilation of gift ideas from other people
- 100 Homemade Christmas Gifts—if you’re a very crafty creative, try your hand at some of these gifts
- 101 Handmade Gifts For Men—notoriously the hardest people to shop for, here are homdemade gift ideas for the men in your life
- 10 Elegant, Inexpensive Homemade Gifts—gift ideas straight from mother nature
- DIY Canvas Art—buy a bulk pack of canvases at your local craft store and go nuts
- Unbelievably Upcycled—upcycling is an awesome up-and-coming trend; check out these DIY gifts you can make from stuff you may already own
Don’t play into the materialism of the holidays, this year, give gifts that allow you to share your creativity with the world. People will appreciate that a lot more.
Share With Us
How are you showcasing your creativity this holiday season?
