Handmade Gifts, Is It A Good Alternative To Store Bought Gifts?

If you have children, and one of them approaches you with a folded piece of construction paper resembling a greeting card with crayon drawings of stick people, all of which represent your family with a big crayon heart on top, wouldn't that just tug at your heart. Well that is what a handmade gift does. Handmade gifts are made from the heart of an individual and they can be the most precious gifts of all.


Even the elderly and lonely people would feel so warm inside with love knowing that someone has thought about them by sending them a card that simply says" Thinking about you".


What reasons should you give friends and love ones handmade gifts?


1. It is inexpensive.
You will not have to save up money to purchase the gift. The gifts can be made from anything in your home. Or it can be an object that you know he or she has been admiring in your home for years, a rare book, an unusual hair clip. It can be anything from food to antique furniture you no longer need.


2. It has meaning and personal.
There use to be a time when people use to view handmade as cheap gifts. Now homemade gifts are viewed in a different light.


Many people are seeing handmade gifts now as a show of expressions from the heart, and that it is creative and practical. And that while making the item the person was thinking of them the whole time. Which makes that gift much more precious to the recipient, a gift he or she will never think to give or throw away.

3. It allows you to express whatever creative abilities you have.
Expressing your talents will give the gift a more personal feel to it. You will be able to add anything from humor to music to that particular gift or handmade card. Maybe even try a hand at modeling clay.


If you need help deciding on what handmade gift you can make, hear are a few suggestions:


1. Write a letter expressing how special he or she is to you. Be sure to mention in detail something you both did that was special or very funny and memorable, include a picture of yourself with that person. That letter will be cherished for a long long time.


2. Write a poem about the person in question. Print it out on the computer using a few clip art decor and frame it. Again you can use memorable events of your life that you have shared with that person.


3. You may want to go a little farther than a letter and make a small booklet of memories that you have had with that special person, Maybe include several pictures with in the book or scrapbook.


4. Buy a packet of mixed herb seeds which would cost around a dollar and plant them months before you wish to give it as a gift. Or if you want to go on a grander scale you can grow each herb in a separate pot. Once big enough you can wrap it with see through gift wrap and tied with a bow.

5. If it is a female, and you know she has been admiring a piece of jewelry of yours for a long time. Clean the jewelry and wrap it in a special box. Then watch her face light up when she see, that now, she owns the jewelry herself.


6. Or go buy a inexpensive necklace or earring kit, it would cost around four to eight dollars, and assemble it together yourself. When you tell the recipient that you made it, it will be cherished all the more. You would be surprise how simple it is to create your own jewelry.


7.Dessert! Now who does not like dessert? Try your hand at baking. If his favorite dessert must have chocolate, bake a chocolate cake or maybe chocolate cookies. There are many recipes that have ingredients that are a favorite for your friends or family. Bake, then wrap them in colored plastic wrap, with a small card with heartfelt words added to it. Example: "Sweets for the sweetest man on earth"


8. Photography? Take a picture of her favorite flower and blow it up. Will cost about six dollars. Or maybe take pictures of her friends and make a collage and frame it.


9. Sewing? Block quilts are easy to make. The elderly would enjoy having something to keep their legs warm during the cold winter months. Or just simple quilts made from beautiful fabric, it does not take long to make.


10. Camcorder! You can record parties that a loved one missed so that they can view it later. Or for the bedridden elderly, you can go around and record the area in which they live, stop by the neighbors houses and allow them to say hello to the individual or maybe even a small sentence so that it can all be played back to the individual. It would feel as if they themselves went around and visit the neighbors. Don't be surprised if it is played over and over again.


Just remember, when making the gift try and make it practical, useful, beautiful and unforgettable.

Herbs, Very Useful Frugal Gifts

 

Plants can be very thoughtful gifts.

It warms the heart of those who recieves them.  It cheers up those who are ill and hospitalized.  It even makes those who are lonely feel wanted by someone.

But how about practical ones too.  Not just the ones that are beautiful to behold, but the ones that are beautiful and useful also.


I am talking about herbs.  They can make excellent gifts for people who loves to be in the kitchen. Having fresh herbs can compliment any dish and bring a satisfied smile on the face of the giftee.


I find that basil is an easy herb to grow.   It can be use in many italian dishes and I love it on pizza because tomatoes and basil compliments each other.   Genovese basil if properly cared for can yield lots of leaves for many dishes. So why not make a gift of basil to a friend?


The way to do this inexpensively for a small gathering of friends, is to start the seeds early in your home.  Usually around the month of March to give them enough time to put on some growth.


Plant them in five inch pots filled with soil with a little perlite in it, and place at least twelve small seeds in each pot. Some seeds cost ten cents per pack and I have seen some at twenty cents per pack and some as high as one dollar or more.  I use the ten and twenty cent packs. Just make sure you check the dates on the seeds to be sure you are getting ones that are for planting for this year. Most can be found at Dollar General, Walmart etc.


Once you have planted the seeds keep them moist by watering them well.  You will soon see spouts around a week or so.  I usually use the liquid Miracle Grow on them. (Follow the direction on back of bottle) You will not need much at the early stages of growth.




As the seedlings grow, pinch off a little of the top to encourage them to branch out and get bushy. This will help to make lots of new leaves.  Use the leaves you pinched in some of your dishes. Don't waste them.


I usually wait until the plant is about five inches tall before I give them out as gifts. This helps to make sure you are giving out good strong plants.

If you want you can put three herb plants together in one pot, thus giving the giftee more than one plant as a gift.   One good combination is thyme, basil and oreganoe, all the great herbs for a good pizza or italian dish.


Now it is time to get some ribbons and some decorations and give them to your friends at a brunch or gathering at your home or at theirs.


Then sit back and watch the smiles and thank yous you recieve for giving such a frugal and thoughtful and practical gift that will last all spring, summer and fall and on.