I'm looking for gifts and ideas for my Christmas list. I love shopping for Christmas, so I must remember not to go overboard because I still need to finish fixing my house!
Homemade gifts are great for situations like this. Even if you're still going to buy things (albeit on a tight budget), it's a nice touch to include something homemade because it shows you put in some time and effort, making it an obvious "I-love-you-but-I'm-broke" statement, as opposed to "you-get-a-cheapo-gift-because-I-don't-care".
The best homemade thing I discovered last year was the herbal bath infusion. You get some squares of very fine fabric, like muslin or maybe some sparkly polyester organza, add a tablespoon of porridge oats (the kind with flakes - not the finely ground stuff), and some herbal tea or other nice-smelling dried stuff, and tie it up into a little bag with a ribbon. If you hang it over the bath tap so that the water runs through it then the oats soften the water, and the herbal tea makes it smell nice. Lush actually sell a product just like this, but one of theirs costs nearly as much as the material to make 20 of these.
I love the bath infusion idea! Most people are getting at least one handmade gift, but I tend to add in store bought gifts that remind me of the person, or they mentioned that they wanted/needed. With certain people, it's easy to go a little overboard.
I am knitting a ton of dishtowel and washrags for everyone this year. Those huge balls of Bernat cotton aren't that expensive and I can get several towels out of each of them. Plus those suckers last a lot longer than any dishtowel I've bought in a store.
I figure it's practical but also something I made myself so there's love in it. (Plus I make them to match the recipients kitchen.)
I love Lush, but do find their stuff a bit expensive. I blame my sister for buying me an array of their soaps for my birthday. I have dry, sensitive skin so I'm always on the lookout for a great, mild face soap since stuff with a salicylic acid sometimes irritates it.
Anywho...yes I have a few people I can very easily go overboard with too, and on the other spectrum people who I scratch my head and go "I have no idea what to get them." But I agree that handmade gifts tend to sometimes be my favorites. It shows the person you didn't just go to the store and buy them something, you actually took the time to MAKE them something. What's funny is when I was in college I used to knit scarves for everyone. One year I didn't do it cause I figured people could only have use for so many before they got sick of them, but it turned out a friend of mine was actually disappointed by not getting one that year.
Oh my god that's awesome!!! I think I still have your phone number. My cell number is the same if you have it. We are going to have to get together to toast our houses!
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The best homemade thing I discovered last year was the herbal bath infusion. You get some squares of very fine fabric, like muslin or maybe some sparkly polyester organza, add a tablespoon of porridge oats (the kind with flakes - not the finely ground stuff), and some herbal tea or other nice-smelling dried stuff, and tie it up into a little bag with a ribbon. If you hang it over the bath tap so that the water runs through it then the oats soften the water, and the herbal tea makes it smell nice. Lush actually sell a product just like this, but one of theirs costs nearly as much as the material to make 20 of these.
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I figure it's practical but also something I made myself so there's love in it. (Plus I make them to match the recipients kitchen.)
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Anywho...yes I have a few people I can very easily go overboard with too, and on the other spectrum people who I scratch my head and go "I have no idea what to get them." But I agree that handmade gifts tend to sometimes be my favorites. It shows the person you didn't just go to the store and buy them something, you actually took the time to MAKE them something. What's funny is when I was in college I used to knit scarves for everyone. One year I didn't do it cause I figured people could only have use for so many before they got sick of them, but it turned out a friend of mine was actually disappointed by not getting one that year.
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