Question about gifts - Answers PLZ!
For all you people out there who practice some sort of holiday wherein gifts are exchanged, somewhere around now, whatever that holiday may be.
Do you actually LIKE getting homemade gifts? I mean, does it make you happy to have them, as opposed to a CD, a book, a gift card, etc?
Right this moment, I am flush with funds for Packmas, and Christmas too I suppose. BTW, "flush" means that I have the ability to actually give gifts this year, yay! All my adoption fee money from my two rat litters has been socked away specifically for this purpose. And now I must ask.
There are a few of us in the Pack who have practiced homemade gifting, and they always seem well-received. But then again, people aren't assholes :P
I have the money to buy fabric with which to make gifts. I sew, and I cross-stitch. Last year for Christmas, folks got cross-stitched gifts from me and they went over pretty well. I often give my parents cross-stitched framed things for gifts... and let me tell you, something cross-stitched? There's NO WAY to calculate the time and effort that goes into something big enough to frame, or even a book mark! There's just not. You cannot put monetary value on them because they are SUCH a pain. If I'm lucky and feeling good, I can make 3-4 of those in a year (I don't really do it constantly or I'm sure I could turn out more, but at a normal rate, that's about what it comes down to.)
I found a website with a lot of cute cloth things as "indy" type presents. I don't want to mention too much specific since I know Pack-and-family people do occasionally read this thing. I'd love to make some of them for the Pack, quirky things, fun things, but hopefully also useful things. My question is... when someone gives you something homemade, do you actually LIKE it? Or are you just smiling because it's a nice thing to do? Do you ever really WANT a fuzzy hat, or a hand-knitted scarf, or a vest, or a cross-stitched wedding sampler, or a messenger bag, or any of the things I can actually make? Caesar makes T-shirts for people, and everyone always seems amused y them, but are they really thinking "Damn, I wish he'd given me a DVD."
In short: should I bother to spend time and money on the fabric? Or just go the easy route and get everyone books and CDs... which may have more long term amusement and enjoyment value, even if they seem a little less "loving" in the long run to me?
Answers plz! Honest ones too - seriously, I want to know if you're like "Oh god, please. Just a book, everyone who gives me something cute and homemade needs a punch in the mouth!"
Do you actually LIKE getting homemade gifts? I mean, does it make you happy to have them, as opposed to a CD, a book, a gift card, etc?
Right this moment, I am flush with funds for Packmas, and Christmas too I suppose. BTW, "flush" means that I have the ability to actually give gifts this year, yay! All my adoption fee money from my two rat litters has been socked away specifically for this purpose. And now I must ask.
There are a few of us in the Pack who have practiced homemade gifting, and they always seem well-received. But then again, people aren't assholes :P
I have the money to buy fabric with which to make gifts. I sew, and I cross-stitch. Last year for Christmas, folks got cross-stitched gifts from me and they went over pretty well. I often give my parents cross-stitched framed things for gifts... and let me tell you, something cross-stitched? There's NO WAY to calculate the time and effort that goes into something big enough to frame, or even a book mark! There's just not. You cannot put monetary value on them because they are SUCH a pain. If I'm lucky and feeling good, I can make 3-4 of those in a year (I don't really do it constantly or I'm sure I could turn out more, but at a normal rate, that's about what it comes down to.)
I found a website with a lot of cute cloth things as "indy" type presents. I don't want to mention too much specific since I know Pack-and-family people do occasionally read this thing. I'd love to make some of them for the Pack, quirky things, fun things, but hopefully also useful things. My question is... when someone gives you something homemade, do you actually LIKE it? Or are you just smiling because it's a nice thing to do? Do you ever really WANT a fuzzy hat, or a hand-knitted scarf, or a vest, or a cross-stitched wedding sampler, or a messenger bag, or any of the things I can actually make? Caesar makes T-shirts for people, and everyone always seems amused y them, but are they really thinking "Damn, I wish he'd given me a DVD."
In short: should I bother to spend time and money on the fabric? Or just go the easy route and get everyone books and CDs... which may have more long term amusement and enjoyment value, even if they seem a little less "loving" in the long run to me?
Answers plz! Honest ones too - seriously, I want to know if you're like "Oh god, please. Just a book, everyone who gives me something cute and homemade needs a punch in the mouth!"