Holiday gifts crafts

Holiday Gifts: Crafts

Craft gifts are available just about everywhere, from small craft shops to large malls, to state fair craft booths. You can buy them, you can make them yourself or you can give a craft kit and open up a whole new hobby for the people for whom you are buying. There are specific "holiday" themed crafts such as wreaths for Christmas or Halloween, straw scarecrows and corn husk wreaths for Thanksgiving or more general crafts like birdhouses and dollhouses complete with miniature everything, which can also make great holiday gifts.

Ceramics is a relaxing hobby that allows for great creativity and personalization. There is enough in the way of simple projects that even the beginner can put together a beautiful array of holiday gifts. You can start from scratch using poured pieces (green ware); cleaning, painting, firing, glazing and firing again or you can buy pieces that are already cleaned and fired (bisque) paint and glaze them. There are an almost infinite number of different pieces to choose from. You can make statues, candy dishes, lamps or chess sets. You are really only limited by your imagination. Children love painting on bisque (much easier for a child to work with as it isn't as easily broken as green ware) Check your local phone book for ceramic shops to find the ones that offer lessons and in no time you'll be making gifts people will cherish. You can find Santas and pumpkins, turkey platters and figurines of Uncle Sam. You can put together a base topped with several figurines and make it into a night-light or dre

If you don't have time or the inclination to make your own there are ceramic pieces for sale in just about every store you go into. There are decorative plates and glasses, vases and jewelry boxes, dolls and figurines. There are all kinds of sets of figurines; storybook characters, wild west towns, the entire cast of Star Wars characters, complete Christmas villages, entire renaissance worlds with castles, wizards, trolls, dragons, kings, queens, knights. The best part about some of these is that you can buy one piece for each holiday building the set slowly or buy it all at once.

Other great crafts for holiday gift giving are knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch and sewing. Scarves, sweaters, potholders, Afghans, dresses, shirts and the list goes on. Change the color and the design and you can have a gift for any holiday. When you knit, crochet, sew or cross-stitch a piece for someone you can personalize it in the colors and styles that you know suits them.

You can always hook a rug or pillow. There are complete kits that come with a preprinted canvas the hook and all the yarn you will need or you can buy a piece of canvas and draw your own design, buy a hook and your yarn and you're good to go.

 

Recommended For You

Holiday gifts food in baskets, bottles and boxes

Holiday Gifts: Food in Baskets, Bottles & Boxes

Gifts of food, whether home made or store bought are always appreciated. You can buy decorative boxes, all sizes and shapes of baskets, or use bottles ranging from empty liquor bottles to the standard Mason jar. Visit your local resale shops or check on-line auction sites for great deals on baskets, bottles and boxes.

For those of you who love to bake, whipping up a couple dozen of five or six different types of cookies and boxing them with a pretty bow make a delicious holiday gift for friends, family or even your child's teacher. Kick the gift up a notch by adding some homemade candies.

Need a gift for people who love being outdoors, pick up a nice inexpensive picnic basket and add a bottle of wine, some cheeses and crackers with a small cheese cutting board and a couple of pretty wine glasses for a classic gift. They'll remember you for years to come each time they use it.

Empty liquor bottles that have been cleaned are perfect for making a gift of flavored oils. Drop any combination of things like herbs, garlic, and hot peppers into the bottle; add oil and cap it with a cork or a pourer. A pretty bow around the bottle is all the gift-wrap you need. Most kitchen stores sell bottles of different shapes and sizes filled with all sorts of things, beans, peppers, herbs, pastas and oil that are strictly decorative for tables or countertops. You can quite easily make your own. A pretty gift bottle filled with colorful food items will add a decorative touch to their tables long after the holidays.

Has a friend or family member ever told you how much they love a particular recipe of yours? Find a nice basket, fill it with all the ingredients necessary to make the recipe, type the recipe out on a recipe card (they come plain and decorated), you can even find wire flower or butterfly shaped standing recipe card holders that you can add. Or you can add candles and holders to use for a romantic dinner. You can layer mason jars with the dry ingredients for a favorite soup (the beans, rice, pasta, seasonings etc) everything except the meat and the water. Again, you type up the cooking instructions, tie the jar with a bow and you're ready to go. A small square of gingham cloth placed on the jar opening before closing the lid adds a pretty touch

For an even more personal touch (makes a wonderful anniversary gift for a couple you care about) you can use your computer to make a gift certificate (or you can make it by hand) entitling the recipient of your gift to a meal cooked, served and cleaned up after, in their own home. You go to their house with everything you need, cook the meal, serve it, clean up after yourself and leave while they enjoy a relaxing romantic dinner (or for someone you know well breakfast in bed served on trays complete with a rose in a bud vase and the morning paper).

If you don't care for the do it yourself approach, there are websites where for around $100 you can have the fixings for a romantic steak and lobster dinner for two delivered and that includes the pot! Everyone loves gifts of food.

 

Recommended For You