Give Homemade Gifts This Year

Today, some people begin Christmas shopping as much as a year in advance. For others, Christmas shopping is a mad rush the week before right up to Christmas day, a marathon of deal chasing and substitutions. The familial and religious aspects of Christmas have become overshadowed by the commercialism of the "Holiday Season" or the "Holidays."

Christmas gift giving as we know it developed in the late part of the 19th century and the early 1900's. This period ushered in a growing industrial economy and with it the establishment of a stable middle class with more disposable income and a homeward focus. They embraced Christmas as an opportunity to celebrate children and family. This along with more disposable income brought more focus to the practice of giving gifts to loved ones and friends in celebration of the season.

Prior to the rise of Macy's and their department store progeny, Christmas was primarily recognized with communal celebrations, caroling and modest gift giving. In 1867, Macy's responded to the interests and needs of their customers, the growing middle class of an industrial economy, by staying open until midnight on Christmas Eve. Then in 1874 Macy's became the first department store to use a Christmas theme in its window displays.

If you plan on keeping the heart of the holiday, family, faith and goodwill, in mind, homemade gifts could be your best option this year. Unless you particularly enjoy the contact sport that Christmas shopping has become, there are two points to recommend it:

• Homemade gifts can be tailored to suit the time and money you can budget for them.
• Your gifts will be personal and as unique as your imagination allows.

Here are a few gift ideas to get you started:

1. Baked Goods
Bake a favorite treat and package it in decorative containers. If you want to provide a gift within a gift, use Tupperware or other reusable storage containers from Glad or Ziploc. They don't have to be pricey.

2. Photo Album
Make a photo album of special memories. Dollar stores and discount retailers often carry mini-albums which cost anywhere from five dollars or less. Fill them with photos from a recent trip or burn the pictures to CD.

3. Write A Book
Write a short story and make copies for family and friends. Notice, this worked out very well for Nicholas Sparks.

4. Ornaments
There are many ornament craft kits available for under $20 and you can create multiple gifts from one set. Another option is buying plaster of paris ornaments already cast from your local craft store, then paint and seal them yourself.

5. Gift Baskets
Make a gift basket full of that special someone's favorite thing. Sample sizes are OK. Remember this should be a treat for them and no stress for you.

6. Frame A Poem
Write a poem and decorate it or select one which expresses the desired sentiment and do the same. Pick up a frame from the store and place the poem inside to make it priceless.

7. Make Christmas Stockings
Craft stores sell stockings of all sizes during the Holidays. Select a few along with some glitter glue, stickers, sequins, etc. and decorate them. Then fill them with peppermints for a family, giftcards or other items. Give them as favors or party gifts when you're visiting this year.

8. Personalized Overnight/Away From Home Kit
If you have a friend who travels a lot, make an overnight kit for them and put a few things in it which may be specific to your hometown or hard to acquire elsewhere.

9. Make Sachets
Sachets can be used to scent a bath or a lingerie drawer. Purchase dried lavender, roses, etc. from your local herbalist or health food store. Place, them in muslin bags with draw-strings (There are also teabags available which you can fill and seal with an iron.) and attach a card explaining what they are, the benefits provided by the herbs and how to use them.

10. Draw/Paint a Picture
This is another situation where the gift will be special simply because it's from you. Try to create something which captures a special moment or feeling and frame it. It doesn't matter that you're not Picasso. It could even be a photo to which you add some painted elements as a border. Be thoughtful, have fun and frame it.

11. Decorate T-Shirts
T-shirts can be purchased for a few dollars and with modern technology you can create iron on designs using graphics and personal photographs.

12. Make A Mix CD
Do you have a group of friends with shared musical tastes, a theme song or songs? Download some of their favorite music and burn it to a CD.

Christmas shopping doesn't have to consume your Holiday Season. With homemade gifts, the possibilities are endless. The best thing about homemade gift giving is that with little shopping and some planning - you get to avoid the crowds, prepare and wrap your gifts at home while sipping cocoa and watching television.