How to Make Homemade Christmas Gifts Look Less "Homemade"

When we think of handmade, homespun Christmas gifts, we tend to conjure up images of Aunt Nell's bulky yarn sweaters that always managed to make a way into our holidays. Fortunately, times have changed. With creative how-to books, specialty tools, and higher end products, it's finally become possible to create inexpensive, heart- warming, and unique gifts for everyone on your list without any of them knowing that their presents were made by you. That is, of course, unless you want them to know about your efforts! For tips on how to hand make elegant Christmas gifts for men, women, and children without disappointing a single recipient, keep the following pointers in mind.

Before we discuss what to make for whom, let's hit on some basics. First, go for higher end products and use tools created especially for your craft. Making a gift from home can look cheap and tawdry if too many cost cutting strategies are used. Materials should be unique, hand chosen, and never purchased in bulk. Every Christmas gift recipient should have something special of artisan crafted quality.

Now, let's talk about jewelry. We're not talking about pony beads on string here. When giving homemade jewelry as a Christmas gift, quality of the materials is of the utmost important. Cheap jewelry turns fingers green, tarnishes, breaks quickly, and is rarely appreciated (even from children). Select sterling silver earring posts and spacers, Swarovski crystal jewels, personalized name plates, etc. Craft your pieces with professional tools and create multiple strands and matching sets. When you are finished, never throw your masterpieces into a bag or on top of a matching sweater as you would with a "fashion" jewelry set. Place the pieces carefully into a jewelry gift box, using decorative pins to keep them in place and to add a bit of a presentation.

Going back to Aunt Nell's ugly yarn sweaters, let's focus on needle crafts for a moment. When dealing with the dangers of giving a homemade knitted, crotched, pieced, or sewed gift for Christmas, it's best to list what not to do first. Stay away from traditional afghans, quilts, sweaters, doilies, book covers, and home décor. No one wants the burden of figuring out where to put that big patchwork blanket in their home or of trying to find shoes that match a crotched purple sweater with a kitten on the front. Instead, think about spicing up and personalizing products that your gift recipients might go out on and buy on their own. Purses, scarves, wraps, ponchos, and even soft sunglass cases on store shelves are often handmade. You'd be amazed at the excitement you might receive in return for giving a leopard print sunglass case or a silk purse. The point is to make your gift look as un-homemade as possible, meaning it would fit right in at the mall but has just a little more flair to offer than mass-made products ever will.

If you'd like to share your photography work as a Christmas gift, be careful about the details. Consider having a professional print off your pictures rather than printing them off of your home computer. Also, place your work in frames that coincide with the theme of your gift recipient's home. In other words, bulky wooden frames wouldn't flatter a more modern home, while sleek black frames might not mesh with a country kitchen. Finally, think twice about using family photos for homemade photography gifts unless they are going to the matriarch or patriarch of a large family. Younger gift recipients will likely prefer something less "homespun", such as enhanced landscape or wildlife photos.

On that note, many homemade Christmas gift givers are taking advantage of the scrapbooking trend and creating paper masterpieces for those on their lists. Again, be careful as to whom you give anything so personal to. Younger gift recipients may not appreciate the value of such a sentimental gift or the hard work put into your creation. For appropriate recipients, be sure to select high quality images only (no clips or cutouts), to print or paste all page headlines (no handwriting), and to use substantial embellishments rather than cheaper stickers. Also, find book covers with a theme that match your gift recipient's personality. Scrapbooks can be purchased in everything from sports to glamour and fashion themes. Make your choices carefully.

One of the next biggest homemade gift giving trends lies in gift baskets. Be aware that a homemade gift basket is made more for presentation of purchased gifts, rather than to display homespun items. The key is in the content and the decorations. If you make the actual baskets yourself, great, but it not, be sure to purchase one that can be recycled for further use in the home when it is emptied. Fill the basket to the brim with specialty items of one particular theme, such as entertainment or the arts, rather than with items that represent the gift recipient's broad range of interests. Wrap the finished product in decorative cellophane with a tint of color or with prints that reflect the chosen theme, and be sure that all items within are glued securely in place. Don't go overboard with ribbons and bows. Doing so is a dead giveaway that your gift was made on your kitchen table. Keep it clean and professional looking.

While we have covered just a handful of the possibilities that lie within the world of homemade crafts, the tips above are relevant to any homespun gift giver. Make your wrapping a presentation rather than a technicality, use higher end products and tools, and make products that resemble the styles you could catch on stores shelves in order to keep your homemade Christmas gifts from looking "too homemade." With these key factors in mind, it'll be up to you to let your recipients know that their gifts were made with a loving hand.