One of the best parts of having hobbies is the skills collected along the way. Skills learned from hobbies are a great way to get into making homemade holiday presents that are actually cool and can save a lot of money.
I am sure a lot of people have heard of the idea of overconsumption in the news/online, but also in general the economy is busted. Everything is so expensive and it is hard to ethically consume from a lot of stores without feeling like you are feeding into the issues in corporate America.
Not everyone is able to avoid buying from big box stores since they are more cheap than a lot of local places traditionally. But another great option to try to reduce going to those stores is to make homemade presents! They may not be as glamourous as some gifts, but why does the holiday season have to be about glamour? If you have time, try making a homemade present! You may love it and it can even be a fun hobby throughout the year.
Ideas
I have compiled some ideas based on hobbies/skills that can help you find a homemade present idea. This is not a comprehensive list, but it definitely can get you thinking!
If you like to plan events/moments:
- Make a homemade Bar Crawl with a map to print out! This can be a great idea for friends or you can even customize it to your family.
- Make a “possibilities” book for the following year – look up events happening in the upcoming year, and come up with ideas to go with those events. A lot of people enjoy to go to events, but sometimes the planning makes them not do it since they don’t have time/or don’t enjoy planning events. They don’t have to do these items – but it gives them a jumping off point for dates/hang-outs.
- If you have a friend who wants to go on a vacation but doesn’t like planning – come up with 3 vacation ideas for them and plan them out a bit. Find good hotel options for difference price points in these locations, find good food in the area.
If you like knitting/crocheting/sewing:
- Make homemade dog/cat toys for the animal lovers in your life
- Make pieces of winter clothes (gloves, hats, mittens, scoodies, etc)
- Make fabric coasters
If you have tools/skills in woodworking :
- Cribbage board
- Carve utensils (spoons, chopsticks, etc)
- Picture frames
If you like crafting:
- Make homemade exfoliates
- Make homemade decorations (for the holidays or otherwise)
- Homemade candles
If you like food preservations/baking:
- Make your own own gift basket with preserved food
- Bake cookies/bread
- Homemade jam, apple butter, etc.
If you like gardening:
- Propagate your indoor plants
- Grow herbs for indoor use
- Save seeds and make a “garden starter-pack”
If you like art:
- Find a glass product at a local resale shop (salvation army, goodwill, etc.) and get some glass paint from a craft store and make your own custom glassware
- Draw/paint/general artwork
- Hand building clay pottery
Examples from Steph and sammy
This year for our friends secret santa, our theme was “In this economy?” and truthfully it may lead into homemade presents every year now. Not only is it fun to craft, but it is awesome to have an item made by someone you love, that was made with love and has some character to it.
My secret santa gift was a homemade cribbage board! Is it perfect? No! Is it completely functional and fun? Hell yeah!
Sammy’s secret santa gift was a hand-painted replication of “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh. He is annoyingly good at painting and honestly it looks so good.
SNTD hopes you have a great holiday season!
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