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I LOVE Christmas and the holiday season so much. What I don’t love is the consumerism and pressure to go into debt proving to people how much you love them. I think one of the best forms of self care and love to yourself and family is to keep finances in order. In my opinion, homemade gifts are the best gifts! Of course store bought gifts are nice too and can be just as meaningful, but homemade gifts have that innate thoughtfulness and love behind them that encapsulates the whole holiday season
- Favorite treats
- Pick everyone’s favorite homemade treat and wrap them up cute. One year in college when I had absolutely no money for gifts, I bought cute Chinese to-go boxes (like these – I haven’t used these, but they’re similar to the ones I’ve bought before and recyclable!) and baked my chocolate chip cookies that were everyone’s favorite and another flavor they liked and wrapped them up cute! They were a hit!
- Most food will work great, but here are a few others I think would be fun!
- Pictures a few ways
- This is a great one especially for grandparents – framed, updated picture of your child. Better yet, pick a plain wooden frame and have your child paint it
- A favorite pic of you and your loved one/friend in a frame with a meaningful quote
- Each year for Christmas, I give the immediate grandparents a photo book of the past year with all their grandchildren. All the photo book companies (Chatbooks, Shutterfly , Snap Fish) typically have good sales to make affordable (or sometimes even free!) or you could completely go homemade which is great too!
- Pick a special occasion, trip, etc. and frame or make a photo book. My Dad made one for me when I was little from a daddy daughter trip and I still treasure it!
- Memory book a few ways
- Significant other- compile letters, emails, any memorabilia from your lives together (can include pics or not).
- Significant other – this is partially not homemade and should technically be on my other list, but you can do a book like this that outlines your love story from the beginning through the rest of your life. We like this one, but it is expensive, so I’ll put it in the other holiday guide as well!
- From Kids to Parents- each kid can give a pic to compile a book and share their favorite memory
- From Parents to Kids- compile pics throughout their lives of your fav memory and tell the story that went with each one and then a note to your child at the end telling them what they mean to you. Put it all in a book.
- Compliment Jar
- This is a jar full of compliments about the other person. In high school some of my close friends asked a bunch of people from school what they loved about me. They filled a large vase with little strips of paper and these compliments. It was one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve ever received! I’ve since done that for my parents (asked many of their friends, immediate, and extended family for what they love about them) and it meant the world to them and evoked happy tears.
- Another way I’ve done this is when I was a nanny, I took pics of each individual child and compiled a book of them with a note from each one about what they loved about their parents (similar to memory book above)
- 100 things I love about you jar
- Spinoff version of the compliment jar. Gave this to my husband when we were dating. He loved it!
- Another Spinoff of this is a journal. You pick a journal and write each day something you appreciated they did, something you love about them, happy memory, etc. I did this for abt 6 months for my husband, but any significant amount of time would be great!
- Fresh Potpourri
- Orange, cloves, cinnamon sticks that can be boiled with water on the stove to make the house smell amazing (recipe coming!)
- Use your talents! Do you paint, sew, sing, etc? There are so many meaningful gifts you can give with your talents! My Nana was a gifted artist and anytime she asked what we wanted for birthdays or Christmas, we’d say paintings or anything homemade. We have precious paintings and beautiful pottery from her that are even more precious now she has passed away
- Pottery
- Paintings
- Drawings
- Cross stitch
- Cooking
- My mom really dislikes to cook and loves it when I, for a holiday or birthday make freezer meals and/or snacks for her to keep in her freezer.
- Sewing
- Homemade baby blankets, clothes, matching aprons, etc. are some of our favorite things
- Family history
- My mother in law and grandma have both given us compilations of our ancestors and their stories. We love reading and learning about them!
- Your personal history
- This one is for parents and grandparents. You can easily write your own or use a template or book like this one. This is the exact one my nana used (and this year is the anniversary edition) this is a cheaper one. I haven’t seen inside, but would assume it’s the same. She included pics throughout in the spaces provided and it is one of my favorite things. It ended with a sweet note to me that meant the world!
- Recipe book with stories (or without). My grandma gave us one full of sweet stories and I loved it! My mother in law and other grandma also gave me recipe books! We’ve loved each one of them. To keep this inexpensive, you could even do each one as a PDF and make it completely free.
- Homemade christmas ornaments – this is another one one of our grandmas does that we love. It’s also a sweet way to include loved ones that have passed away and let them know you remember. She always includes some for our two children in heaven
- Homemade body scrub. I haven’t tried this recipe, but here’s one that looks good!
- Bath soak- another recipe I haven’t tried, but this one looks good! I’d recommend buying organic dried flowers to avoid the chemicals!
Wishing you a joy-filled holiday focused on the things that matter most!
Roasted Veggies on Cauliflower Pitas with Avocado Crema