DIY/Homemade Christmas gift ideas
 

I need help coming up with ideas for something to make for my parents. They insisted I don't buy them anything this year but if I wanted to, I could make something. All I can come up with is tie blankets and my parents have 8 million blankets around the house already so I don't know if they would get used.
I've googled and nothing really pops out at me.

Suggestions, anyone?

Thanks!

My boyfriend last year made a key holder for my parents...we went to a craft store and got one of those unfinished wooden plaque things (http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/p...PRODID=prd6020 in case you can't read my mind :p) and painted it. He glued letters on it to spell my last name, then drilled little holes and put little hooks in it. It was a really nice gift that was a bit different!

Making some sort of food would probably be appreciated, too! Good luck!

I used to make beaded jewelry and (tried to) sell them, but stopped because I was only losing money. However, I developed the skills and have the tools to make stuff whenever I want. I hadn't made anything in the past few years, and my sisters actually have been bugging me for more jewelry.

So this year I'm making the gifts for all the women in my family - 11 just for siblings/moms/inlaws.

You can get the tools cheap and go to Michaels or a bead shop for cheap inventory. This year, I am using chain and crystals. All i need are needle-nose pliers and the materials.

Some bead shops have space and tools for you to use. That's how I learned!

My mom got into -- and out of -- jewelry making for the exact same reasons you gave. Now she just makes them as gifts, too.

What was that awesome blog that somebody mentioned in another thread that had the recipe for hot chocolate on a stick? That blog or website had a TON of awesome gift ideas that you could make! They were easy/simple/cheap, but looked really nice!

That's actually very easy to make. All you do is get attractive spoons that you want to give out (wally world or target or even the dollar tree), cellophane wrapping, ribbon, and get some melting chocolate or you can use Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares. You can add flavoring if you desire like Adams Vanilla or McCormick's peppermint or rum flavoring or some creme de menthe.

Then all you do is to melt the chocolate (use a double boiler or use a pot for the bottom with the water and use a bowl for the top of the double boiler part) and add like 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the flavoring to the chocolate.

When melted, (don't boil to lava like heat--produces a gooey and NASTY smelling substance--think of burnt popcorn) and dip the spoons in the mixture. Dip the spoon several times, only to the top portion of the spoon and the handle. Let dry on a dry rack or just get a piece of styrofoam and stand the sucker up. When dry, get a piece of cellophane, wrap the spoon up in it, tie off with a piece of curling ribbon. Put in with a cup and a packet of cocoa and wrap the entire sucker up for the present.

You can do it with plastic spoons, just don't get the chocolate lava burning hot--or it will be a melted mess (just think, Wizard of Oz).

It's not a hard thing to do and does make loverly gift!

My brother's mother-in-law made me some crystal beaded wine tags using this talent.

Are your parents good about scrapbooking? If not, organizing some family photos would be a nice gift. You could pick a theme like Christmas.

I was going to suggest photos, as well. You could scrapbook them or just frame them nicely, depending on their style.

It was giverslog.com

Update on the hot chocolate on a stick, because I just made a ton of them to be part of hostess gifts:
Do yourself a favor, go to Michael's and get candy molds. Ice cube trays look weird, and they're really hard to remove from shot glasses.
Use candy canes as sticks (peppermint or otherwise, if you've flavored the chocolate).
My makeshift double boiler (small frying pan over a 1-qt saucepan) worked better than my actual double boiler to temper the chocolate.

Here is an article I wrote about simple homemade Christmas gifts. The focus is women, but you might find something there to get your creative juices going! :)

Just an FYI for those who are good at beading: I was about to buy these as a hostess gift from a reasonably priced store (read: not someplace like Williams-Sonoma) and they were $19 for four wine tags. If you can use your beading to make these, then you're looking quite pretty at a great price!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! :)

Going to some craft stores in a little bit to see what I can come up with from the ideas posted on here but if anyone has any more, feel free to keep posting!!!!!

I also decided to make all of my family members homemade Christmas tree ornaments for a little stocking stuffer kind of thing :D

If you haven't already gone to the craft store yet, check out these ideas from Real Simple. Some of them are pretty cute!
http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-e...318/index.html