Feeling overwhelmed this holiday season? Does your bank account seem emptier than usual? Are you shopping around just to find any gift idea you could possibly think of out of stock? Yeah…me too. The holidays can be wonderful, magical, and full of giving, quality time spent with loved ones, and lots of love and happiness. However, our attempt to find the perfect gift can just as easily take all that holiday cheer away and turn us into a not-so-loveable grinch. Maybe you are running low on money right now. Perhaps you just can’t place your finger on the perfect gift for your mom. Or, it could be that you simply hate shopping and like to show your love and appreciation in other ways. Luckily, Black Friday and Cyber Monday don’t have to be your golden ticket to holiday shopping – consider a homemade gift instead!
Creating a gift can be a great way to show thoughtfulness and care to the ones you love most. If this idea appeals to you and you aren’t sure where to start or don’t believe in your creative skills, that’s okay. Etsy and Pinterest are great places to not only support small businesses, but find ideas for personalized gifts to order from vendors and ideas for gifts you can create on your own. If you find an idea you love, but aren’t sure how to go about creating it, YouTube is a helpful resource that has easy-to-follow, realistic videos to help you get started. Below are a number of ideas you can use when planning a homemade gift for the ones you love.
A memory jar – you can either choose to decorate the jar and have them fill it up with special memories and mementos, or you can collect things over time and fill it for them.
https://smartpartyplanning.com/how-to-make-a-memory-jar/
A coupon book – you can fill it with things like a breakfast date, a hug, or a ride to the grocery store.
https://holidappy.com/gift-ideas/homemade-coupon-book-gift-idea
A personalized paint by numbers – you can order these in a number of places and use photographs of a memory or a picture of you and the person to paint together.
An exploding photo box – there are a variety of easy-to-follow YouTube videos that can help you plan and design these amazing gifts.
https://chaoticallyyours.com/explosion-box/
52 reasons I love you – grab a deck of cards and paint and decorate each one with a written reason for why you love the person you’re gifting this to.
https://www.instructables.com/52-Things-I-Love-About-You-Card/