What have been some of your favorite gifts to make or put together?

I LOVE to wrap gifts! I think it’s because of my OCD. I stocked up big time this year on wrapping paper, ribbon, tape, new scissors, tags, etc : )
I like to wrap small stocking stuffers

It’s really hard for me to decide mine, because I’ve done a lot of great knitting project this year that have been quite enjoyable, but:

I just finished putting together a tea sampler for my mom that I’m really excited about. I knew she wanted something like that, so instead of just buying a pre-made one, I went to a nice store, and measured out a bunch of small bags of loose leaf teas that I knew she probably wouldn’t try on her own, then I took them home, peeled the labels off (with prices) off, and hand-wrote my own labels for them. Then, I went to the website and found each tea, copied and pasted the description of it into a word document, fancied it up, and printed it off. Then I put all that stuff in a cute little snowman tin. SO EXCITED!

A giant Barbie dollhouse for the girls. We were up for hours putting that mansion together.

I actually hate everything about gift-giving. I’m not good at coming up with gift ideas, I don’t like shopping, I can’t really make anything that would be a suitable gift, and I can’t wrap worth a damn. I usually just make someone else wrap gifts for me. Sometimes, I get something that doesn’t need to be wrapped or presented in any special way. That’s probably my favorite.

@Violet: I love wrapping stuff too! I even wrapped other family members gifts to each other tonight! I was done wrapping all of mine (that I’ve made yet) but I was still in a wrapping mood! But let’s say I did it to save them the trouble, it sounds nicer ;-)
@Kelly_Obrien: WOW! That’s a great answer! I never expected that one!

@La_chica_gomela I wrapped all of my bf’s gifts for him, and he even wanted me to wrap the gifts he bought for me! That is where I had to put my food down ; )

@Violet: LOL!!!

Soap! I love to make soap. :)

@avvooooooo Like with animal fat?

I used to make these little people out of beads that somewhat resembled the person I was giving it to. I would also make the miniture box that it went in. They were alot of fun to make and give.

Several years ago I spent many months making an elaborate jewelry box (more like a chest) for my lady. Exotic woods, inlays, elaborate joinery. A true labor of love.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land: Wow, that sounds amazing! Lurve to you!

Bikes and train tracks or car tracks.

I make picture slide shows every year and cd’s of music and home videos of me and the kids jamming. They are well received too!

I like to make fudge as Christmas gifts.

I like to spin Merino wool roving (fluff) into yarn and then knit or crochet or weave with that. It’s fun, and it adds an extra little bit to a gift.

I made my very sentimental husband a shadowbox full of mementos from our wedding this summer. I’m pretty sure he almost cried when he opened it.

:)

I like to give gifts that really mean something to the recipient.

I think the highlight of my gift-giving awesomeness was the time I found an almost 100 year old leatherbound book of Tennyson’s work. I marked the page on which “The Lady of Shalott” began with a piece of antique lace I had lying around, then wrapped the whole thing in a piece of red velvet, tied with a gold ribbon, in which I also tied a glass phial of ink and a homemade quill pen.

“The Lady of Shalott” was my best friend’s favourite poem.

WOW @Seek_Kolinahr! Amazing gift!

@Seek_Kolinahr You really have the touch. :^)

My homemade chocloate fudge and beef stew. my wife tells me they are both blue ribbon winners. sometimes, i make each to give as a gift. you would think receiving a food item would not be welcomed. apparently, my friends think otherwise. i am not bragging. i do think each of us has some special “feature” about themselves and mine is just making homemade chololate fudge and beef stew.. john

I’m currently taking a ceramics class in school, so I’ve made a few gifts out of clay this year. They’ve been a lot of fun to make, and I know that they’re 100% unique. I can design them to fit specific people perfectly, rather than having to go shopping and hope for the best. For example, I made a mug with with a shield with my stepdad’s gamer-name written on it, on top of crossed swords for his birthday in October, which fits some of his interests (he loves to play certain video games, mostly medieval games, and collects swords/knives) perfectly. He loved it and I loved making and giving it. :)

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. One favorite gift I love to craft together is ceramic tile drink coaster. I do not know the name of the tile but it is semi porous, 4in x 4in and tan to beige in color. I airbrush beach scenes, Orcas, tigers etc on them, then seal them in polyurathane and back them with cork.

I save my empty cigar boxes, and get some from my friends, sand and finish them. Then I line them with fabric like jewelry boxes or nick-nack boxes. Kids like them for treasure boxes.

I am enjoying this question so much!! Thanks for answering @everyone!!!

To those who love wrapping….here’s my address!!! 123 Sesame Street. I’ve spent the entire morning thinking about the fact that I need to wrap presents…and dreading it!

This isn’t so much home-made, but it is very personalized.

If you go to shutterfly.com, you can create a ‘book’ for someone. For example, for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary, we made a book with pictures of them when they were younger, us grandkids from babies to adults, and funny pictures that we photoshopped throughout the years that have my grandparents in them.

You can also have text, of course, so we wrote about how much we appreciate them, blah blah blah, and included inside jokes that they know about.

My grandmother still says it’s the best thing she’s ever gotten, and shows it to everyone who comes over.

How long has it been since I posted that about wrapping presents? About 5 hours? Well, I got one wrapped. Just now. Gimme a cookie.

when my little sister was about 10, we bought some pillar candles in different sizes and colors and got some thumb tacks (the metal ones) and put the thumb tacks into the candles in various patterns. some candles had random tacks and some had the tacks in patterns. they were very easy to make, nice to give as gifts (they look great on a mantle) and a good craft project for kids.

i also made reindeer ornaments with clothes pins one year (the kind of clothes pin that does not have a spring. the kind that is made from one piece of wood). they were easy and fun to make, and everyone loves them.

also everyone loves home made cookies packaged in nice tins. you can’t go wrong with that or you can put the cookies on a nice platter with some tangerines and chocolates wrapped in foil (like kisses) looking festive on the platter, scattered about.

I like to make Christmas wreaths, the real kind with real fir bows and other natural things found outside this time of year. They are not unlike fresh flowers and will dry up but its fun to make if only for a short while.

@Violet Like with glycerin.