Handmade Christmas Gifts

I'm a big fan of giving and receiving handmade gifts for many reasons. I like gifts to be about a thought rather than the amount of money spent. I like holidays to be focused on things other than presents, pressure and items. I like to focus on experiences, words and thoughtfulness. The act of making handmade gifts is also a fun creative outlet for me and the boys. That said, here are the gifts we did this year;

Instead of doing our traditional cookie baking this year I decided to simplify and go with chocolate dipped pretzel rods covered in sprinkles. I got all of the stuff set up but the boys were able to do this mostly on their own with some supervision from me. They enjoyed making and eating these goodies and had such pride when they were able to give their teachers items that they themselves had made.

Every year we make a different ornament for our family members and close friends. This year we did these super simple birdseed ornaments that can be hung outside to feed the birds (or inside if you prefer). Eli was able to help me press this mixture down into the cookie cutters and poke in straws for the holes.

For the grandparents I always try to incorporate something that the boys are able to make. This year we did these note cubes. This was so quick and easy. I bought plain note cubes and let the boys color all over the sides with markers.

This Chocolate Peppermint Lip Gloss was super easy to mix up and smells quite festive.

I melted 1/4 c un-petroleum jelly and 1/4 c coconut oil in the microwave at 30 second intervels. Then stirred in 1 stevia packet, 1 tsp cocoa powder and 6 drops of peppermint oil until well mixed. Then I poured the mixture into these little lip gloss pots and let it sit for a few hours until it solidified.

These Curried Lentil and Wild Rice Soup Mixes are super easy to whip up and all the receiver has to do is add 7 cups of water and 25 minutes of cooking and dinner is served.

For these I layered 1/2 cup green lentils, 1/2 cup red lentils and 3/4 cup wild rice in a pint jar.  Then I mixed together 1 Tbsp sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 Tbsp curry powder, 2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp coriander and put in a small bag. I set the bag in the jar on top of the rice and attached a label instructing to rinse the rice and lentils in a strainer, then put them in a large pot with 7 cups of water and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender.

Two of my boys got these stuffed owls because they were obsessed with them when I made them for friends.

And the third boy got one of these monsters.

For more of my handmade gift ideas sort through my older posts by selecting the Gifts/ Holiday label in the sidebar.