I read a rather frightening post online tonight about Christmas Consumerism and how our spending is completely out of control! Guilty!

Don’t get me wrong…I don’t spend LAVISHLY on my family and friends…but I most defininitely OVERspend each year. I always have in mind what I want to spend for gifts, food, decorations, etc….and it never fails but that I always go over!

This year I am TRYING to do things a little differently.  My daughter and I were talking on the phone recently about how stressful and expensive Christmas is and decided to make this year a  “handmade” Christmas…at least for the most part. With 12 and 16 year old boys still at home…this isn’t going to fly completely. I will have to make a few concessions in the form of video games, etc.  But, like I said, for the most part, this is what we are going to try and do.

And taking it one step further….we have decided that “doing” something for someone in the family is as much a gift (if not more!) than something wrapped up in paper with a pretty bow. So some of our gifts are going to be gifts of time/effort/SWEAT! :-)  For example…I REALLY want to do a makeover on our “builders special” mirrors in our bathrooms like this one at InMyOwnStyle.com or this one at TheHouseofSmiths.com   I just think it makes SUCH a difference and is a fairly easy do-it-yourself project with a lot of “bang for the buck”.  So that is what I am asking “Santa” for this year. If I get it….it could possibly be one of the most fantastic Christmas presents I’ve ever received. :-)

I’ve titled this post Simple Handmade Gifts – Part One….because I have SO many of these I want to share…but feel like posting them all at once would be a bit much. So, since I know there are at least a few more such posts I will be making….I’m calling this Part One.  Don’t worry…this is not going to be a day after day after day thing.  Just when the mood strikes me. :-)

So here are the first 6 offerings for your gift-giving inspiration. I didn’t want to “label” any of them as “Teacher Gifts” or “Neighbor Gifts”, etc….but any of them would be great for those and all sorts of other people on your list and in your life.

DIY: monogram mugs
at
DesignMom.com

What I like:
Anything monogrammed I think is fun and shows a personal touch.  I’m also partial to mugs…especially WHITE mugs. :-)  I love the font she’s used here for the letters….but you could use whatever strikes your fancy.

A couple others fonts I thought of that would be cute:

cereal box notepads
at
InfarrantlyCreative.net

What I like:
Two words come to mind…..FUN and COLORFUL!  But beyond that there are some GREAT possibilities with this one. First of all it’s a great tutorial on how to MAKE a notepad…and with that knowledge you can take this idea in a lot of different directions. You could make the notepads and go a completely different direction for the covers.

Or you could lose the covers altogether and just make the notepads.
How about a custom notepad for teachers like the one here at GoodLookCookbook.com??

glass tile pendants
by
TheIdeaRoom.net

This blog is quickly becoming one of my favs for DIY ideas! She’s got a MILLION (well it seems like a million anyway) of them! I guess her blog name is rather appropriate.

What I Like:
These are so quick, easy and inexpensive to make…you could make them with abandon and not feel bad about giving gifts to everyone you know! :-)
Actually, I think this would be an ideal gift for girls to give to their friends. I remember as a girl making long lists of all my friends I needed to get Christmas presents for…and of course my Mom telling me that was preposterous. lol.  It usually ended up being a lip gloss or a chocolate bar or something….but something like this would have been COOL!  Once again, there are endless possibilities for changing up the look and even personalizing it for each giftee.

monogrammed hand sanitizer/soap bottles
at
TheIdeaRoom.net

What I Like:
This is one of the first DIY gift ideas I ever pinned on Pinterest…and I like it as much today as I did then!

Christmas {anytime} soap wrapper
at
fun.kyti.me

What I Like:
This one is a little different…but that’s what I like about it. :-)

A lovely homemade bar of soap (or a pretty bar from the store) is a great gift all by itself…but wrap it up in these cute wrappers and you have something special!

These bars are dressed up for Christmas…but there are also some that are just pretty wrappers…perfect for any gifting occasion.  Bonus: they are free to download and print!

fabric covered notebooks
at
BetweenTheLines.blogspot.com

What I like:
Inexpensive –  as in CHEAP! :-)
Broad appeal – Depending on the type of material you choose….these handy little notebooks could be well utilized by just about anyone!  Male, female, young, old, etc etc.
Multiple uses – journaling, doodling, note-taking, planning, etc.

I’m definitely going to make some of these (and set aside at least a couple for myself.)

And that’s enough for today….don’t want to send you into INSPIRATION OVERLOAD!  It’s only December 5th!  We’ve got PLENTY of time to do that! ;-)

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