Tag: gifts

Homemade Gifts for the Holidays

~ Crystal Sands ~ 4 Comments

Every year during the holiday season, I see the memes on social media that focus on normalizing homemade gifts, and they make me hopeful. Truly, there is nothing better than a homemade gift, one that is made with love but is also useful in some way. I guess that’s a caveat I have about homemade for the holidays–usefulness goes a long way in my book. Of course, some things are just special even if they aren’t super useful, but if I can manage to make a special gift that is also useful in some way, I am most pleased.

With that in mind, I wanted to do a round-up of homemade gift ideas and instructions from the journal over the years. Whether you can eat it, wear it, or light a room with it, we have some great homemade gift ideas for this holiday season. I hope this list inspires you in some way to give a lovely, useful, homemade gift this year.

Just click on the blue title to be taken to the directions.

Easy Cranberry Bread

I have given this as a gift to rave reviews. It pairs perfectly with good salted butter, so I will buy some of the really good butter and put that with the bread in a cute little bag. It’s so good and such a treat warmed on a cold winter’s day.

The Best Homemade Cookie Box

You can substitute any cookies you like, but a box of well-made cookies with enough to share with others is such a special treat. I highly recommend those Starry Night cookies!

Beeswax Candles in Up-cycled Jars

What is better than the gift of light? These beeswax candles are easy to make and are so simple and good. They last for close to 40 hours, are unscented, and the beeswax is actually a bit of an air cleanser. You can add scent by adding some essential oil, but this recipe, as-is, uses some organic coconut oil, which gives the candles this very slight sweet smell.

Box of Fat Archie Cookies

This recipe is the most popular on the site, especially during this time of year. It gets thousands of hits, probably because these cookies are so comforting and cozy.

Old Maine Flag Quilt

This quilt is relatively simple to make and can be made in about a week with even a busy schedule. It’s a great idea for anyone in your life who loves Maine or that old Maine flag.

A Jar of Jam

Even if you don’t have fresh berries right now, you can use frozen, and jam on toast or fresh bread is such a special treat in the long winter–kind of this sweet reminder of the summer. You can also make Christmas jam, which I have not done yet but am about to try today.

A Sheet Music or Story Ornament

This one is one that is just sweet and meaningful. If you have special ornaments that have stayed with you throughout your life then you know how meaningful something like this can be. Whether you are using music your child wrote or a poem or story they wrote to make an ornament for grandparents, this is wonderful homemade gift to consider.

Homemade Vanilla in a Beautiful Bottle

You will have to plan ahead for this one, but if you make it now, the vanilla will be perfect for next year’s holiday season. Homemade vanilla is delicious and saves a lot of money. In a beautiful gift bottle, a bottle of homemade vanilla is the perfect gift for the baker in your life.

Other Ideas

This year, I am giving the gift of seeds from Ron’s garden and homemade hot chocolate, complete with vintage thrift store mugs and homemade marshmallows. Other ideas include a poem, a letter, a photo book, and if you know how to crochet or knit, well, you have all the power.

I would love to know if any of these ideas speak to you or if you have any homemade ideas you are willing to share with readers. What are you best homemade gift ideas?

photo credit: Sweta Meininger, Unsplash

For the Love of Mittens

~ Crystal Sands ~ Leave a comment

Day 165 of 365

I can’t believe I have been doing this project for 165 days. I often wish to write more than I have time to, but I am thankful I make at least some time to write each day. Plus, at least once a week, I can write a little more. I find that I am having lots more writing ideas than I used to. I still do not have time to write them, but the ideas are everywhere. I guess all of the writers I know who say to write every single day, no matter what, knew what they were talking about. My next step is to figure out more time to write. For now, I am proud to be writing these words tonight. 165 days is no small feat for me.

photo credit: Eli Pluma, Unsplash

Today was a good day. I did a book event for Farmer-ish at my favorite store in the world, Tiller & Rye in Brewer, Maine. It was slow but good overall, and the only bad thing about the whole day was that I found so many more things I wish to buy in that store because I love them so much. Handmade bowls, beautiful spices, locally made soaps–and mittens.

Oh, they have this giant bin of handmade in Maine mittens! Giant! And I think they are upcycled materials. I couldn’t get too close, or else I would have purchased too many mittens, You have no idea how much I love mittens for people I love, especially children. But all of my nieces and nephews live in Texas. They don’t really need mittens and I already bought mittens for the couple of children I know in Maine. But the mittens are magnificent. I wish to buy like ten pair of mittens and then give them as gifts to all of my friends. But I assume they do not necessarily need mittens. I am to an age where I do not have many young children in my life, so I don’t know of anyone who might really need some mittens. I assume not everyone loves mittens like I do. I asked my son, the teenager, if he would like mittens, and I can’t remember what he said exactly, but it was something clever that was equivalent to a verbal eye roll. So no mittens for him. Anyway, I’ll have to keep thinking about who I know who may be able to use some mittens.

As I think about it, I feel like, if you live in the north, you could surely use some mittens, right? Maybe people do love mittens as much as I do. I mean, remember Bernie’s mittens?

Today, in addition looking longingly at a giant bin of mittens out front where I was stationed at the store, when I went back to the office to talk to the manager, I discovered they have more bins in the back of beautiful handmade mittens. Oh, the colors and the fabrics and the uniqueness of each one because they are handmade. They were so beautiful there in the store, and it made me happy thinking about people coming in, buying mittens, leaving with warm hands. The winters can be so hard on my hands. Mittens help keep your bones warm.

Wait. I have a plan! I am writing this down to make myself do this. I am going to talk to Ron about spending some holiday money on buying a bunch of these handmade mittens. Then, I am going to call an organization in town that helps the homeless (I can’t remember the name, so I am going to have to look it up), and if they will take mittens for families in need, I’m going to donate those beautiful mittens. That would be an act of joy that would be helpful to someone, so it would be good for my soul and for others–at least their hands–but maybe also their bones–and maybe also their souls.