homemade Christmas gifts

This Christmas we were on a much tighter budget than ever before. With so many family members to buy gifts for-- 23 to be exact-- I decided to get crafty. This year each family member received two presents: one homemade gift and one that was store bought. (Our nieces and nephews were the exception to this rule; what kid wants a homemade gift?!) I thought I'd share my homemade gifts with you to encourage you to do the same one day. Crafting made the gift giving more special to me this year than ever before. And the late nights spent crafting after Luke had gone to bed, though very tiring, were a labor of love.

all of the Grandma's got one of these

I bought a 3-pack of 5x7 canvases at Michaels and some acrylic paint to create the little feet Christmas trees. The little stands were purchased at Michael's with 40% off coupons. 

All of the women also received a homemade yarn wreath.

I bought the yarn, decorative picks and felt to make the flowers at Michael's when they were on sale. I used the Michael's weekly 40% off coupon to purchase the six styrofoam wreath forms.

 My mom and mother-in-law got the red & green Christmas wreaths.

My sister-in-law Kelly received the teal & green wreath.

And for my sisters-in-law Sarah and Ali I made purple and white wreaths.

All of the men in the family got yummy popcorn in these cool paint tins.

Like every other craft supply I used, these were purchased at Michael's with 40% off coupons-- one every week until I had all six that I needed.

I also put the recipe for each variety of popcorn on these fun recipe cards (Michael's $1 bin).

 

I made photo canvases to showcase recent family photos.

I bought the canvases from Michael's with my weekly 40% off coupon and printed the 8x10 photos from Sam's Club. Add a little Mod Podge and you have a great, affordable gift! 

I should mention that making Christmas gifts is much more tedious and time consuming than just spending a day shopping at the mall. I started shopping for my materials the first week of October so that I could get every single item on sale or with a weekly coupon. Since we don't have a Michael's in our town it meant coordinating my Michael's errands with my grocery shopping days. It took a little extra planning, but the savings I received were well worth my time and effort!

Would I do homemade gifts again in the future? Absolutely. I loved the experience and even more than the gratification of the finished products was the joy that came from seeing family members open a gift that they really enjoyed. I'm already planning next year's gifts! 

What about you? Did you do any homemade gifts this year?

Or were you the recipient of something homemade? 

If so, do share!