Homemade Gift Suggestions With Some Directions

I love Christmas. I love to personally make the gifts I give. The best Christmas I ever had was a few years a go, we had no money. We were forced to make our gifts and the rewards were enormous. I can't describe the  feeling that I got from making each gift with the receiver in mind while making it. There truly is a feeling of the true meaning of Christmas when we are not so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of shopping. I wanted to share some of the things that we made as gifts that year and since.

Rice or wheat bags.

These are made from men's tube socks. Fill the sock about 3/4 full with either rice or wheat. I took rope and cut it into pieces about 10 inches length.I folded the ends of the tube socks and  I sewed  the tube socks to make a loop to put the rope through. I pulled the rope through it and knotted. I made a little cover for the center of the tube sock to match the Quillows that I made. These are great. They can be heated in the microwave for 2 minutes and they stay heated for a long time giving heat relief to aching necks or anywhere else. I printed out a little card with the directions on it.  The one in the photograph is one I made about 15 years ago and I still use it.

Quillow

I made quillows to match the rice pack. This was so easy with very little sewing. Purchase about 6 yards of material -  fleece or whatever you like. The only sewing  required is the pocket.

Gifts in a jar

These are great and everyone loves them. So many families do not get home baked goods anymore. I have tons of recipes for these. I just add a fancy piece of material on the top and some raffia to the jar...

Journal in a jar

These are great for everyone. Make little pieces of paper with questions or subjects written on them. Put in jar and decorate jar with pretty material on the lid with raffia or lace. Add  a journal or notebook. Each day the receiver pulls out a paper from the jar and writes on that question or subject. This is great to give to grandparents so the legacy and memories will be preserved.

Family History

My daughter made each family a family history book.It was a great hit. She went back as far as the 1500. She even had info like where they served in the civil war and what their title was. Some has eye color or hair color..etc. Great info. Now we know where that red hair comes from.It is so nice to put a face to the name.

We did other things as gifts also.  This is just a sample. I will be posting more in the next few days.