handmade holiday gift exchange & a giveaway
our home is so very different this year than last. the stockings have yet to be hung & i still have a few gifts hidden in the closet to be wrapped. our home is not perfectly festive this year with everything complete weeks ahead of time, but we’re sharing it with others. our home is open to parties, knitting groups & dinners this year. our table is decorated with delicious foods & is just the right spot for good conversation. we’re celebrating among friends & family & it feels wonderful.
last night i hosted a handmade holiday gift swap with a small group of crafty friends. we knitted together while sipping on red wine & cocoa. laughter, knitting & drinks really are the perfect combination for a festive night. we exchanged gifts & i received such a beautiful hand knit head wrap from a dear friend. i had so much fun creating a little goodie bag full of homemade potions & lotions. i wish i would have taken a photo, but inside included a glass jar of homegrown herbal tea, my favorite homemade lip balm, homegrown lavender milk bath salts, a tin of hand salve & a pretty thrifted mug.
i still have a few tins of lavender hand salves from my merry making this week. in the spirt of this giving season, i would love to gift one to you. please leave a comment sharing your favorite handmade gift idea & your email address. a winner will be chosen this friday at 8 a.m. & announced on my blog.
happy winning, friends!
love,
natalie
Erin | 19th Dec 12
What a beautiful wrap! I'm very curious about that edging stitch and must learn it ASAP! This year I am making as many gifts as I can and my favorite is Daniel's grandmother's quilt. It is giving me fits in the quilting phase and my machine is making me very nervous but I can't wait to ship it off to her!
Jenna | 19th Dec 12
I love your stamped bags. This year we are giving seeds that we collected from our garden. I've made little upcycled envelopes and am getting the boys to decorate them. I hope my husband will finish them off with his beautiful calligraphy. Happy Holidays!!
Kelton | 20th Dec 12
that head wrap is so lovely. the colors make it so unique. this year, i am making clay earrings in the shape of tiny vegetables. my favorite pairs are the eggplants and avocados. i was inspired by the missoula farmers market this summer! and i just bought yarn to start knitting a blanket. happy holidays, your house still sounds quite festive!
trinity8419 | 20th Dec 12
Handmade gifts are favorites in our family! This year I'm giving pairs of crocheted potholders & a dishcloth, instant chai tea mix, glazed pecans, beef jerky for my son the deer hunter, & beaded multi-strand bracelets with little charms on them for the girls. I really enjoy doing this & thinking about the person I'm making individual items for.
I'm going to have to teach myself how to knit for next year!
Warm holiday wishes to you & everyone 😉
Anonymous | 20th Dec 12
I love handmade gifts! This year, we're giving a few friends a copy of our printed ebook, which, while not hand-printed or -bound, was a DIY project from start to finish and one that holds our story and our hearts. I feel a little like I'm giving part of myself when we give it away, another sign it's handmade and heartfelt. : )
shanna | 20th Dec 12
I don't know why my last comment said Anonymous! Whoops! The last one was me.
Sherrie | 20th Dec 12
Oh, lovely wrap! Handmade gift exchanges are so special. My favourite gift that I've made this year is a beeswax wood polish. I'm wrapping it prettily with a cutting board made by a local woodoworker and giving it to some great friends who love to cook.
Erin | 20th Dec 12
I hadn't thought about collecting seeds from our garden to give! We always have so many more than we can use ourselves and I never know what to do with them. What a great idea!
Gail | 20th Dec 12
Sounds like you had a lovely time! I love creating gifts to give….lots of them are knitted and my favorite thing to knit for gifts is mittens!
Merry Christmas from Kansas! Gail
Liz / Tangible Ingredients | 20th Dec 12
This space is always such an inspiration to me. I have 4 year old twin siblings and they always get so many toys, I wanted to do something different. They love watching videos so this year I made them a stop motion video. They haven't seen it yet, but if you want to take a peek, it's at
🙂 We also have been dehydrating the pounds and pounds of tomatoes from the garden this summer and are packaging them up nicely.
Rochelle | 20th Dec 12
I love knitting someone a scarf or a hat, something to keep them warm when I'm not around.
Unknown | 20th Dec 12
I personally like Fresh Baked Bread as a gift. Rosemary preferably but Fresh is Fresh.
arthur@bandwagonmerch.com
heather | 20th Dec 12
I'm a fan of homemade treats. This year I made jars of homemade magic shell and the boys are helping me with cookies today. Love your photography and love your blog. It sure brings you closer to me in the NW! <3
Emily | 20th Dec 12
I just made these for my bestest friends! I love them! And I want to win your homemade goodie! I love you and miss you!
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/accessory/crocodile-stitch-boots-adult-sizes/8267
Daniela B. | 20th Dec 12
I will usually give home-made cookies for Christmas with a jar of home-made jam or apple sauce.I usually bake cookies in christmas/winter shapes and put them in a nice cardboard box with a festive napkin inside.This was also the firt Christmas gift I gave to my boyfriend (now my husband) when we were dating together: home-made cookies in a star shape with a new mug for his Christmas breakfast 🙂
Junque Rethunque | 20th Dec 12
I haven't made any gifts this year, but I'm giving a lovely thrifted treasure, alternative gifts for the out-of-towners (Feed Fayetteville, Music Roots Program in Mtn. Home and Humane Society of the Ozarks!), and some store-bought things that meet needs as well as wants.
I love the handmade swap idea – may have to do that next year. 🙂
Junque Rethunque | 20th Dec 12
I didn't follow instructions… my favorite handmade gift idea is anything made by hands from people I love. But I especially love the knitted goodies and jewelry from my sweet sister. I think you have my email… 😉
Unknown | 20th Dec 12
Oh, you! The pics and your words are so lovely. My fav handmade item is a knitted hat that I learned to make at Handheld on Block Street. I don't have a gamut of crafty projects, but I just LOVE to learn new ones!
Anonymous | 21st Dec 12
I actually am making prayer flags for my daughter for Christmas and I hope to make more for Froends next year. I would love to try making some body care products next year. Morgan
Mjluvsjc AT gmail.com
Rachel | 21st Dec 12
Everything is so lovely! These are the kinds of gifts everyone should strive for this holiday season!
Lindsay | 21st Dec 12
My favorite handmade gift is anything knitted. This Christmas I knitted the Burton Bear Cowl (google it–so cute!) for my daughter and niece. It's nice to give something made by hand. Merry Christmas, Natalie!
abby | 21st Dec 12
Sweet gifts, Natalie! A handmade gift swap sounds perfect. I love to make little jars of homemade treats, like roasted nuts with herbs and spices, and granola (and I have found that people seem to appreciate the break from so many sweet-heavy treats!) – and also I love to do a little bit of simple sewing – like small pouches, pillow covers, and herbal sachets. I have been trying to encourage my family to shift into all handmade gifts at Christmas… but we have a little ways to go 😉