If your mom is anything like mine, she has a box at the back of her closet full of old homemade cards and handmade gifts from art classes and crafting sessions throughout the years. While mothers always seem to appreciate the labors of do-it-yourself love, heinous spelling errors and major manufacturing flaws included, other friends and family might not be as keen to receive your latest attempts at knitting or canning or other DIY projects, especially once your years of childhood cuteness have worn away.
The idea of homemade holiday gifts sounds great in theory and often look great on Pinterest, but the often flawed execution and failed follow through makes successful do-it-yourself holiday gifting tricky to navigate. If you take the time to carefully consider and construct your homemade gifting, however, you may find that both your bank account and your gift recipients can benefit from a happy and prosperous holiday season.
Here are some guidelines to consider as you begin piecing together your DIY gift ideas:
1. Ask yourself if you would like to receive it. One of my best guidelines for assessing the value and appropriate nature of a gift is considering what my response would be if I were on the receiving end of it. For example, when I Google DIY gifts, a lot of results pop up that seem super cute, like a phone case made out of a tie. But when I think about receiving those gifts, they just seem like more impractical things I’ll have to find a place to store until I no longer feel guilty about throwing them away.
2. Reduce redundancies. If you’ve been a long time holiday gift DIYer, consider your past patterns of giving before starting construction on this years’ presents. There are only so many candleholders, picture frames and coasters one person needs, regardless of how nicely you’ve decorated them.
3. Consider consumables. Notable exceptions to the redundancy rule include consumable gifts. If you know your coworkers look forward to the homemade truffles you bring into the office each December, or your dad is itching for a batch of your signature brownies, go ahead and give the people what they want. Homemade consumables from jams to baked goods to beef jerky can make for delicious, practical and budget-friendly gifts.
4. Thoughtfulness matters. Don’t confuse handmade gifts for thoughtfulness. Just because you make it yourself doesn’t mean you should fail to consider how your gift will suit the needs and interests of your gift recipient. For example, that homemade beef jerky isn’t going to come across as particularly thoughtful when your vegetarian cousin opens it.
5. Fulfill a need. One of the best ways to practice thoughtfulness is by fulfilling a need. For instance, if your giftee just moved from a warm weather climate to a cool winter location, homemade winter wear would be quite apropos. Or if your gift recipient is in the midst of a new diet plan, he or she might benefit greatly from some homemade healthy sauces or marinades to flavor their meats and veggies.
6. Use your skills. Before committing to knitting a new hat or cobbling together some healthy dishes, however, consider your skill set. If you’re not great in the kitchen, maybe forgo the canning and baking and use the skills you do have to give something you’re more apt produce well. For example, if you’re good at programming, you might be able to set up a basic website for someone. If you’re musically inclined, you can offer an introductory lesson or two. If you’re good at fixing things, maybe you can gift your services to help friends and family around their homes.
7. Consider the costs. Do-it-yourself gift giving doesn’t always translate to budget friendly or time-efficient. Consider all the costs of the DIY approach before settling on any project. In some cases, you may find that buying through a major retailer or small business can get you a better deal on a higher quality product with much less time and effort required. If you want to steer clear of the big box stores altogether, try using sites like Etsy and Fiverr that allow you to combine expert production with homemade flair to provide a DIY feel without the “Pinterest fail” potential.
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7 Tips for DIY Gifts originally appeared on usnews.com
