Being a student, on a limited loan that has to sort out food, rent, and basic necessities, it can be difficult to try and find the money for gifts. But some of my favourite Christmas gifts have been homemade: one year, my friend crocheted me a bag from scratch - she even made the pattern. This year I’ve been knitting a blanket for my girlfriend; it’s taken me two months to finish it completely, and I have put a lot more thought and effort into it than if I’d just bought something online. It adds a personal touch to Christmas gifts, which shows that you’ve really thought about the recipient, and can mean a lot more to someone than something off the rack.
The popularity of homemade gifts has risen significantly in recent years, especially as more attention has been brought to the waste that Christmas brings: brand new, unwanted gifts thrown out, misusing valuable material. Along with more people recycling Christmas wrapping paper, another suggestion has been homemade gifts. And, there’s so many ways to do this: knitting, crocheting or sewing is a favourite, along with making scrapbooks, writing letters, painting mugs or annotating books. Not only are you saving money, but you’re saving the environment too. What’s not to love?
Of course, not everyone is happy with crafted gifts. If someone is adamant about wanting something in particular, it might be worth it to save up and avoid checking your bank account for the whole of January. But in case one of your loved ones hasn’t mentioned anything in particular and you’re beginning to get worried about what to buy them, why not get creative? Despite the bias against homemade gifts, it’s far better to make them something crafted that they’ll keep forever than gamble on something that they’ll leave in a drawer, and forget about by next year.
