BellaOnline Forums Family Adolescence Home made Christmas gifts

When my kids were teens I loved showing them ways to make home-made gifts for special occasions. It is tradition in our home that at least one gift to each other is homemade. Be it home made biscuits, cakes or home made sweets. We have made Hand and Body scrubs, we have also entered the world of home made candles.
Please post suggestions so that teens can begin to think how to spent their time making gifts for family and friends. I will post a new recipe for simple teenage gift making in the run up to Christmas.

One of the key elements with home made presents is the presentation. I spend all year collecting jars, tins and boxes. I up cycle what ever containers I can. Mustard, mayonnaise and jam jars turn into lovely containers for scrubs or homemade sauces. Cans transform into candle holders, tins hold hand made sweets, biscuits or cakes. Encourage teens to collect all sorts of bits and pieces so that they can re-use to hold the gifts they make. Creativity is omnipresent, all around us, we just have to make mental notes. It is OK to give presents plainly wrapped on the other hand I don't believe in over the top!

A snow globe is a simple gift to make. A few household objects can be turned into a lovely looking Christmas gift which can be bought out year after year.

A glass jar (an olive jar jam pot or baby food jars are ideal)
An assortment of Christmas figurines made of either plastic or ceramic.
Use distilled water, add some glitter and ensure you add glycerine
which can be purchased from chemists or the cake department of supermarkets.
Oil based paint to add detail to the jar. If teens are going to paint some of the jars with snow or mountain scenes ensure the paint if fully dry before adding the water etc
Glue the figurine to the lid ensuring you use the correct type of glue.
Fill the jar with water glycerine and glitter.
Ensure the lid is firmly fixed, adding glue to the lid to ensure it is firmly fixed to the jar.
A whole collection of snow globes can be made using different types of jars.
Ensure care is taken when handling glue or paint. Let the creativity run wild, when you are happy with your design have fun wrapping the snow globe.

Home made Mincemeat is a simple but loving gift to make for friends or family.

I have been using this recipe since the kids have been tiny but if you have never made Christmas Mince meat you can start your own tradition. Recipes can change to suit tastes so experiment with the basic recipe. I loved cooking with the teens it encouraged good living skills but they were never aware of the life skills we just enjoyed spending time together.

Begin by gathering some jars, washing well then placing in a warmed oven to cleanse. This recipe fills around six jam jars.
In a large bowl add the following. 350g raisins, 250g of each of the following; currants, sultanas, shredded suet and candid mixed peel.
Core and cut small 450g of Bramley apple, the apple can be left unpeeled, add 350g brown sugar. Then add the grated rind and juice of two oranges and two lemons.
Mix well together then mix again.
Now add the spice.
Four level teaspoons of mixed spice followed by half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a quarter of teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg.
Please read the amounts of ingredients carefully
Mix well again. Then mix again!
Cover with a clean tea-towel, leave in a cool place for twelve hours or leave overnight for all the Christmas flavours to mingle.
Cover bowl with foil, cook for three hours on a very low heat 110c check every now and again.
The mix will be swimming in fat that's ok it should look like this way, so over the next few hours as the mixture cools frequently stir until cold. Then an adult can add some brandy to taste.(Mix well again)
The brandy can be omitted, vegetarian suet can be used if gifting to non meat eaters.
Half the recipe if you wish.
Place in jars and cover with wax covers, add a hand made label and wrap creatively!

Hand made knitted presents are lovely, both to give and receive.
Some suggestions could include knitted bookmarks, knitted tea totes, mobile phone case or a mug hugger! Teens should be able to knit any one of the projects in an evening.

Knitting is once again coming back into the fold as a traditional hobby.

Encourage both the boys and girls teens to knit. Designing patterns is a science in it's self.
Larger projects can be taken on when the teens feel more able to follow a pattern and master new stitches.
Encourage the teens to choose their own patterns Start slow, small and colourful!
Wrap creatively!!

Encouraging teens to make some Christmas Presents enables them to connect with their creativity, think carefully about the prospective recipients hobbies, likes and dislikes and recognise the need to plan projects.
I encouraged my teens to think beyond the pound or dollar signs and tried to give the message that the though really does count.

Key tassels are really simple to make and cost next to nothing so are within most teens budget.

Teens will need to find a winding board- this can be made from really thick card, the winding board needs to be as long as the tassel, so when making a key tassel not that long!

Wind thread or wool around the board, remember key tassels are one of the smallest tassels to make so not too much yarn is required.
There are some lovely threads teens can really go to town on designing the colours of the tassels.
Now place a four inch piece of yarn on the table and then slide the yarn off the winding board onto the yarn, centre in the middle of the yarn. Place yarn in the middle of the looped threads, remember this yarn is going to hold the threads together knot securely.
Cut the threads and neaten down so in essence the four inch tie will be facing upwards and the cut threads facing down, you now have a simple tassel.
The next stage is to neat the neck of the tassel so
Fashion a loop at one end of a ten inch thread, with the other end wrap tightly around the neck of the tassel.
Carefully wind the thread around the tassel ensuring the threads are really close to one another.
When you come to the end of the thread place it through the loop, then carefully close the loop.
wrap any loose threads into the tassel.
Neaten any loose ends, if teens want to embellish with buttons, beads or bows great.
My teens knew I loved bells so they would place jingle bells on some of the tassels they made for me.
Encourage the kids to have fun designing the colours and threads they use.
I think tassels are lovely to make the different colours and threads really make each one individual.
Finally wrap and label.

Book of Promises.
Encouraging teens to make Winter Holiday gifts encourages them to become resourceful. One idea which costs very little is to make a book of promises.
Their creativity can really go wild when making this particular pressie.
At a very basic level a set of postcards tied together, with a message highlighting which promises they wish to honour wrapped in Christmas paper will suffice.
However the book can become really elaborate, embellished with beads, buttons or ribbons.
The book can be hand-written, or computer written.
Now for the promises', they have to be achievable, helpful to the recipient and most importantly honoured.
So if washing up the crockery is how the teens earn their pocket money it cannot be used in a promise book. However if they never clear the garage or wash the kitchen floor they can use those chores as a promise.
Of course some lovely promises could be added, a hand massage or painting nails are some ideas which could be included.
Promising helpful gifts are about learning to develop skills, it promotes the idea that the Christmas message should last all year. However most importantly a promise book promotes the idea that giving is money free, but rich in love. A Promise book is not just for Christmas but the whole year.
Of course the book can be wrapped to hide the surprises so feel free to think creatively!!!!!!

Please browse the boards at Bellaonline for ideas, making gifts at Christmas must be one of the most enjoyable aspects of this time of year.

Teens can get caught up in the hype around the latest gadgets and fashions.
Home made gifts brings everyone down to the real message of the Winter Holidays.