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I can’t believe that Christmas is already appearing in Charlotte. I feel like decorating before Thanksgiving is too early, but I will admit that I’ve been thinking about Christmas gifts. I want to make handmade presents this year and there are so many great ideas. Of course, with the creation of Pinterest, my ability to choose just one has gotten even harder.

For one thing, I love putting baskets together and Pinterest has so many creative hampers. There was a chocolate lover’s basket, a pasta hamper, and even a pedicure kit that said “for your mistletoes.” How adorable is that? I foolishly didn’t save that pin, but I did find a great manicure kit (as pictured above). While hampers aren’t entirely handmade gifts, I love the creativity and thought that goes into them and the possibilities are endless!

Another option is a personalized hot chocolate kit. What I loved about the ideas on Pinterest were the personalized mugs. Depending on the pin, there are different instructions. The idea is to buy a plain cup and decorate it with a sharpie. When you’re finished, bake at 150 for 30 minutes and the design becomes permanent. Some sites say 150, others say 350, but the thirty minute rule has stayed the same. Combined with a mason jar filled with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and chocolate chips, the personalized mugs make for the perfect handmade gift.

Along the same lines as the personalized mugs, you can also decorate a plate and pile it with cookies or cupcakes. Some of my personal gift-giving favourites include eggnog cupcakes, peppermint chocolate cupcakes, muffins, and whoopie pies (particularly pumpkin). I’m a big holiday baker and I loved to share my seasonally inspired recipes with those I love.

I also like the idea of making Christmas ornaments. You can buy a glass bauble from Michaels and fill it with something personal to the recipient. One of my favourite pins had an ornament filled with sand and shells from Myrtle Beach. Other baubles were filled with family pictures and strips of wedding invitations. Salt dough makes for another great ornament maker, particularly if you want to make an imprint of a child’s hands. Honestly, if I didn’t think it would scare Alice, I’d try to get a paw print.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to handmade gifts. I haven’t even listed all of the ideas I found and I know it will be impossible for me to choose in the end. To prove my point, I was distracted by new pins as I was finding my favourites for this blog. Although, I am easily distracted when it comes to Pinterest, but then again, aren’t we all?

If you are looking for more Holiday inspired ideas, feel free to follow me on Pinterest. I’m quite obsessed with pinning and have a lot of holiday pins posted.

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