‘A present you make is so much better than one you buy’: 10 brilliant homemade Christmas gift ideas
A friend once gave me a copy of The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright, a cult picture book about a doll who knits a scarf as a Christmas gift for Mr Bear because, she says, a present you make is so much better than one you buy. The sentiment is more relevant this year than ever – the thought is what counts, and 2020 will be the year of the homemade Christmas present.
When kept apart from family and loved ones, the surest way to show how much you care is to make a gift, however small. And it’s the perfect way to while away long winter evenings at home.
Here’s a selection of ideas from artists and designers to start you on your way, from a paper-plate basket easy enough for children to weave, to an old-school photo album. Just remember, though, that you need to plan ahead and make time – and don’t leave it to the last minute to get them in the post.
A paper-plate basket, by textile designer and weaver Maria Sigma
An easy, colourful project you could do with children.
Cut nine evenly spaced slits into a paper plate, starting at the edge, leaving a good-sized uncut area in the middle. Make room for the yarn by trimming the edges of each strip).
Using any scraps of wool you may have, tie an end of yarn around one of the strips. Wrap it around a few times, not too tightly, then weave around all the strips, over and under, a few times. Cut off and tie on the next colour of yarn; continue weaving around each strip, adding stripes of colour, until you run out of paper plate, by which time your plate will have formed a basket. Finally, cut off long tails and tuck them in.
Weave It! 15 Fun Weaving Projects For Kids, by Maria Sigma, is published by Schiffer at £21.99.
A hand-dyed wall hanging, by textile artist Maisie Utting
This simple, recycled wall-hanging can be left neutral, or decorated with embroidered initials, patterns or appliquéd shapes (try etsy.com).
You will need an old 100% cotton or linen pillowcase, onion skins (one red, one white), two small pans, a sewing machine or needle and thread, a length of dowel and string to hang it from.
Cut the pillowcase into two pieces, separating front and back. Then cut one of the pieces into two – lengthways or widthways – and soak these in water for at least an hour.
Simmer the onion skins separately for 40-60 minutes in the pans, half filled with water. Remove the skins, and add one of the smaller pieces of fabric to each. Simmer on low for an hour; leave overnight to cool.
Remove the fabric, rinse until the water runs clear, and leave to dry. Sew these together, then cut a rectangular piece of undyed pillowcase to form the back of the hanging, and sew together.
For full instructions, including how to construct the hanging, go to maisieutting.co.uk.
Knitted Christmas bunting, by knitwear and crochet designer Ruth Herring
Pleasingly retro bunting that can be used year after year. You’ll need nine balls of wool of any thickness and a selection of beads to decorate the tail ends. You will also need a pair of 4mm knitting needles, a 4mm crochet hook, and a darning needle. “It’s perfectly achievable for a beginner,” says Herring, who created a knitting pattern for JW Anderson’s patchwork cardigan that went viral on TikTok during lockdown after Harry Styles wore it. Download the bunting pattern at k1p1.com.
Photo album with prints and handwritten captions, by photographer Kellie French
You will need: a photo album or notebook (not too many pages, or you’ll struggle to close it once the photos are inside – try the handmade Indian papers); your favourite phone snapshots (order prints online or from high street print shops); coloured matt paper photo corners; a good brush pen.
French recommends choosing a theme – a year, an individual, a pet, or a special event. Choose well-lit shots, good bold colour and strong compositions. Order 10cm x 10cm vintage prints, to resemble Polaroids (from 50p per print at Snappy Snaps), and write captions – dates, names, locations and memories – for a personal touch.
Kokedama, or Japanese moss ball, by designer Michelle Mackintosh
A kokedama is a quirky, more thoughtful alternative to a houseplant as a gift. Water once a week (by soaking for 20 minutes) and it should last a couple of years.
You will need sphagnum moss – moss found on a garden lawn or walk will do, too – and bonsai soil mix (both from diy.com), twine, a small houseplant (ideally one that can tolerate dry indoor air, such as a succulent, a philodendron or an orchid) and three small bowls.
Mix half a cup of sphagnum moss and bonsai soil in a bowl, add a quarter cup of water, and form into a perfectly round soil ball.
Half fill a second bowl with water, and add a handful of moss. Swish it around until it plumps up. Cut two 40mm pieces of twine and place over a third bowl in a cross. Press a 2cm-3cm thickness of sphagnum moss into this bowl, as if lining it with pastry. Make sure there are no holes. Place your soil ball in the centre.
Take your plant out of its pot and shake off the soil until you can see the roots. Make a hole in the top of your soil ball and plant it, pressing the ball back into shape.
Gently lift the sides of the moss and press around the ball). When the moss covers the top of the ball, take one piece of twine and tie firmly at the top, next to the plant; do the same with the second piece of twine. Carefully lift everything out of the bowl and press in the wet sphagnum moss by cupping your hands, trying to make a circular shape. Unravel a long piece of twine, place the end of it at the top, and wind around the ball until tightly bound.
Sustainable Gifting, by Michelle Mackintosh is published by Hardie Grant at £12.99.
Macramé no-sew market bag, by knitwear designer Katie Jones
A great homemade, recycled alternative to a string bag that expands to fit your shopping.
Take an old T-shirt and cut off the sleeves. Cut a deep scoop around the neckline. Then cut off the hem and cut a fringe (strips 2cm apart, 14cm in length) along the bottom, cutting the front and back at the same time .
Turn the T-shirt round so it is on its side; about 5cm up from the fringe, make half a dozen short, 1cm cuts into the fabric about 3cm apart. Stop before you get to the armpits. Repeat this pattern until the whole T-shirt has cuts. This will give your bag a lattice effect for extra stretch.
Tie all the fringe strips from the front of the T-shirt to the back – this is the bottom of your bag.
For a full tutorial, go to katiejonesknit.co.uk
Compostable wreath, by Alys Fowler
If ever there was a year to show some cheer to the world beyond your door, it’s this one. And if you make your wreath from garden material, it can go straight on to the compost in January as an offering to the year ahead.
Take five or six young, pliable 5ft stems of weaving willow or dogwood, about the thickness of pencil. Willow is often abundant locally to forage, or try worldofwillow.co.uk.
Bend a single stem into a circle, overlapping and weaving both the ends in and out a few times – you can secure it with a piece of florist’s wire. Then one by one, wrap the other stems around it, weaving the ends in and out, twisting in the same direction. Tuck in any bits that stick out, and make a hook for your door using the wire.
Now gather suitable material to weave into the wreath: pine cones; fresh pine or conifer boughs; holly; ivy; cotoneaster; crab apples; and the strawberry-like fruit of the evergreen strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo. Dried seed heads of honesty, grasses, sedums, umbels, poppies or alliums work well; rosemary, sage, rose hips, bay, myrtle, chillies, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks are also good to use.
Make small bunches of foliage into a fan shape, taller pieces at the back, and attach to the wreath by winding the wire around. Repeat until the wreath is covered, covering the wire each time. Attach pine cones using wire, and poke in individual stems.
The joy of adding evergreens is that their leathery leaves mean they will take an age to wither, particularly if the wreath is hung outside.
Roll-on headache oil and homemade bath salts, by designer Michelle Mackintosh
For the headache oil
Pop the ball out of a used essential oil roll-on container (or buy new ones cheaply at etsy.com), and sterilise it as you would a jam jar: wash in hot soapy water, and rinse but don’t dry. Place on a baking tray in an oven heated to 160C/gas mark 3 for 10 minutes. Soak the ball in boiled water for a few minutes.
Mix 20 drops of peppermint oil (for relieving stress and easing headaches) with two drops of camomile oil (which promotes sleep and reduces anxiety) and two of lavender oil (for calming and easing tension), and top up with coconut oil (try nealsyardremedies.com).
Place an attractive coloured sticker on the bottle, then tie on a dried leaf or flower with twine. On the bottom of each container, on another sticker, write the product’s name, ingredients and how to use it (roll it on your temples and relax).
For the bath salts
A hot bath is a wonderful escape from the stresses of 2020; magnesium sulfate, more commonly known as Epsom salt, can help soothe sore muscles and ease tension.
In a bowl, combine 1 cup of Epsom salt and ⅓ cup of pink sea salt. Divide the mixture into two; add food-safe dried rosebuds or rose petals (try chiswicktea.com) to one, and ½ cup of green, loose-leaf tea, such as genmaicha, to the other (find it at whittard.co.uk). Or you could add dried lavender, or a couple of drops of lavender oil (for relaxation), or peppermint (for reinvigoration).
Package to your liking: in a small box, a paper bag, calico drawstring bag or cellophane bag (etsy.com has a large selection), or wrap in a muslin cloth (from johnlewis.com). Add a sticker saying “Use within six months”.
Sustainable Gifting, by Michelle Mackintosh, is published by Hardie Grant at £12.99.
Gift tags, by designer Maggie Murphy
To make your own gift tags, as Guardian Weekend art director Maggie Murphy did for this shoot, bulk buy plain parcel tags (£4.99 for 100 at ryman.co.uk) and half a dozen festive rubber stamps (find a good selection at notonthehighstreet.com) – if you have a reindeer design, use a small crafting pompom as a red nose (£3.95 for 90 at bakerross.co.uk). Murphy also decorates her tags with acorns, leaves, and mini jingle bells (£3.95 for 120, bakerross.co.uk) – if they’re coloured or painted, strip it off using warm soapy water and a scourer, or nail varnish remover, for an antique look.
