Benefits of Making Handmade Gifts for Loved Ones

It’s the holiday season, which also means it’s crafting season! The holidays are a time for joy, love, and laughter. Activities such as holiday parties, gift grabs, and Christmas light admiring fill these wonderful days. Maybe that’s why we all love it so much; there’s so much for us to enjoy with our loved ones! Along with all those things we enjoy, however, come with a bit of stress and anxiety. Finding the right gift for your loved ones, planning a holiday dinner, family gatherings—all these things, as exciting as they may be, tend to cause quite a bit of underlying anxiety.

We might have a solution for you! To reduce some of the anxiety the holidays tend to bring, especially when it comes to gift giving, we suggest you try making your own gifts this year. Like we discussed previously, crafting comes with the benefit of reducing stress. This holiday season, instead of going out and spending money on mass-made gifts, make something personal. Learn more about the benefits of making handmade gifts for loved ones. Let your stress melt away!

They’re Unique

At Lindley General Store, we love the idea that each and every gift made by an individual is unique. If you made it by hand, that makes it unique, and that’s a gift no one can forget. Even if you use the same knitting pattern for each member of your family, each scarf will be different than the other. Whether you choose different yarn or different needle sizes, no two creations will ever look exactly alike. Apart from needle crafts, there’s quilts, blankets, and candles—you truly have an unlimited range!

They’re Personal

Especially for loved ones, handmade gifts end up being one of the best gifts you could give. We all know at least one picky person, and custom-made items tend to make the strongest impact on them. You get to choose what scent, color, size, and texture would work best for the person you’ll give the gift to.

They’re Fun

This is one of our favorite reasons to make handmade gifts for loved ones—they’re so fun! When you make a handmade gift, no matter whether it’s a tie-blanket, mittens, or a painted picture frame, you’ll have fun as you do it. It’s one of the best parts of the holidays; spending time creating this personal and unique gift gives you time to embrace the season. They also help you reignite the purpose of gift-giving; giving because you want to show your love for another, rather than giving because that’s what everyone says you’re supposed to do.

They Reduce Stress

If you find yourself very stressed during the holidays, work on creating a handmade gift. In general, one of the main health benefits of crafting is how it reduces stress. When you craft a handmade gift, you’ll chip away at the stress of the holidays. Not only that, but creating your own gift relieves the stress of finding the perfect gift at the store, the stress of the over-packed malls, and the stress of gifting something someone else may have already gotten.

They’re a Great Outlet for Creativity

If you find yourself in rut of creativity, working with your hands and creating a homemade gift can help you get out of that hole. Giving a gift you made helps you just as much as it helps the receiver. A lot of people rarely get to bring out their creative side, but working on a handmade gift gives you the chance to do just that! For those who love drawing, crocheting, or pottery, the holiday season provides the chance reignite your creative drive!

They Can Save Money

If done smartly, giving handmade gifts for the holidays can save you money. While sometimes it can certainly be the case that handmade gifts cost more than store-bought versions (wool sweaters are a prime example), in most cases, making your gifts will save you in the long run. If you have a tight budget, and you believe you can produce a high-quality product, then handmade gifts may be your saving grace. As much as handmade gifts are personal and unique, however, you should not use them as a way to produce low-quality products just for the sake of saving money.

They Reduce Your Craft Stash

This may seem like a small thing for those of you who may not craft all the time, but for big crafters, this benefit is huge! Most crafters have some sort of craft stash around their home. For some reason, people who enjoy making things tend to hoard their supplies. You may have everything from paper scraps to unused yarn and fabric. When you choose to make a handmade gift, you have the option to make something based on the items you already have!

It’s a Treasured Gift

Finally, the top benefit of making handmade gifts is the reaction you’ll get when your gift-receiver opens their gift. The smile, tears, hugs, and laughs you may receive will make the whole process worth it. Handmade gifts will automatically go to the top of the treasured gift list. There are moments where an expensive, store-bought gift will seem the most exciting, but people tend to treasure a handmade gift the most for all of the reasons listed above. For ideas on the perfect handmade gift, look below!

Handmade Gift Ideas:

• Homemade Ornaments
• Knitting and Crocheting: Scarves, Blankets, Hats, and Mittens
• Cooking Kits: Brownie, Hot Chocolate, and Cookie Kits
• Handcrafted Quilts
• Handmade Cards
• Homemade Candles
• Homemade Face Masks, Body Scrubs, and Soaps
• Art: Decorated Ceramics, Painting, Drawing
• Handmade Cook Book
• Custom Woodwork: Picture Frames, Puzzles, and Boxes
• Homemade Coupons

For all of your handmade gift needs, turn to Lindley General Store. We have everything you need to create the perfect gift. From your favorite Oh Canada, quilt fabric to a myriad of yarn types and colors—and even essential oils for your handmade soaps—we’ve got you covered! Even if you’re at a loss for where to start, we have different patterns available to get you on the track to creation. Don’t miss the opportunity to give your loved ones a gift they’ll never forget.