The joy of giving is not always restricted to expensive shop bought toys or gadgets. Some times the simplest hand made treasures can be far more precious than gold. It is often these handmade gifts that bring out the true meaning of sharing a few loving moments and memories far better than the latest swanky gift can. If you are the kind who has never experimented with handmade gifts here are a few quick ideas to get you started. You may be pleasantly surprised at the reception they get.

A Photo Scrap Book

When I got married I brought a photo album to my new home with me. It was a collection of photos from the first time my hubby and I had ever met and cataloged all our major celebrations together till we got married. I had snaps of the wedding inserted before I gifted it to him the day we walked into our new home. He loved it!

An assembled Hamper

On my 21st birthday my aunt gave me a huge hamper of 21 assembled gifts. She waited till everyone else’s gifts had been opened and then brought out this huge packet. I unwrapped the first layer and found a small pair of silver earrings marked Number 1. That was for the one year old me. Then as I kept unwrapping the parcel with each layer I got a gift for an older me. It was full of inexpensive gifts not more than 2-5 dollars each, but that effort she put into getting an age appropriate gift for year and then wrapping it all up was a bigger gift. Plus the memory stays with me forever!

Embroidered Handkerchiefs

My grand mother was very good at needle point. She would make a set of seven embroidered handkerchiefs for all her grandchildren and give them these special gifts each summer vacation. She would even choose designs based on our individual likes and dislikes. My cousin would get trains and cars while I would get flowers and teddy bears. Of course we thought of her when we took them to school all year round!

Knitted Scarf

There is little else that accessorizes better than a good scarf. My mother is great at knitting and would always make the full family new sweaters each winter. Some of them are still in use 25 years later! As can be expected she had a large amount of leftover wool. So one fine winter season she knit it all into a rainbow scarf. I loved it! It went with every single one of my sweaters and was cheerful enough to wear on its own!