Homemade gifts are back in style

50 years ago the term "homemade" implied inferior. Back then, mass production made more uniform (and therefore more 'perfect') items.

But homemade is making a comeback. As the world becomes more automated and impersonal, home-made is a welcome reminder of the human touch. And YOUR homemade gifts are a part of YOU - they represent your individuality, your personality and your love.

. . . Something to think about in this gift-giving season.

Here are some ideas for home-made gifts:


Cookies: How many chocolate chip cookie recipes do you really need? How about 50 all on one website? There you'll find recipes for Amish cookies, low-fat, slice-and-bake and more and more chocolate chip cookies. Fill a glass jar or mixing bowl with the cookies and wrap a ribbon around it.

Bread mixes: Commercial mixes for homemade bread are expensive. You put together such mixes yourself for just pennies - and make a wide variety that cannot be found in stores. Cookingbread.com has great photos with step-by-step instructions that even novices can follow.

To make a gift, simply mix the dry ingredients and put them in a self-sealing bag. Include instructions for adding liquids (for both bread machines and regular oven baking) and put everything in a loaf pan or a basket.

Other food gifts: Spiced nuts, granola mixes, your favorite brownie or muffin mix. If you don't have a favorite recipe, you can find good ones by one of these search strategies:
1. Add the word "winners" to your search - you're apt to get recipes that came out on top in contests.
2. Use a clustering search engine such as clusty.com, which will yield a list of sub-categories for your search.
3. Search the Yahoo Directory (not search engine) for recipes. You'll get links to main recipe hubs.

Of course, there is more to home-made than food. You can make soap, candles, sachets, photo calendars, and more. Here are some websites to give you ideas:

Familyfun.com shows a handy list of categories - last-minute gifts, gifts for pets, for kids, and for teachers. They also have some interesting ideas for wrapping your gifts.

HowStuffWorks.com has lots of gifts that kids can make.

Make-Stuff.com is a goldmine of ideas - not just for gifts, but for cleaning and personal care products, as well as recycling old items. (Did you know there are over 20 things you can do with old CDs?)

Don't have time to make gifts? Think again. For just one afternoon you would have spent shopping, you could whip up several one-of-a-kind presents that cannot be found in stores.

But if you really don't have time, or if you really don't enjoy making things, you can still give something hand-made. Try Etsy.com or TenThousandVillages.com, where you'll find craft items from all over the world.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com