Who is honestly thinking about Christmas during the summer?! Well, me 🙂 As we head into the autumn months, the holidays may be sneaking up on you faster than you think. In my family, it was pretty common for my family members to get Christmas gifts for each other way in advance and just stow them. Usually, this was because they saw something and thought, “oh, so-and-so would love that!” This always made gifts interesting and relevant, as there wasn’t a rush to do any last minute shopping.
I’m just not that big into malls and the mass production, honestly, when it comes to gift-giving. I’d rather it be personal. There’s actually a surprising amount of things you can make for people! I’ve listed 3 of my favorite DIYs below, but, of course, there’s so many directions you can take with this!
knitting
Knitting does take time. I’ve knit a hat in a day, so little things like that are easy. However, if you want to make something really nice, like a sweater, cardigan, or gorgeous scarf, then it can take awhile. On average, while working full time, it takes me 4 weeks to knit a sweater, 3 weeks to knit an intricate scarf, and 6-8 weeks to knit a blanket (with cable detailing). So, keep that in mind, especially if you plan on making things for multiple people!
Here are some knitting ideas:
- These advent mittens (definitely on my list! They’re so cute and it’s a free pattern!)
- This Celtic cardigan
- A Harry Potter sweater
- This throw knitted up beautifully (or you can find the chunkier version here)
- This sweater men is one they’ll keep forever
holiday cross stitch
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m cross stitching Josh and my stockings this year! If you’ve never tried cross stitching, it’s really easy to get the hang of and it’s incredibly therapeutic. I’m a little nervous about actually finishing both our stockings in time! It’s taken me about 3 months to do one stocking while working full time and working on other projects. So, if you plan on making more than 2 before Christmas, you better get cracking!
I love getting mine from Everything Cross Stitch. They’re reliable and offer a huge selection! You can probably also find some good ones at Michael’s, too.
bookish posters
Ah, yes, I can’t leave out my bookish buds! I actually love this idea and stumbled upon it a couple months ago. The basic idea is you take a beloved book, put the entire text onto a word document, shrink the font to 1 point so the entire book fits onto one page, and then print in poster size! If the book is available in PDF form, it’s simple to copy & paste the text onto a different document. If not, you will have to type it out manually. Again, these things take time, but the outcome is so great! I’m currently working on 4 different books to hang around our home!
As a side note, I have seen people try to sell these. Thats all fine and well, but be sure you are only selling book posters of books whose copy right has already expired!
Oh boy you’re on top of your game…I’m just trying to plan meals each day. But your right a thoughtful gift takes time…happy gift making.