Last year, my husband lost his job, so we were limited on the funds. We decided that we would do a year of homemade gifts for each other. Yes, we could spend a little money, but instead of spending $50 or so on a gift that is never used or ends up in the yard sale pile, we decided to take the time to make a gift for each other for each holiday or gift giving occasion.
I won't lie to you, this was difficult in the beginning. Trying to come up with ideas that I could do while making sure it didn't end up being a picture drawn with crayons! Some gifts were successful, others not so much! But I realized each gift was a little bit easier to create. And surprisingly, we both enjoyed the gifts more and remember what each of us did for the other person more than any gift that was given during our relationship!!
I would highly recommend trying this with your spouse or significant other. It may seem hard at first, but I found myself not able to wait to give my husband gifts at times because I was so excited to see his expressions!
In order to get some ideas, I scoured the internet and of course, Pinterest for some inspiration. There are definitely some great website out there that can give you a lot of creative and inexpensive ideas for homemade gifts.
Here are some of the gifts that I did over the past year as well as a few from my husband to get you started.
Mother's Day (from my husband): A handmade card and fresh picked flowers arranged in a vase from our garden waiting for me when I woke up. He also made a wonderful dinner for me that night.
Father's Day: framed artwork with assistance from our boys. I had my oldest son color a piece of white paper with different colors. On another piece of paper, I used my silhouette machine to cut out We love (heart) Daddy. I then glued the cut paper over the white paper and framed the picture. The frame still sits on my husbands night stand!
Anniversary: Instead of gifts, we took the money we would spend and went out for a nice dinner and ice cream!
Christmas: I actually did a few gifts for my husband, but the total cost was less than $10.00! First, I made a love note journal. One thing my husband and I did a lot while were dating was writing emails back and forth (we had a long distance relationship for about 4 months). I absolutely loved getting emails from him and hearing his thoughts without me interrupting. So the love note journal was perfect for us! I bought a small notebook (you can actually see it in the above picture!) and wrote a love note to my husband on the first page. The goal is then to pass the book back and forth to each other with a new note in it for the other person! You can do this as much or as little as you want, but it's a great way to keep those love notes going while living in the same house!
One of the other homemade projects was a Date of the Month Club. I made up a list of about 15 date ideas and gave him a calendar with the list. He then was able to choose what dates he wanted to do and when he wanted to do them. So, my job now is to plan these dates. Most of the dates were no cost or a low cost which made them even more appealing. Need help with planning? Love, Actually is a great blog with many ideas for dates.
So what did my husband make me? He made me a great planner for the upcoming year. But not only did he make a planner, he spent time looking up when we did certain activities, and put them in the planner on that date. For example, you know when you get a calendar and it says Christmas. He put on events like Our first date in 2005 or birth of our 1st son in 2008. It is so fun to go through the days and remember back on some of our dates and events that happened since we have been together.
Valentine's Day: My husband's gift to me: He bought me 2 beautiful roses and 2 specialty chocolate bars that I was craving! He also woke me up to join him for a breakfast for 2 before he left for work and the kids woke up. He made pancakes and bacon and it was very enjoyable to have breakfast with him even though one of our sons was up soon after we sat down!
My gift to him: I took the evening shift for his gift. After our boys were asleep and all chores were complete, we relaxed together in the quiet of the evening. I lit a few candles for a more romantic feel. During the day, I had prepared with making homemade chocolates and picking up some sparkling cider. We relaxed on the couch enjoying our chocolates and cider and just enjoyed the company of each other.
Husband's Birthday: This is one of my most favorite gifts that I had made for him. I made him a scrapbook full of pictures and letters from friends and family. I made the scrapbook with a digital scrapbook software, but this can also be made with paper and scissors. Click here to see my Birthday Scrapbook post.
All in all, it was a great year of gifts. Some where gifts that took more time and energy, and others were the most important gift to us, time spent with each other.
This past year taught us that it's not about the type of gift that you receive but it really is the meaning behind the gift. I am like every other woman out there that enjoys her fair share of jewelry and flowers, but I truthfully, feel more satisfied and loved by the gifts that my husband took time out of his busy schedule to make then the ones that he bought last minute to just have a gift!
I encourage you to try this for one year! You may hate it, but you just might learn some new things about each other too!!
I'm ready for another year!!
Blessings,
