Giving gifts

I am pleased to announce all of my food dishes made it to all of those holiday parties with no spillage. (At least not that I noticed! Sorry, Taylor.)

Now the next item on the holiday agenda is...gift-wrapping.

I know that Christmas is not about giving gifts. It's about sharing joy and giving thanks with friends and loved ones. For some, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ who saved the world from sin and despair. So why is it that so many of us end up focusing on the season's materialism instead?

I'm guilty of this, too. Last year Taylor and I had hardly any money so we made the majority of our gifts. And you know what? That was okay. The gifts ranged from homemade magnets, to personalized calendars, to jars of homemade cookie mix, to crocheted scarves (lots and lots of scarves). I really liked giving these gifts because they were meaningful and personal. The recipients knew a lot of time, thought, and love went into the gifts if not a lot of money.

This year, I was in graduate school and Taylor was working an average of 50+ hours a week throughout November and into December. This year we didn't have nearly as much time, but we certainly had more money, so our gift-recipients are getting stuff we bought. I still think the gifts are special but they certainly aren't as meaningful as something handmade.

And of course, the more focus there is on store-bought items, the crazier this season gets.

"Do we have enough presents?"

"Did we spend enough?"

"Is this gift good enough?"

These are questions I've been asking all month--I've definitely been stressing out over our gift-giving tradition. And I bet I'm not the only one. Anyone else out there stressed out by this holiday ritual? Look at all of those hands.

I've heard some great remedies families employ to curb the stress of the season. Some families opt out of gift-giving all together, deciding to sponsor a family in need in the community instead. Others donate money to a charity in honor of their family instead of spending money on material gifts. And others pool their money to provide a meaningful experience for the family, such as a vacation, instead of filling each others' homes with more goods, more clutter.

These are all great ideas, but some families just can't part with the idea of giving gifts. And that's okay! Instead of buying another pair of socks or another knick-knack for the house, though, maybe you want to go the homemade route. Here are 34 ideas for some personal, handmade items that are sure to be a big hit. And here are gift ideas for the social justice-minded individual wanting to make a difference in the world.

Maybe your holiday shopping is already finished for this year, and it's too late to reconsider your gifts. But remember these tips aren't just pertinent for the holiday season. We give gifts all year round--for birthdays, weddings, showers, anniversaries, etc.--and we tend to stress out at each of those happy occasions, too. It's something I'm definitely going to keep in mind as we head into 2011!