Need help with a gift for my grandmother. She is just the most awesome woman in the world! She always thinks of others before herself and I would like to get her a keepsake or something like that for Christmas. Any Ideas?
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What’s an Awesome Gift Idea for the Matriarch of the Family?
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Handmade Christmas Gifts Your Family Will Love
There are many types of gifts to give for Christmas to your family, but the greatest gift you can give is one that you have made yourself. It is a gift that will be cherished for years to come because you loved them enough to give the gift of your talents and time. Even if your not the most creative, or already have a developed hobby that you can do easily, you can still make a handmade gift if you start early enough to learn how to do it. Children can make wonderful crafts that anyone will love in the family. There is no limit on the different types of gifts you can make, and knowing the different choices are easy once you know how to theme it.
Anyone in the family that loves the comfy soft side of rest and relation will find useful gifts of the material type. Handmade pillows and quilts make great and useful gifts. If they love themed subjects, such as lighthouses, dogs, food or even steam engines, you can embroider or cross stitch interesting designs onto pillows for the couch or bed. Quilts can be a real heirloom because they can be any patch work design, or tailored to fit the interest of a family member. Young girls can put away a quilt for the hope chest with a wedding ring or flower design for their future home or apartment. Younger children whether boy or girl can be immediately enthralled with a homemade train set or wooden blocks. Little girls love to play house and a handy mom or dad might want to consider buying a precut dollhouse and assembling it before Christmas day. Later the girl in your life might love to go along with you to the hobby store to theme her home with the furniture and other necessities, such as curtains and little people.
Other types of gifts for the different family members need to include parents and grandparents. Depending on the age of the children they can make some sure fire popular gifts that will please mom. Dad can help a child by providing guidance and the supplies on a themed gift for mom and vice versa. A mom can certainly use any of the pampered gifts that a child could make. For example, a gift basket of mom’s favorite interests would be appropriate, such as candles and scented gift sachets for her clothing drawers, or even a collection of wrapped flavored coffees would make her smile too. A lot of moms like new recipes hand written or typed, and a child can paint and decorate a lovely recipe box that will make a busy mom very happy. Dads also appreciate hand made gifts, and mom and child can theme a gift for them too around their work or hobbies. Creating a personalized book on the computer for a dad that likes sports such as golf is a real keepsake for dad. Ideas and patterns can be used for dad to have his own homemade wooden jewelry chest from the child he loves. Wooden engraving sets can be found at hobby or discount stores such as K Mart. Lovingly engraving their initials or a pattern of their profession makes a nice gift to give from a child.
Grandparents are some of the easiest family members to make a gift for at Christmas time. If they live away they certainly appreciate any gift that they can display to show off, but even close by grand parents still cherish those gifts too. A family collaboration on homemade gifts can be items such as photo frames engraved and a new picture tucked inside, or children can make grand parents jewelry with craft products. Lovely pieces made with beads for grandmothers necklace or bracelet, and for a grand father handmade tie tacks, cuff links, or lapel pin will make him feel very dressed up for the holidays or anytime. Grand parents always love it when a scrap book is made by grand children, and they never get tired of admiring it either.
What ever gift you decide to make for your loved ones this Christmas season you will not go wrong in making it, even if there are a few blips when it is finished. The holidays are a time for giving the gift of love, and also for making a lot of precious memories and keepsakes that will be passed down from one generation to the next. Take the time to make a new tradition of giving hand made gifts not only this Christmas but for the years to come – you won’t regret it.
12 Ways to Create Your Own Family Christmas Holiday Tradition – Part II
Family Christmas Holiday Tradition gives us freedom and guidance in a time that is otherwise hectic and stressful, and often unorganized. Tradition gives us a blueprint of how our family anticipates and loves the holiday season, what they expect, how they love to celebrate.
This is Part II of our Family Christmas Holiday Tradition. (Read Part I also for great holiday ideas. )
7. When the holiday draws nearer, we children got more and more excited. When we were high-spirited and tempestuous, mom just needed to say. “Look, an angle’s hair!” And we would look in awe and see really a golden hair. Little did we know that mom must have made some gift packages and the golden threat must have fallen on the floor. But for us children this was a sure sign that Christmas was near. Mom left signs of the coming holy night everywhere for us, so we would remember to be good, and patient, and kind. This made it easier for us children, who yearned for that long awaited Christmas Day!
8. Then, one day the wait was over – the 24th of December dawned. We children had to take a little afternoon nap – I am sure mom needed the time to make last adjustments to the Christmas tree and the arrangement of our Christmas presents. In Europe the Christmas tree is the highlight of the 24th. The tree is hidden from view for children, and for the first time seen in the holy night when the door to the Christmas room magically opens. The room is locked already the night before Christmas. We children were especially attentive – maybe we would hear a movement in the Christmas room – maybe an angle came by – or the Christkind personally – to bring presents!
9. The nap on the 24th was very hard for us kids. Who can sleep when such an excitement lies in the air? When we finally got up, we laid on our best clothes. Then mom came with the traditional Christmas storybook! It was a story of a little boy named Heinele, who’s mother had sent him out in rags into the bitter cold winter night to sell toys to the busy people on the streets – who rushed home to their family celebration without even noticing him. The boy went into the woods and as he looked in the snow – lonely and ice cold – he found the Golden Star of Christmas.
At the same time in heaven, the angles were hectic, looking for the Golden Star that Christkind had lost as it flew over the winter world on earth. Finally they found the frozen boy, holding the Golden Star tight in his hand. He was dead. They took the boy into heaven. Here it was warm. It gave plenty to eat, and Heinele was truly happy – probably for the first time in his young life. But the good boy, as he saw that his mother in the cold house down on earth was crying because her child did not come home, returned to earth to comfort his mom, bringing her true Christmas love. Love reigned over the joy and comfort of staying in heaven. A true sacrifice.
And while we children hang on every word that came from mom’s lips, suddenly – first faint but then louder – we heard the clear Christmas bell. It signaled that Christkind was here! We would rash to the Christmas room. The doors silently swung open. And we would stand there in awe, still and devout, our wide open eyes reflecting Christmas Spirit. The Christmas tree would stand in all its magic beauty – brightly shining with many real candles and magic stars. We would sing Christmas carols and dad would read the Christmas story from the Holy Bible.
Finally we children could rush to our Christmas presents – many big and little gift-wrapped boxes in all colors, decorated with beautiful ribbons and a fir twig on each gift box. We had each a little extra corner right under the Christmas tree, and close to the crib where Maria and Josef and the beautiful baby would remind us of the reason for our joy. To find our space, the packages had little cards with our names on them. And the Ah and Oh was great!
10. And mom did not forget the lonely people outside. She put a warm shining candle in each window to greet those who were lonely and cold this night.
11. The Christmas dinner was another highlight of the day. We had our traditional fish dinner with potato salad which I loved. The table was set with grace and glister. Each set had a mandarin that held a Christmas candle. Fir twigs were decorating the table. It was festive and the candle light reflected in our smiles!
12. The Midnight Christmas mass was for the older kids. I remember sitting in church and seeing the happy smiles on every face. This alone showed me that in this special night a miracle must have occurred. I could see the new hat, the new shawl, new boots that people were wearing. Everyone had something new this night. And if it was not a new piece of cloth, it was the renewed hope and light in their heart that held the promise that life is good and all is well, no matter the life circumstances.
Today I am old. My children are out of the house and I am alone again. But at Christmas time, I still remember my family’s holiday tradition: the haunting scent of Christmas; the dazzling light that lightens the eye that looks into the world with hope; music and laughter that fills the hearts and the room at Christmas eve. I thank my parents for the wonderful Christmas tradition that they had given us – a tradition that lives on . . .
When Christmas holiday draws near, don’t let yourself be burdened by stressful last minute holiday preparations. Follow your time proven family holiday tradition – and if you don’t have a holiday tradition yet, manifest your own! Utilize some of the suggestions I shared with you from our own family Christmas holiday tradition.
