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toomuchglass

Do people appreciate your handmade gifts ?

toomuchglass
14 years ago

I long for the old days - when something handmade was treasured & passed down for generations. Sadly , I have to admit , I think my family sees home made gifts as being cheap. *sigh* ... If it isn't for sale in a major store - it is out of style & crap . How sad . Have you ever come across this ? I bet every family has one person that only wants quality, name brand stuff as a gift .

Times have changed ... I'm not sure - for the better .

How do you see it ?

Comments (17)

  • barbaratx
    14 years ago

    I personally LOVE hand made gifts, because I know the giver had me specifically in mind when the gift was made. But you're right - not everyone feels that way. If I get the impression my hand made gift was not appreciated, that person never gets another one from me. One instance: I quilted a holiday table runner to auction off at our cousins' reunion and one cousin who didn't get it said she really wanted it, so I told her I'd make her one, which I did. Three months after sending it to her and not receiving even an acknowledgement that she got it, I asked another cousin about it (we live in different states). Finally, I got a thank you note from her. This person will never get another hand made item from me.

  • concretenprimroses
    14 years ago

    I haven't gotten a hand made gift since my grandmother died! (Except food, lol). Both grandmothers used to make me things. And sometimes I made them things too.
    Most people I know are too polite to say anything rude but I think generally hand made gifts are not preferred.
    On the other hand, I have made a few that were probably not the best idea, lol. Thats the way with gifts sometimes whether you make them or buy them. I wish someone would make me something. I miss it.
    Wait! I take that back. Dh made me a plant seedlng starter, 3 shelves quite a few years ago. But that was before my last grand mother died actually.
    kathy

  • sameboat
    14 years ago

    I have a funny story about a hand-crafted gift I made my MIL. She told me that she brought it to a Christmas swap and everyone wanted it because it was so cute. I made it for her. I just didn't know what to say and was young at the time so never spoke up. It kills me that she received it and re-gifted it within 24 hours. It really kills me that she told me.

  • grandma_bonnie
    14 years ago

    How hurtful of your MIL! ...and she was not even sensitive enough to realize it... My adult children do not appreciate items I make for them - the grands however love them... I have two of the girls following in my footstep so to speak and I tell them that making gifts is so much more special as you are thinkong of the person while making the gift for them... Thank goodnmess for the grands... I did make an afghan for my MIL ( Now gone) - she watched me make it and when she opened her gift, she was truely touched - it turned the corner in our relastionship...

  • Adella Bedella
    14 years ago

    I got really tired of making things for people who didn't appreciate them. I found it was more fun to sell my things to people who were willing to pay money for them. I've also started making small crafts with my kids to donate to people in nursing homes at Christmas. They seem to enjoy them more.

  • posieh
    14 years ago

    Everyone in our immediate family had reached the point where we all were simply spending way to much money on Christmas. About three years ago we deceided that every gift that you gave to other family members had to be homemade. We uncovered some hidden talents in the family and some unique gifts. The next year family members deceided that this was just too much work so now for all the family, we each buy two gifts and we play some games to distribute them. Such as I buy two gifts for a lady and my Hubbie buys two for a man.You also can make those gifts if you wish. That way each person receives two nice gifts. We do set a price limit such as you can only spend forty dollars on each gift. The smallest Grandchildren are exempt and usually receive numberous gifts. This way we all save money and still celebrate Christmas together. Several of us also get together and go and enjoy a show or play or perhaps an evening at a special resturant instead of buying so many gifts. One son-in-law said to me," We all know that we love each other so why do we need to give each other gifts?" Then too, we spread the spending over the year by giving each other nice birthday gifts or a birthday bash of some sort. Sorry I got off the track here, but I do think lots of people do appreciate home-made gifts especially those who realize how much time and effort went into that gift.

  • CandyWA
    14 years ago

    Hi Kathy,

    I haven't been here for a gazillion years... nice to see you again!

    I just wanted to say that your projects are always soooo nice that I can't imagine your friends and family not cherishing them.

    Seriously, I remember your stained glass pieces and your spoon angels in particular. They were wonderful.
    I mean come on... it's not like you glue pom poms to Reader's Digests! You make beautiful things.

    The 80's and 90's were fabulous for crafters... all the cutesy things were in style. Now, even I like minimal clutter and a more refined look. (That surprised the heck out of me!) I guess it's just a sign of the times.

    I hope there never comes a time when I don't feel emotional when one of my kids gives me a homemade gift. I still have the candle my son made with ice cubes and coffee beans :)

    My kids (who are now older than I wanna be) went through that phase where everything in their homes had to be upscale... but now they beg me to make things for their kids!

    By the way, anybody who thinks homemade gifts are cheap... obviously hasn't spent hours and hours of their time making them!

  • citytransplant(zone5)
    14 years ago

    I think that it depends on the gift. Personally I do not want any gift that will "decorate" my home. I am like Canywa, used to have a lot of decorative items, hand made and store bought, now it is miminal and each piece that is shown is selected with a lot of thought. No matter how cute or nice an item may be, I prefer to chose it myself.

    That being said, I learned not to give decorative items as gifts. The good news? There are oodles of other ideas for making gifts! Because I will not stop, no never will I stop making things, even if I have to stuff all of it under my bed!!! LOL

  • deedeebaker
    14 years ago

    I really enjoyed making and giving gifts for Christmas until one time I crocheted a scarf for my SIL. A couple of months later she gave me a bag of clothes for me to take to a thrift shop that I donate to. In the bag was the scarf that I made for her that past Christmas.

  • lambsydivy
    14 years ago

    I LOVE getting handmade gifts because I know how much time and effort go into them, as I give them myself. However, I learned the hard way. I made a cross stitch Welcome sampler for a friend of mine that got her first apartment. Although she moved to a new city hours away, I saw her about six months later and asked her if the sampler coordinated with her decor (I had asked her sister what colors to use). She said yes, they were the right colors but she never hung it up because it "just wasn't her".

    I was hurt, and vowed to myself never to give someone a handmade item unless they themselves were the crafting kind of person that appreciates the time and effort and feelings that go into a project, especially one that takes a significant amount of time like this one did.

  • toomuchglass
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    PS ------- HI Candy !!!!!!

  • sunnyca_gw
    14 years ago

    My good friend made the most beautiful tablecloths & was going to send her cousin(she didn't have any kids of her own)a large 60 x120 I think-very large. We had seen it finished & it was elegant in ecru. We all loved it!! It took months. Well, she told the people where she mailed it(not Post office) about it & it never got to her cousin. Of course she mailed a replacement 6 mos. later looked like the 1st but this time she took it to the post office & said her relative forgot some of her junk when she left-- it arrived just fine! Another lady at our craft club crocheted lovely afghans so she made 1 for each GC & GGC went to visit the 1 GD & saw the afghan in the doghouse outside. She never made anything else for that girl! My mom is 1 that gets things I make & she treasures them all, a little too much, wish she would use the afghans rather than display them. She does wear the roses shawl I made her in cream color & I have heard all the nice comments she gets about it. She always proudly says, My daughter made it!! So I am much appreciated. I love getting homemade things also. Jan

  • smickerdoodle
    14 years ago

    Since all the women in my family are artistic, and some of the men too....Dad always did woodworking...everyone in my family prefers something handmade. A handmade item shows love, and that you actually thought about the person you are giving it to rather than rushing into a store at the last minute to grab something to give as a gift. I believe that if you actually make something that is high quality, there is no matching it with something store bought. The gifts that mean the most to me are the ones that someone made specifically for me.

    I have a fleece blanket that my sister-in-law made several years ago. It has gotten me through many hours of illness, and cancer treatments. Everytime I wrap it around my shoulders, it feels like a hug because I know that she made it for me with love. A store bought blanket would never feel the same. I have beautiful crocheted lace doilies that my aunt made for me. She is getting older and I know that those can never be replaced after she is gone. I have Christmas ornaments that my children and other family members have made for me. Every time I put up my tree for the holidays, I remember who I recieved them from and what was going on in our lives at the time. These are all things that you can't give or recieve with store bought items. I have a wooden napkin holder that my dad made for me. There is a story behind it of something that happened while he was making it that I will remember every time I use it. Dad is gone now and I will never have another thing that he made for me. I know that he had me in his heart while he worked on it. I know that I am not the only one in my family that feels this way. I have listened to the stories of where a special gift came from many times.

    TooMuchGlass, Please keep giving those handmade gifts! Even if they don't seem to appreciate them now, I believe that over time, they will mean the world to your loved ones. If not, then they are really missing out on what is important in this life.

  • sunnyca_gw
    6 years ago

    MeMe2 I agree 100% I belong to a crafting club, lots of knitting & crocheting & some jewelry making etc. 1 lady said she found her handmade quilt in the dog's bed. End of gifts for them. I'm same way with money gifts, family only & cut them off if no thank yous. It's disgusting to have to ask if people received a gift but worse if we have to wonder if it got lost & person at other end is thinking we never sent anything. Raising a very ungrateful bunch of kids. So far my GD's still say thank you or phone me. Not much with snail mail but that's OK.

  • citytransplant(zone5)
    6 years ago

    Many people do not like handmade for the reasons stated above and that is fine with me. I make things for my own enjoyment. Somehow most of what I make are given away, not as gifts, but to people that sincerely admire them. I really enjoy making them, love the creative process and all that goes into doing it, so I will continue doing what I love. MeMe2 I agree with gift giving in general. I have told my GGS's over and over that they must at least let me know If there received my money laden birthday cards, and they never did, so I do not give them anything (well Christmas ) any more. And I no longer give to anyone else. If I can't see them open the gift, I no longer give them anything.

  • sooz
    6 years ago

    Wow, if I received a handmade quilt (I LOVE QUILTS!!!) or other handmade gift, the giver would not only receive a thank you phone call, but also a handwritten thank you card from me! I would feel so special that someone gifted me with a treasure made by their own hands!

    What I've found lately is that some members of my extended family just don't bother to thank me for Christmas gifts, so I started not giving gifts to those people.

    Courtesy and a *thank you* is never overrated in my book!

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