A Handmade Christmas: Gifts For Guys

Guys are so hard to shop for!!! Unless you have a) tons of money, or b) a guy who has an obsession - a favorite sports team, video game, movie, etc. If you have one or the other (or both!) of these things, then you're set. Even then, though, there are only so many sports jerseys, memorabilia, etc, that you can give a guy. And guys are hard to make gifts for, because whatever you're making can't. look. cute.

I feel like I have it especially tough because neither my dad nor my bro are into sports - as in, I don't think either of them could name three professional teams in any sport - nor are they gamers. Generally - as in, all the time except Christmas - I like these traits. :) When Christmas rolls around, I wish they were a little more stereotypical.

This year, with my goal of making every gift, I must have googled "handmade gifts for men" a dozen times, and read through literally hundreds of ideas. Here are the best of them!

First, a few I came up with:

Homemade car "emergency" kit - My brother is sixteen this Christmas and just a few weeks away from getting his license, so for Christmas I made him a "car kit." While I did buy the contents of the kit, I did assemble it myself (lol) and I sewed the actual case (although I didn't use a tutorial, this one right here looks exactly like mine - shh, don't tell the guy in your life that it's a makeup case! :) I made my version out of vinyl and a heavy-duty zipper, so it's water resistant and hefty).

 

With the exception of jumper cables, which I got on a fantastic sale on Black Friday, I got all of the following items at the Dollar store: a roll of duct tape (in his favorite color), a clip-on booklight (I figure it's useful if he has to make repairs by himself in the dark), a regular flashlight, an ice scraper, a tube of super-glue, a box of bandaids, an interchangeable-head screwdriver, a tire gauge, a roll of shop rags, and a can of auto wipes.

I'm not much of a mechanic (can you tell? lol) so I focused more on filling the kit with things that were "generally useful" (i.e. duct tape, super glue, flashlight) than tools. If you're a little more mechanically minded, you can google "emergency car kit" and get more ideas!

Barbecue kit - Some of my favorite memories from this year are of grilling with my BFF's fiancee, Joe, so when I started thinking about what I could make for him, some sort of grilling/barbecue related gift came to mind. This is sort of like the above gift, in that it is mostly buying things and "assembling" them (lol), but it still counts in my book. :)

My barbecue kit included: 2 hot mitts that I monogrammed for him using fabric paint, 2 towels, also monogrammed, and a jar of bacon salt (if bacon isn't his thing, swap it out for a jar of smoky BBQ rub). If I knew how to can, or if Joe lived locally, I'd totally throw in a jar of the best barbecue sauce ever. But since I don't, and he doesn't, and the jar would have to survive a 12 hour road trip unscathed, I can't. :(

Other ideas (that I had, but that didn't work for the guys in my life):

• An iPod or iPad case - if your guy is tech savvy. The great thing about this is that by varying the material and/or embellishment, you can make them as masculine or feminine as you want.
• Make a "movie buff" kit - mix up some homemade popcorn seasonings in salt/pepper shakers (check thrift stores and/or Ross or Marshalls), a box of plain microwaveable popcorn (or loose popping corn, dependings on how you like to make your popcorn), or make a batch of kettle corn. Put it together with a couple of new movies (raid the $5 at Wal-Mart), tickets to the movie theater, or a gift certificate to his favorite movie rental place (did you know that you can give gift certificates to Redbox? I didn't either!).
• If your guy is a reader - well, you've scored a good one! :) Make a book kit instead! Include a manly bookmark (Check the thrift store for old copies of titles like "The Last Of The Mohicans," "Ivanhoe," etc, and replace the raffia/ribbon with leather thong). Add the fixings for his favorite hot beverage, and why not make some coasters (using the covers of the book you cannibalized for the bookmark, lol) while you're at it? Last (but not least), slip in the book you know he's been dying to read, or a gift certificate to the local bookstore. Or the Kindle store. :)
• Fill his fridge - What guy doesn't love food? If you have a bachelor on your list, why not make a huge batch of lasagna, mac-n-cheese, or whatever your signature dish is, portion it into individual-size containers, and freeze? Print some labels that include reheating instructions, and you're set to go! (If you really want to go all-out, include a homemade "gift certificate" that entitles him to one free refill). Or try making a sweet edible bouquet. :)

Other people's ideas:

• 25 Handmade gifts for men (some of the things strike me as too "cutesy" for guys, but there are some useful ideas)
• 15+ Handmade Gifts for men (again, pretty generic and sometimes kooky, but some gems)
• 32 Best Homemade Father's Day Gifts (these are supposed to be for Father's Day, but many of them are generic enough in a good way that they'd work for any guy!)

These are all the ideas I could come up with! :) What have you made for the guys in your life?

A Handmade Christmas (Part 1)

This year I decided to attempt to make all the gifts I gave. While I was mostly successful (I ended up buying three people's gifts, lol), and learned a lot, I think I mostly learned how I could have done it better. :) I'm going to be doing a post each week on how to have a handmade Christmas, including some of the best tutorials I found (or created myself!), but I thought I'd start this off with a quick recap of the biggest lessons I've learned!

• Start planning now. Start a folder on your computer, create a Pinterest board, or start clipping inspirations - trust me, you'll want all your ideas in one place, and nothing is more frustrating that knowing you saw a tutorial for the perfect gift but being unable to find it, or having to waste a lot of time tracking it down. Also, having a list of gift ideas reduces the panic of choosing a gift for a recipient - you already have a whole list of ideas!
• Start creating early. My original plan was that I was going to try to make a few gifts a month, thus relieving the stress of trying to finish gifts last minute. This didn't happen, but I sooo wish it had. :( Trust me, you'll enjoy the creative process much more if you're not rushing to finish things last-minute! (And just a note: plan on spending more time that you think it will take, especially if you're learning a new skill or trying a technique for the first time)
• Invest in good materials. Your gifts will only be as good as the materials they're made of. I think part of the reason that some people shy away from making their own gifts is that they're afraid they'll look tacky or "holly hobby." Using the best materials you can afford really helps avoid this - think about it: a simple hand-crocheted scarf in cheap acrylic yarn is one thing, but that same simply scarf worked in a more expensive cashmere yarn is luxe. And if you're going to put all that hard work into it, you want it to be something the recipient will love and really use!
• Take your time and do it right. This is my downfall... I tend to be a "forest" person (i.e. not very detail-oriented), but I learned that this is kind of in the same vein as "use good materials"... Taking the time to do projects "the right way" is what elevates handmade projects from "holly hobby". If you're refinishing furniture, take the time to properly clean and sand it before trying to paint. Use the appropriate glue. Let the paint dry before moving on to the next step. Etc. (yes, I do have a story for each of these!)
• If you can, start "stashing." It's easier to create when you have a stash of materials to draw from. My stash was only a Rubbermaid bin, but just having that rubbermaid bin to stick stuff away for later saved me a ton of money. If you're going to be making a lot of sewing projects, start hoarding scraps of material, buttons from rag-bag clothes, etc.

I'm going to do some more posts, including my favorite tutorials, some gifts I created all by myself (lol, tutorials to come), tips, stocking stuffers, etc. So stay tuned! :)