More than once, from more than one person, I have received hand-knit dishcloths. They are wonderful! I use them, think of the giver in love and gratitude. One person included two sewn together to be a hot pad, love it.

My young catsitter gave me a painting she did of our two cats, sitting looking at the moon, with their tailw entwined in a heart. She was 11, and the small canvas hangs happily in my kitchen by the cats’ dining area.

Handmade Beaded earrings. They were given to by a neighbor who was moving, with such a sweet note. It really touched my heart.

Not handmade, but I’ve enjoyed a set of coasters that hold a small photograph. The person who gave them to me personalized them with photos of our friends at various events.

How handy are you? My cousin’s husband gave us a bottle opener he made. It’s pretty awesome. The penny pops the bottlecap. See the ”plug” in front of it? That covers a magnet, which has two purposes: it holds the bottlecap so it doesn’t fall, and it attaches to the refrigerator door! (pen shown for scale)

We have received, and given, artisan gifts that are always nice. I have several pieces of pottery for cooking and serving, a letter opener.

Of course, fleece blankets, the kind tied together, are always useful. The cat has taken over my favorite.

Can't think of much I've been gifted that was handmade, but home made things I have given that were well received have been chocolate almond bark, cookies, lavender sachets, aprons, tote bags, breads, spice blends and cake mix.

Wooden bird house, Monogrammed satin pillow case, wooden Tomkin, Three crosses painting, color traced photos, Tulip clock, polished, cut quartz earrings,

Paintings, ceramic bowls, orchid pots, ceramic sculptures, hand-painted ties.

I've made a lot more gifts than I have received, and most of them were made of fabric, such as shirts, skirts, dresses, pillows, bedspreads, napkins, tablecloths, etc. I used to paint fabric and then make clothes and other items, such as curtains, from this fabric, and I also used to paint T-shirts. I've also given watercolor paintings that I've done as gifts, and those were well received.

A wooden birdhouse my great uncle made. I think it was mostly for the kids. Wish I still had it but it was up on top of a pole when we left our old house.

A quilt made by my oldest and quite mad quilting friend for a "significant" birthday. But my family is pretty artistic and crafty and handmade gifts - all great - from them include ceramics, a crocheted dress, a knitted afghan, a needlepoint pillow and a NW tribal art carving of a dancing bear. That one is a very close runner up to the quilt!!

Hand made food is about the only thing I appreciate. I don't necessarily share my friends' taste and I don't need any more stuff. But I'll always enjoy food. That's also the only handmade gift I give, apart from woolies for the grandchild.

I agree with FLoraluk. As a sewer/crafter, I make sure I know that the person would appreciate and enjoy an item I am gifting. My DD received many homemade blankets that were not practical when she had her babies.

She also received a large birth announcement cross stitched type of thing that is not anyone's current taste. Maybe a few decades ago. Another family member is making more pieces for them and gifting them unframed. Now the recipient needs to pay to get them framed and display them, when it is not their taste.

If the family member is clueless enough to give an unfinished--neither framed nor made into a pillow---piece your daughter can be too busy to get around to taking it to the frame shop.

I received two gifts from KTers that mean so much to me. One is a beautiful quilt made by Wanda who has since left the table and the other is a sweet little cloth bag that snaps closed from Cathy.

I don't share my friends' or family's taste in hand-made food, and so that is not a good gift for me. However, I have (reluctantly) given some of my smoked Chocolate Habanero sauce to a few people (one was one of Kevin's co-workers), and they wanted to buy refills from me, but I was never able to make enough of it.

You really have to know people's taste in order to give them food, I think.

Less so for food, I'd say, than objects. Visitors don't expect to see their cake on the mantlepiece whenever they visit.

Oh, gift giving is fraught with perils! I opt out of being on either end of that game.

Hand made things can be a real albatross around the neck of the recipient and the social dynamics that it sets in place can be an unwelcomed dimension to a relationship.

NO, just NO!

Unless you have something really special that comes from your hands......... and, most of us dont, really.

Why spend the minutes of your life trying to find something for a gift that no one needs, or probably even wants? I am so completely done with all of that!.

Back in times where people had less, a gift may have been more appreciated. But, in our modern lives, most of us have so darned many doo dads already.

Friends and family have come to know I love homemade jams and preserves. I dont need other "stuff" anymore.

I once gave a friend a holly log for her husband who does wood turning. It was helpful to me to get rid of it. In return I received, unexpected and unasked for, a bowl made from the wood. I hate it and consequently a gift meant to please me just makes me feel bad.

The best I received is the wooden inlaid tray...it's beautiful and so nicely done.

While not made by the giver, it was custom and I love it...she took the bottle of wine I served at our dinner (it was cobalt blue) and took it to an artisan who pressed it into a serving dish and it came with a serving knife. I love it...such a nice memory of our time together!

Gifts I have made include blankets, hats, cowls, scarfs, needlepoint coasters, baby sweaters and booties, gnome, decoupaged decorative plates, vases, beaded ornaments. I haven't but have thought about making note cards (for old ladies who still send them) using one of my photos. I have made calendars as gifts though in the past using my photos.

Many people I know are craftspeople, so I have gotten a variety of wonderful handmade gifts over the years. Yarn goods, warm sweaters and blankets and the like. A lot of sewn items, probably a best was my second wedding dress, but I also dearly love some of my lounge wear. A smattering of woodworking goods, mostly furniture or kitchen useful with a few trinkets and jewelry. A goodly bunch of ceramics/pottery items. Glass, some of it more functional like drinking vessels, some pretty like jewelry, hair goods, beads. A bunch of hair goods of various materials. Beadwork, needlework, some precious metalwork. Bits of ironwork, leatherwork, weavings of different materials, a tad of random stonework of various kinds. Couple nice pairs of boots/footwear. Some other haberdashery and featherwork. A small handful of musical instruments. Food, lots of food- and lots of brews too. Wine, beer, mead, some other things. A couple nice teas, though more often those have been kind of meh. A nice variety of personal toiletries, though a few of them have been misses with the scent in them. A bunch of garden goods over the years, harvest and plants, homegrown seeds.

My wedding invite suite for my second wedding was handmade and a wonderful gift. The puffy fabric scrapbook from my first wedding not so much, heh. Art can be hit or miss- we have gotten some neat art and some investment art. We aren't fond of the investment art, heh.

I often give food. Sometimes plants or garden goodies. Beadwork, sewn things, needlework.. hair goods. Probably some of the better stuff has been things like embroidered gauntlets or monogramed linens, or a suite of wedding jewels. A couple miniatures have been greatly appreciated. Holiday ornaments have been, but I haven't made any in years. I was pretty happy with an embroidered on leather piece I collaborated with another person on. The person who received it has been wearing it for years :)

I agree you have to know your recipients! I exchange small, handmade gifts with siblings and we all pretty much like the same things. I recently have gotten into decoupage. It's easy, fast and doesn't take a lot of skill or finesse. Look on Pinterest for decoupage eggs (I made some at Easter with blue and white rabbit napkins) and oyster/scallop shells that can be used for trinket trays. I also decoupaged books of matches, which look fun piled up in a bowl. I'm just going to start testing decoupage on small turned wood tree ornaments that I found on Facebook Marketplace.

My favorite handmade gift was told to me by a customer: Not bragging she explained her son could afford anything he wanted and shopped accordingly. BUT she baked him a huge container of cookies so he had something 'made by Mom' .

I also have a quilt made by Wanda...

Also one made by Flamingo, who used to post here.

I have drawings, cards, carved wood and small clay items made for me by my children which I treasure.

We haven't received many handmade/homemade gifts over the years and I think that's a good thing. Many become white elephants - it's awkward to receive someone's precious "handywork" of which they're very proud but about which the recipient doesn't share the creator's enthusiasm or esteem for it. We decided that showing a generous spirit to praise and display such items of this nature could lead to receiving more from people who do such things. So we accept them with the spirit of the giver but then do not grant the items a visible location.

satine100 I'm happy you like the click bag I made you.

I received a beautiful thank you gift of a small (I believe crocheted angel) from someone on the KT after I had sent them one of my bags. I feel so bad I don't remember who it was, but it is hanging right next to me here at the computer. It is so soft!

Kathy G in MI

I'm 79 and I still have the beautiful afghan my grandmother knitted for me when I was 16. I remember the trip we made to the yarn store. It's wool,very fine work, figures knitted into the two side panels. If I had a cell phone and if I knew how to post pictures, I would post a picture.

A dear older friend took a wire hanger, crocheted around all of it, attaching small clothespins to it. When I use it to hang up wet delicates, I think of her. She has been gone for 25 years. It's a little "nothing", but there was all kinds of love in the gift.

Not homemade but my daughter while in college when we bought our historic 1840 house painted two watercolors of it and a fireboard. Of course, these are treasures that I framed in antique frames and are permanently displayed to this day.

This came to mind for some reason. Many years ago (circa early 80’s) my uncle made a bunch of these oven rack ”push/pulls” to pass out at a Christmas gathering. No one in the group of 25+ people could guess what they were but had fun trying.

At a yankee swap one Christmas, we ended up with a pan of mac-and-cheese and an apple pie. That was probably the best ever.

I agree that sometimes, one person is an expert at a craft that doesn't appeal to the giftee.

I struggle with this, as we exchange gifts for Christmas where I work. There's only four or five of us, but i find it difficult. A special oil or vinegar and homemade biscotti are usually my go-tos.

Now, my Mom (rip) had a good idea that never really caught on. She made wine bottle carriers of quilted fabric. What made them special was this; there was a label printed on fabric on the carrier. The label had three columns: From: To: Date:

It was meant to be passed from person to person. It just never happened. I think part of it is I never know who has just quit drinking. I suspect other people have the same concern.

My sister has a close neighbor who does crafts and quilting and she is prolific with it. She is a lovely person and she does very neat and tidy work.

But she is always gifting something.

So I talked to my sister yesterday and she got to the subject of this neighbor and I asked if the neighbor had given her more napkins and placemats, and----------yes, nailed it.! That is exactly it!

She means well, but enough is enough! How much of that can anyone use or want?

This neighbor gifted her with a ful size quilt that is nice but not at all something that sister would have chosen to use or want. Not that it isnt well made and nice, just not wanted or needed in any way.

There is only so much of this crafty stuff that is appreciated.

So now my sister has to think of something to give her and it just goes on and on and she wishes it would just stop. She is trying to get rid of things and we both have stacks of quilts from our heritage that dont get used.

Please, no more holiday table runners and napkins and quilts and the like! She wishes the neighbor would just stop. They have been friends for a long time and she doesnt want to hurt her friends feelings.

However, I confess to doing some gift sewing.

My daughters house is where everyone seems to land for over night stays and they have old pillows that are in need of replacing and they could use a few extra.

So, in an effort to use up what remains of my fabric stash I have taken some pretty cottons that I have been keeping and I sewed up some nice pillow cases. I love pillow cases made from a nice good quality cotton and I sew them and use them on my own pillows.

So, my plan is to make about six or so and buy the pillows and give them as a gift.

When we stay over, we bring our own, so I know that they are in need of bed pillows and I am in need of finding a use for some of these very pretty cotton lengths.

These fabrics are ones that I may have actually sewn wearable garments from at one time, but now I feel that I would look like a pillow case if I wore them. Now, I have used three of the lengths and made myself new pajama pants. I favor wild and colorful prints for PJs.

I made pillowcases for one grandson who is now grown and those cases are still going strong because they were made of nice quality cotton.

I know for sure that this is something that she needs and I have a need to use the pretty fabrics that I have brought home with me over the years. Otherwise she would inherit this from my sewing stash when I am gone. So why not make them in to something that they can use and that they need.

I would have to agree enough is enough at some point on many of these crafty items. We lean greatly on consumables in our home. We all have enough STUFF. Maybe it's time to resurrect the traditional fruit cake!! hahahahahah

For years, I have been telling people to NOT give gifts to me, and don't expect gifts from me. It's been an uphill battle, but I persist. With some people, I have just said, "It's lovely, but I cannot use it. Please give it to someone who can use it." This is so very hard, but it's working out.

Now, I will say that I do give things to other people. Not as designated holiday/birthday gifts, tho. I have a pretty bowl that my DIL admired, it's hers. Or I go to Trader Joe's and bring my neighbor, who did something nice for me, her favorite ginger cookies. For holidays, I give son and DIL and grandson cash. I give cash at the holidays to my cleaners and hair stylist and some other people who work for us on a regular basis.

A few years ago, at Christmas, my DIL gave me (after hearing my warnings) an indoor door mat. I pointed out that we had a new puppy who would only chew on it, and gave it back to her. She got the point, no hurt feelings.

We do take family out to a special dinner on birthdays, our treat. A great time is had by all.

So be stern and confront the issue. Say how much you admire the talent, and how lovely the item is, but you're sorry that you cannot accept it. Repeat as necessary.

Dollar Tree has these glass jars. $1.25ea. I fill them with chocolate covered almonds from Sprouts to give as gifts. Or....I gave away a ton of those yellow Iris Rhizones I got FREE off CL during the Summer. Or.....the printer sent me 3 extra photos of an owl shot my husband took. I've been giving those as gifts. I have one left, a house warming gift to take over in a few days....

Gifts I received.....Remember Moni...? She hand crocheted a square hot pad. I use it a LOT!

Funny that you mentioned Dollar Tree. I just finished putting this together, all bought at the Dollar tree. $7.00

@njmomma...THAT's GORGEOUS! I love the DIY videos Dollar Tree has.

Here's the one I did. The silk poppies + welcome + base = $4

I can’t talk all the credit for the wreath. The wreath came as is, I added the pine cones and boom I was done 😂. Your beautiful silk poppies look like it was a bit more work.

My super-creative and talented cousin Barbara and I had a rule: Our gifts to each other had to be handmade or purchased at a thrift shop. One year she bought a lovely rose-colored cashmere sweater at the Salvation Army, unraveled it, and used the yarn to knit a scarf for me.

I do old-fashioned rug hooking, using wool recycled from old clothing. Over the years I've made a lot of Christmas ornaments and hot pads for friends and relatives.

My favorites are:

Two hand-painted water color cards (4x6). Scenes of a favorite beach of mine. I framed them, they are currently in my bedroom.

A needlepoint butterfly made by a friend who died not too long after she made it. This is also framed and in our bedroom.

A handmade quilt from my ex sister-in-law. It has been well loved and is currently not in the best condition but it has been a favorite over the years.

Children's art gifts, I still bring out the holiday art gift my kids made in elementary school. A holiday tradition even though the kids are in their 20's and early 30's. Looking forward to art from my first grandson.

All of these make me happy.

Late to the party but wanted to inclide a picture. This was hand painted by a girlfriend in high school, still hanging in my mom’s cedar closet.