Home made presents and gifts?

15-05-2013 12:41PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Tricky, I used a German recipe for the gingerbread.

I can practise my german :cool:

Thanks! I will definitely try it this year!

pragmatic1 · 15-05-2013 01:38PM

Tbh you can shove your homemade shyte up your hole. No one likes a cheapskate.

grarf · 15-05-2013 01:51PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Tricky, I used a German recipe for the gingerbread.

Can you link to it anyway pretty please?

that looks so nice, definitely going to try it this year.

Shenshen · 15-05-2013 01:58PM

grarf wrote: »

Can you link to it anyway pretty please? that looks so nice, definitely going to try it this year.

http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/161811070521866/Lebkuchen.html

I think that one was the one I used. Where it says "Lebkuchengewuerz" I mixed together ground cloves, ground cardamom and a little extra cinnamon. But you could try and order it online.

grarf · 15-05-2013 02:04PM

Shenshen wrote: »

http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/161811070521866/Lebkuchen.html

I think that one was the one I used. Where it says "Lebkuchengewuerz" I mixed together ground cloves, ground cardamom and a little extra cinnamon. But you could try and order it online.

Dankeeee!

kylith · 15-05-2013 02:22PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Yet in Ireland I've so far noticed that not only do people not give such gifts, sometimes they seem to be practically sneered at as cheap and the giver is labeled tight-fisted.

It's because until fairly recently giving something you'd made yourself was a sign of poverty, so people would cripple themselves financially to avoid looking poor. A 'shop bought' tart was seen as better than a homemade one because it cost more money. The tide is turning now; more young people are taking up baking and handicrafts like knitting.

Shenshen wrote: »

So how would you react if you're given a home made gift? Would you actually feel grateful that the giver has spent so much time thinking about you and making you this, or would you regard them as cheap and trying to get away with spending little or no money?

I love homemade gifts; food, scarves, whatever. The effort that goes into making them is the real gift, imo. I like to give them too; I'm rubbish at picking out presents, but I don't know of anyone who'll turn down a hand made scarf and hat.

15-05-2013 02:37PM

Shenshen wrote: »

http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/161811070521866/Lebkuchen.html

I think that one was the one I used. Where it says "Lebkuchengewuerz" I mixed together ground cloves, ground cardamom and a little extra cinnamon. But you could try and order it online.

Ich freue mich darauf :cool:

anncoates · 15-05-2013 02:58PM

One of my best friends gave us one of his own paintings (with a really nice deep frame) for a wedding present and It was a fantastic gift.

Even if I had not have liked the painting (I do), it still would have been a lovely thought.

Irish Guitarist · 15-05-2013 03:17PM

Someone I know from an online forum (not here) and Facebook recently sent me a birthday present of a wooden box she made with some other things in the box, like a little horse carved from wood. I thought it was a very thoughtful present.

Any desire I ever had to give anyone a handmade gift was destroyed by my family when I was a teenager. I did a FAS course where I made a couple of things I was proud of. One of them was a draught board. It would have turned out great except the man that was in charge of the class went away for a week. His replacement gave me the wrong wood to finish off the draught board, which meant what would have been the white and brown squares and pieces ended up being a very similar colour. I brought the draught board home and my father immediately complained about not being able to tell the two colours apart. He then told me to write on the squares and pieces with a marker. I didn't want to destroy my hard work by scribbling on it with a permanent marker so after a while I just hid the thing.

The other thing I made was a glass case for holding flowers. My sister never stopped whining about it from the day I brought it home. I remember one day she was telling her boyfriend how she had brought it to a shop to get artificial flowers in it. She was telling her boyfriend what she had said to the cashier, which was along the lines of "I hate this crappy thing my brother made and I'd love to throw it in the bin". My sister and her boyfriend had a great laugh at this. I think she got her way in the end as I haven't seen the flower case in years. I think she must have thrown it the bin.

No way would I ever attempt to even show anyone in my family anything I tried to make now (not that I've made anything in recent years), let alone give it to them as a present.

Micky Dolenz · 15-05-2013 03:24PM

Real bang of poverty coming from here.

The_Morrigan · 15-05-2013 03:25PM

I've recently got into making gifts and because they are personalised they are appreciated.

My brother is expecting his first child, its also the first grandchild. I'm in the middle of making a baby blanket that can hopefully be passed down through his family.
Also, some handmade gifts are way more expensive than store bought. The materials for this blanket cost nearly €200.

grarf · 15-05-2013 03:28PM

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Also, some handmade gifts are way more expensive than store bought. The materials for this blanket cost nearly €200.

This.
I've made a few quilts for friends/family members (or for their children), and the fabric for that isn't cheap by any means. Adding in the time needed to make them... definitely not the cheapskate route IMHO.

ElleEm · 15-05-2013 03:34PM

I love being creative, so make a variety of things- sometimes I give them away.
I am "on call" for my family's constant supply of chilli jam, and rarely turn up to someone's home empty handed. I used the Cooking and Recipe forum for inspiration the last few years for Christmas hampers, (which included things like homemade Baileys, chocolate truffles, cookies, chutneys and jams). The recipients were thrilled with them, and I felt great being able to make something from scratch for them.
I have even been asked to make things for my friend's to use on their wedding days, which doubled up as their gifts.
I am not working due to illness, so I began making gifts to keep me busy and to save on money, but most of the things I have made aren't that much cheaper than shop bought stuff!

There is something so satisfying about creating something and knowing the recipient appreciates the time and energy you have spent making it for them.

Shenshen · 15-05-2013 03:36PM

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

Someone I know from an online forum (not here) and Facebook recently sent me a birthday present of a wooden box she made with some other things in the box, like a little horse carved from wood. I thought it was a very thoughtful present.

Any desire I ever had to give anyone a handmade gift was destroyed by my family when I was a teenager. I did a FAS course where I made a couple of things I was proud of. One of them was a draught board. It would have turned out great except the man that was in charge of the class went away for a week. His replacement gave me the wrong wood to finish off the draught board, which meant what would have been the white and brown squares and pieces ended up being a very similar colour. I brought the draught board home and my father immediately complained about not being able to tell the two colours apart. He then told me to write on the squares and pieces with a marker. I didn't want to destroy my hard work by scribbling on it with a permanent marker so after a while I just hid the thing.

The other thing I made was a glass case for holding flowers. My sister never stopped whining about it from the day I brought it home. I remember one day she was telling her boyfriend how she had brought it to a shop to get artificial flowers in it. She was telling her boyfriend what she had said to the cashier, which was along the lines of "I hate this crappy thing my brother made and I'd love to throw it in the bin". My sister and her boyfriend had a great laugh at this. I think she got her way in the end as I haven't seen the flower case in years. I think she must have thrown it the bin.

No way would I ever attempt to even show anyone in my family anything I tried to make now (not that I've made anything in recent years), let alone give it to them as a present.

That's awful... I feel really sad for you. I know how much you come to love a thing you made, even if it's not perfect. And to hear such awful things being said about it - that must have hurt badly.

kylith · 15-05-2013 03:42PM

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

Any desire I ever had to give anyone a handmade gift was destroyed by my family when I was a teenager. I did a FAS course where I made a couple of things I was proud of. One of them was a draught board. It would have turned out great except the man that was in charge of the class went away for a week. His replacement gave me the wrong wood to finish off the draught board, which meant what would have been the white and brown squares and pieces ended up being a very similar colour. I brought the draught board home and my father immediately complained about not being able to tell the two colours apart. He then told me to write on the squares and pieces with a marker. I didn't want to destroy my hard work by scribbling on it with a permanent marker so after a while I just hid the thing.

The other thing I made was a glass case for holding flowers. My sister never stopped whining about it from the day I brought it home. I remember one day she was telling her boyfriend how she had brought it to a shop to get artificial flowers in it. She was telling her boyfriend what she had said to the cashier, which was along the lines of "I hate this crappy thing my brother made and I'd love to throw it in the bin". My sister and her boyfriend had a great laugh at this. I think she got her way in the end as I haven't seen the flower case in years. I think she must have thrown it the bin.

No way would I ever attempt to even show anyone in my family anything I tried to make now (not that I've made anything in recent years), let alone give it to them as a present.

What a horrible experience. And what a bunch of ingrates. Probably just pissed off they can't make anything.

Crooked Jack · 15-05-2013 03:43PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Tbh you can shove your homemade shyte up your hole. No one likes a cheapskate.

Is that a bit of AHery or are you being serious?

Irish Guitarist · 15-05-2013 03:54PM

kylith wrote: »

What a horrible experience. And what a bunch of ingrates. Probably just pissed off they can't make anything.

To be fair to my father, he was being inconsiderate but not deliberately hurtful. He was actually good at making things himself.

My sister on the other hand seemed to revel in putting down anything I tried to do.

pragmatic1 · 15-05-2013 04:36PM

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Is that a bit of AHery or are you being serious?

I'm completely serious. I really hate tight people.

jester77 · 15-05-2013 04:39PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

I'm completely serious. I really hate tight people.

So someone who goes to the trouble of buying materials and building/baking/knitting/etc something personal and meaningful over a number of days/weeks is a cheapskate compared to someone who just buys something off the shelf?

that's pretty sad

Crooked Jack · 15-05-2013 04:54PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

I'm completely serious. I really hate tight people.

but it's not tight.

Hownowcow · 15-05-2013 05:15PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Hehe, my husband's a bit of a philistine when it comes to baking christmas cookies. He doesn't understand why you'd spend hours and hours carefully making something that in his mind, you could just "pick up in a shop".

He does love the cakes, though...
I don't know why Germans are so obsessed with baking, but I enjoy it.

It might have something to do with the ovens.

No, no, no. My bad.

Kichote · 15-05-2013 05:17PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

I'm completely serious. I really hate tight people.

Fierce closed-minded attitude to have.

A lot of home made stuff is much better than the shop bought Made in Choina crap that costs a fortune

rain on · 15-05-2013 05:21PM

I make crocheted blankets for my friends when they have babies, they take a couple of weeks to make and the materials cost upwards of €50. Luckily my friends are sound and appreciate the thought and the effort put in (I doubt any of them know how much I spend and I wouldn't tell them either). If that's being tight, I wish I knew more tight people

Mr. CooL ICE · 15-05-2013 05:56PM

I don't buy presents for friends, except the odd special birthday (e.g. a 30th) where a bottle of vodka or rum is always appreciated. I have shown up to gatherings at friends places with random stuff like banoffi pie which are always appreciated, but also kidna ignored because said gatherings are usually drink fuelled.

With my family, I usually use interesting recipes from The Cooking Club for birthdays and mothers/fathers day. As a brother/son, I'm pretty rubbish for keeping contact with my family but all is forgiven when I randomly show up with a box of caramel squares, a baileys malteser cheesecake or a loaf of banana bread

The_Morrigan · 15-05-2013 10:28PM

ElleEm wrote: »

There is something so satisfying about creating something and knowing the recipient appreciates the time and energy you have spent making it for them.

This is so true!
When I told the sis in law that I was making a blanket she was so friggin excited, not because of the blanket, but because it is personal, effort is being put into it and there will be a story to it.
I'm constantly being asked for picture updates and she is telling everyone in the states that this blanket is on the way over from Ireland.

homemadecider · 15-05-2013 10:35PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

I'm completely serious. I really hate tight people.

LOL. You obviously have no idea how much money, time and effort goes into homemade gifts.

Last Christmas I made 3 hampers; one each for my parents and two sisters. Each one cost about €60 to make and there was literally months of work involved (I made limoncello and chutney that needed to be made way in advance in order to be perfect). I spent a long time making everything (there were about 6 different items in each hamper) from scratch, creating my own labels, sourcing jars and ribbon and wicker baskets etc.

Surely the 'tight' option is going into a shop and picking up something mindlessly off the shelf?!

Kichote · 19-05-2013 02:49AM

homemadecider wrote: »

LOL. You obviously have no idea how much money, time and effort goes into homemade gifts.

Last Christmas I made 3 hampers; one each for my parents and two sisters. Each one cost about 60 to make and there was literally months of work involved (I made limoncello and chutney that needed to be made way in advance in order to be perfect). I spent a long time making everything (there were about 6 different items in each hamper) from scratch, creating my own labels, sourcing jars and ribbon and wicker baskets etc.

Surely the 'tight' option is going into a shop and picking up something mindlessly off the shelf?!

And what about the cider, keep it all for yourself?

rannerap · 19-05-2013 06:12PM

I love receiving home made gifts. I am a big John Lennon fan and for my birthday one year my boyfriend bought a cool John lennon concert poster and hand made a huge frame for it. He soldered some little pictures onto it, and a birthday message at the top before varnishing. Its the best and most thoughtful present I have ever been given

For my birthday this year my best friend drew me a picture relating to one of my tattoos and framed it, and made me a little cabinet and covered it with stickers relating to things I love. I was thrilled to receive such personal and great gifts, far better than some piece of junk bought from a shop.

Miss Lockhart · 19-05-2013 06:22PM

None of the poll options really suit me.

In general I'm of the "it's the thought that counts" opinion, so I am appreciative of any gift. Monetary value is very low down on my list of importance for gifts. And homemade gifts generally take more thought and time and effort so that's lovely.

However, I am aware of a few people who are into making things all the time for their own pleasure or profit. They routinely give these items as gifts with no consideration of whether they are suited to the recipient. In those cases, while the thought still counts, I think the gifts ard less meaningful than a voucher or a scratchcard. It is just about convenience, and in some cases ego, for the giver.

Scruffles · 19-05-2013 06:28PM

woud personaly be very greatful of homemade gifts,anyone can buy a gift if they have the money theres no thought or effort in it,however not everyone can make the gifts some people come up with,eg- arts and crafts, baking things like cakes and cookies, a nice dinner etc.
or for someone who has a child it coud be a present such as cleaning their house for them,making the kids dinner,taking the dog for a walk etc.

Home made presents and gifts?

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