Handmade just-for-you gifts

Make festive giving more meaningful with beautiful personalised presents crafted with love!

Bespoke crackers

Give a gift a unique finishing touch by packaging in a homemade cracker with your favourite wrapping paper and ribbon to exchange at the dinner table or under the tree. Make three tubes of equal diameter with thin pliable card, one longer in length than the other two and join with sticky tape. Measure, draw and cut out a piece of rectangular brown paper, enough to cover the circumference and length of the tubes when lined up together end to end. Place some brown paper down, wrong side facing, line up the tubes end to end with the longer one in the middle and roll around the paper. Stick the paper overhang down at the mid point of each of the tubes with some double-sided tape. Place mini presents, a cracker snap, message and paper hat as required inside the tube, making sure it is in the centre. Shape and gather together where the tubes join to create the familiar cracker shape, then secure with ribbon, taking care not to rip the paper. Cut paper strips from more wrap, measured to fit the tube, then roll around the tube sections and hold in place with double sided tape. Write a name card, cut out and glue to the centre of the cracker.

Home baked cookies

Treat foodie friends with some homemade treats all packaged up in a decorative jar. Make your cookies according to your chosen recipe. Using a special cookie cutter, press and cut into monogram initials or festive shapes and bake as required. When cool, place the cookies into glass jars. Wrap and stick bands of coloured card around the jars for extra grip and decoration - double sided tape is ideal for this. Add a colourful tag or create a bespoke labels with a letter cookie cutter, thread with pre-prepared and ordered name tag ribbon then tie into a bow. Add more decorative ribbon and tie in a bow to finish.

‘Promise' vouchers

Turn a clipboard into a gift that keeps on giving with specially chosen treats and wishes written up as a promise of things to come. Think of some lovely ideas of things to make or do for a loved one and document in a clear and carefully presented voucher-cum-agreement. The promise documents could be designed on a computer for a regular and even professional finish or drawn freehand. For inspiration look at free font calligraphy websites to give some help with lettering styles and designs (Pinterest has a good selection for a beginner or use free font and illustration sites such as Clipart for help with writing and graphics). Remember to include a ‘promise' area, a tear off line and the promise itself. Print out on A4 card, if using a computer, then clip together onto the board.

Like this? For more ideas and inspiration visit the Country Homes & Interiors homepage.

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