I have some handmade gift ideas...if you want to get creative...
For kids:
-My aunt, a former actress, gave me the most fabulous gifts when I was little. She would record stories on a tape...good stories, and she read them well. I adored those.
-Another aunt put together knew that I liked crafts and sewing, so she got a sewing basket and filled it with different sewing supplies and fabric pieces. It has served me well. It isn't quite handmade, but it is hand-compiled and customized. Then again, I was weird...for more normal kids, you might want to try a theme other than sewing. Maybe a 'set' of art supplies in a handy storage box or carrying case. Keep age in mind, though, and don't give messy, super-high quality, or toxic things to a very small child.
-Kids love stories. If you write well, write a funny story or poem for a kid. It'll be great for him/her to keep and read when they're older, too--a good memory of you.
Otherwise:
-I am planning to get a digital camera (if I don't get one for Christmas, I'll buy one myself
). I know that I will use it nonstop, and I plan to get plenty of photos of my family. For next Christmas, I'm giving each parent a photo book full of the best shots. In a smaller version, I might also do something like that for my friends (not necessarily a whole book...but nice shots). That would also make me feel less guilty about asking for something so expensive, and I think they'd appreciate it.
-If you can knit, you can obviously make scarves and things for people.
-Ditto sewing. The cool aunt who gave me tapes also made my mom a set of napkins with fun fabric. We use them all the time and the pattern doesn't look all that difficult.
-My friend has written poems for the rest of us before. That was such a great thing to receive, especially because it was so personalized.
-I'm making magnets like the ones on
StitchPixie with felt, magnetic bits, and glue. Click the house picture to see the magnets. I'm making normal ones for my dad (my designs, not hers), but I'm snitching her idea for the fertility magnets and I'm making those for my brother's dorm room.
Lots of the things on that website look manageable, actually.
-I read the idea for a 'dollar tree' somewhere. You use a tiny tree or branches put together to look like one (be creative I guess) and then you tie crumpled/folded dollar bills on to look like leaves. The amount of money depends on the person. I think this idea works best for family members to whom you wish to give money (teenage kids, neices, nephews, etc) but allows you to do so in a creative way.
-I think it's pretty easy to flavor olive oil and that kind of thing. Um, look up recipes online. You can make them pretty, too.
-Premixed soups or things like that. Put all of the ingredients together in a pretty bag so that all the person has to do is pretty much put it in a pot with water and cook it for a while. This is great if you already cook well and can think of good ways to do this.
-My friend printed a customized cookbook for another friend by looking up recipes online. They were all related to the friend's favorite candy (desert recipes) and it turned out to be very cute. I put together a book of jokes relating to my dad's gf's job one year. Special booklet things like that can be very personalized and nice/cute.
-Make jewelry. It's pretty easy, and it's fun.
-Create a work of art and give it to the person. That's always cool to receive.
-Look on the custom thread for ideas as far as clothing is concerned. Personalized clothes could be very good gifts for certain people.
I hope those are helpful.
I also have very good book recommendations for kids (adults too but any of us can give those
) because I read tons and tons when I was little
and I have a whole slew of younger sibs, all of whom read a lot...so I've had plenty of exposure to children's literature.
PM me if you are interested in my suggestions.
I love Christmas! Gift-giving/finding just the right thing makes me so happy.
...They chug down as much Valium as they do Evian and Pellegrino
...Sad, but true. I
...there's so many other shops here in la that have a much more enjoyable environment with nicer service. I heard Rose McGowan threw a fit in there about how a freaking plastic flip flop with a few rhinestones on em were about $140..I can't blame her for storming off 
Can I ask them to make them a little bigger for my daughter to wear? Those are adorable.
