Gift Giving
Oct. 21st, 2009 02:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenSharon Astyk (Causabon's Book) posted about gift giving today. Definitely something to think about, with various holidays on the way, birthdays and anniversaries year-round, and an economy full of uncertainty.
Simple useful gifts like fleece blankets, scarves and hats are nice and easy to make. A nice tin of cookies or a pretty loaf of bread are great too. Or your friends or family members may have particular interests where a book for instance is more appropriate -- but does it have to be a new book? Used but in good condition is something to consider (and some books, being out-of-print, will of course not be new).
If you have the money to spare, your gift receiver may be someone who's having a tough time economically for one reason or another -- job, new baby, etc. A gift card to a grocery store might be a good idea. I've given them as a wedding gift (good because they had no money left and no food after they went on their honeymoon), and as part of a baby shower gift.
If you want to give something more special but aren't sure what, many small businesses have gift certificates as well. I'm pretty sure Reconstructing History has something of the sort, and doubtless many artisans either have them or would be willing to create something like that.
My feeling about gifts is that they should be something the receiver will enjoy. My personal preference is that the gift is also useful, but that can be open to a pretty wide interpretation ;) When it comes to jewelry for instance, it isn't terribly "useful", but I do like to wear some once in a while -- I like it even better if it's a piece I can wear with more than one outfit, and better even is if it's good in more than one venue (medieval, modern, work, casual, ceremonial, etc.)
***
For the craft-oriented folks, here's a gift I made a few years back.
I'm pretty handy, so I've made complex things at times, and this is one of them. Once I scanned a medieval illuminated border I'd painted, then made it small on the computer. I got a copy of prayer of St. Francis (a SIL who's Roman Catholic), did it up in a gothic font and fit it into the border. I'd made it small and the prayer took a few pages that way, because I wanted to use an Altoids box for the container/bookcover. I used some polymer clay to cover/decorate the outside of the box, but you could paint it or do decoupage easily enough. I printed the pages as one long strip and folded it like an accordion (fanfold), with extra paper at either end. The extra paper gets glued to the inside of the front and back of the tin. I used the clay because I wanted to create a medieval-looking cover. After all that I was afraid she wouldn't like it, but she loved it.
Also, if you don't draw or paint, you may be able to find borders or elements that can be used on the pages online.
Obviously, most folks don't have time to do that all the time, but it was a lot of fun, and you could make one with a story or poem(s), or photos, or whatever comes to mind.
And if you don't have a scanner or PC, nothing wrong with cut and paste, maybe using pretty papers to create borders. Or maybe just cover a box and make it pretty and useful. Fabric scraps can also sometimes be used for decoupage as well. And if you don't have scraps, maybe a friend does.
***
Naturally, the best and most important part of celebrations is spending time with folks you care about. Bearing that in mind will hopefully put the importance of gifts in perspective. If the best, real, gift is yourself (and it is), then spending $300 on a gift isn't going to make everything that much "better". Because what can top the present of presence?
Simple useful gifts like fleece blankets, scarves and hats are nice and easy to make. A nice tin of cookies or a pretty loaf of bread are great too. Or your friends or family members may have particular interests where a book for instance is more appropriate -- but does it have to be a new book? Used but in good condition is something to consider (and some books, being out-of-print, will of course not be new).
If you have the money to spare, your gift receiver may be someone who's having a tough time economically for one reason or another -- job, new baby, etc. A gift card to a grocery store might be a good idea. I've given them as a wedding gift (good because they had no money left and no food after they went on their honeymoon), and as part of a baby shower gift.
If you want to give something more special but aren't sure what, many small businesses have gift certificates as well. I'm pretty sure Reconstructing History has something of the sort, and doubtless many artisans either have them or would be willing to create something like that.
My feeling about gifts is that they should be something the receiver will enjoy. My personal preference is that the gift is also useful, but that can be open to a pretty wide interpretation ;) When it comes to jewelry for instance, it isn't terribly "useful", but I do like to wear some once in a while -- I like it even better if it's a piece I can wear with more than one outfit, and better even is if it's good in more than one venue (medieval, modern, work, casual, ceremonial, etc.)
***
For the craft-oriented folks, here's a gift I made a few years back.
I'm pretty handy, so I've made complex things at times, and this is one of them. Once I scanned a medieval illuminated border I'd painted, then made it small on the computer. I got a copy of prayer of St. Francis (a SIL who's Roman Catholic), did it up in a gothic font and fit it into the border. I'd made it small and the prayer took a few pages that way, because I wanted to use an Altoids box for the container/bookcover. I used some polymer clay to cover/decorate the outside of the box, but you could paint it or do decoupage easily enough. I printed the pages as one long strip and folded it like an accordion (fanfold), with extra paper at either end. The extra paper gets glued to the inside of the front and back of the tin. I used the clay because I wanted to create a medieval-looking cover. After all that I was afraid she wouldn't like it, but she loved it.
Also, if you don't draw or paint, you may be able to find borders or elements that can be used on the pages online.
Obviously, most folks don't have time to do that all the time, but it was a lot of fun, and you could make one with a story or poem(s), or photos, or whatever comes to mind.
And if you don't have a scanner or PC, nothing wrong with cut and paste, maybe using pretty papers to create borders. Or maybe just cover a box and make it pretty and useful. Fabric scraps can also sometimes be used for decoupage as well. And if you don't have scraps, maybe a friend does.
***
Naturally, the best and most important part of celebrations is spending time with folks you care about. Bearing that in mind will hopefully put the importance of gifts in perspective. If the best, real, gift is yourself (and it is), then spending $300 on a gift isn't going to make everything that much "better". Because what can top the present of presence?
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Date: 2009-10-23 04:10 pm (UTC)