Do you hear jingle bells yet?

When you make handmade Christmas gifts like I do, you have to start working waaaay in advance. Like in August. Yep, no joke. I know that might sound horrific to some people, but it's totally worth it to me. I love knowing that our friends and family know how much thought and time I put into their gifts. And I feel like it's a great experience for my kids to learn how to give handmade gifts.

So, to those of you out there crazy enough (crazy like me, that is), I thought I'd share the gifts I gave last year.

At the top of my list every year are all the guys we know and love. What in the world can you make for a grown man that won't be totally useless?? Seriously, most of the things I sew are not man-friendly, although they would never say that to my face.  And, I will admit that I often create a hybrid, partially handmade/partially store bought gift for the manly recipients on our list.

Last year, the hybrid gift I decided on was a grill towel paired with a bbq rub. And it went over great!

I traced a butcher's cow diagram onto a pre-washed flour sack towel and ironed it to heat set it. 

Not sure if that's how you're supposed to do it, but it made me feel better.

I attempted a freezer paper stencil but decided that a fabric sharpie was a way better method to get nice, crisp lines and a good, solid black.

I bought the rub in multi-packs on Amazon of all places, but you can get bbq rub pretty much anywhere.

 

Then I wrapped each tin in a towel before shipping them off to our nearest and dearest.

 

So, there you have it! A little Christmas gift giving inspiration way too early!

I'll keep rolling out different ideas over the next couple months and round them all up in one big list closer to Christmas!

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