It seems charmingly ‘old-fashioned’ to give homemade gifts on the holidays. There is so much more ‘soul’ to it somehow versus buying something. If you are someone who enjoys making things then you may also like the idea that you can earn some extra money making gifts from home for the holidays.
There are many, many ideas that lend themselves to this possibility. You may want to start planning for next year and be all prepared a few months prior to the holidays. You can make, give as gifts and sell various things if you like to bake or cook. For example you can make cookies, candy, cakes, and/or jars of sauces or jam, and package them up attractively in gift baskets.
If you choose food gifts then you may want to include related items that they will keep after the food has been consumed. For example if you had a cookie gift basket you could pack it up with a festive cup and include a few packets of hot chocolate, coffee or tea to go with the cookies. Or you could display your cookies on an attractive holiday plate that they could keep.
If you like to make other things like candles and/or soap, there are many very cute ideas for gift baskets that can include matching scents. This gift is also appreciated as it is a little bit of a luxury that people may not afford themselves and they would love to receive something special like this. Again you can pack your basket with related items such as candle holders, soap dishes, wash cloths, incense, etc.
There are many more ideas depending on how much you like and are good at arts and crafts. Also even if you don’t have a creative bone in your body, you may be able to put together a basket that is completely comprised of ‘already made’ things – for example a writing kit that could include little tablets or note cards, together with some pens and maybe a small book of poetry.
Whatever it is you decide you would enjoy working with, you need to figure on the costs of materials and of course where you will get them. With some of your personal gifts and possibly all the gifts you make to earn money, you would need to figure out how to ship the gifts and this would include safe and secure packaging so that you are not delivering cookie crumbs by the time the gift arrives.
You want to figure your costs and then some profit and come up with a price list that includes shipping charges. It is very simple to start a blog and advertise your gifts especially if you can make some pictures of your baskets. Then of course you need to promote that site so that you will get customers.
Also very simple to use Paypal.com as your payment processor as it is trusted and you can set up the account free to accept most major credit and debit cards. They even have the ready-made payment button you can put in your ‘widgets’ on your blog sidebar.
