Handmade gifts make Christmas presents more meaningful

Judy Tacyn’s family still uses the Afghan blankets her grandmother made for her years ago.

“It is really beautiful and comforting to have something my grandmother made,” said Tacyn, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park. “The gifts from the heart and hand are so much more valuable than anything you can buy in a store.”

An artist herself, Tacyn has been giving friends and family members her paintings and other works as gifts her whole life.

“I remember melting broken crayons to make candles in baby jars,” Tacyn said. “I know my 78-year-old aunt has a ­smiley-faced lamp I made in middle school shop class by her bed.”

Christmas gifts made by hand offer many benefits, artists and crafters say, no matter if they are baked, painted, sewed or melted. They are one-of-a-kind and mean a lot to both the givers and the receivers.

“You get to a point in life when people have everything,” Tacyn said. “It is best to make something more personal.”

One of the most sought-after gifts at St. Peter the Apostle’s annual Christmas in the Country Holiday Bazaar in Libertytown is the homemade vanilla the church staff makes.

“A friend of mine shared the recipe,” said Liz Hunter, the church’s bookkeeper. “We’ve been selling it at the general store now for probably 10 years. This year we made 64 bottles.”

In September, the staff cuts vanilla beans before adding them to the vodka bottles, which are then placed on their sides in a dark room. The bottles are turned weekly for a month or more by staff before being poured into individual 2- or 4-ounce amber bottles and sealed.

“It’s not very labor intensive and it lets the staff participate,” Hunter said. “It usually sells out. A mother and daughter come every year for it.”

Sue Pardo, co-chair of the Belles Craft Show and Fair at St. Mary, Pylesville, has been giving her crocheted items to family and friends for years.

“If I don’t give my nephew-in-laws scrubbies (crocheted alternatives to traditional kitchen sponges) for Christmas, I hear about it,” Pardo said with a laugh.

Pardo also donates many of her items, including baby hats, to hospitals and hair scrunchies for Operation Christmas Child boxes. Among her most requested items are her prayer shawls. An elderly lady in her parish, Pardo said, owned several of her prayer shawls before she died at age 98. Now, the woman’s family members have them.

“It is so nice to know somebody needs the prayers and comfort from a prayer shawl,” Pardo said.

Handmade gifts are often designed with the receiver in mind. When a good friend of hers moved into a new place, Tacyn created a piece that matched the colors and design of the new home.

“I was able to create something just for her,” Tacyn said. “It is nice to know a piece of my art she likes to hang in the house.”

Elise Peterson, 12, has made jewelry from clay, resin, wire, dried flowers and more, to give to family members for several years. She and her cousin, Rebecca Morgan, 14, who creates crocheted animals, are now making items to sell at St. John the Evangelist’s December Advent Market in Severna Park.

“I feel like people enjoy it more if it is handmade. They know I put time and effort into it,” Peterson said. “It has a personal touch.”

Peterson’s mother, Ann Marie Peterson, said watching her daughter do something she enjoys is special. She admires her daughter’s attention to detail and use of different colors.

 “It is always special when she gets affirmation for something she naturally enjoys,” Ann Marie Peterson said.

Ideas for homemade gifts

Customized Photo Calendar: Create a personalized calendar through an online photo service using family photos.

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix: Layer dry ingredients for cookies or hot chocolate in a Mason jar. Decorate the jar with a festive ribbon and include instructions for use.

Knitted or Crocheted Scarf: If you have knitting or crocheting skills, make a scarf in the recipient’s favorite color.

Recipe Book of Family Favorites: Compile a small book of favorite family recipes.

Hand-Painted Christmas Ornaments: Personalize plain ornaments with names, dates or designs. Invite children to decorate them.

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@catholicreview.org.

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