In the past I have been guilty of spending far too much on Christmas presents to the point where the girls have still been unwrapping them a few days after Christmas! Over the past couple of years though, I have decided to go for a much simpler approach and use my crafting talents to make a few small items for each family member. I usually put together a nice hamper of homemade goodies for the family to share and enjoy and Grace and I make some decorations.

This year we have started our crafting in good time and Grace has already made some hand-sewn stocking Christmas tree decorations.

I cut the shapes out of felt then Grace embellished them with buttons, ribbon and felt and sewed them together, adding a little hanging loop. She was so pleased with them that she’s going to make some more to give to family members for their Christmas trees.

I also hope that making things together will help her learn the value of simple homemade gifts and how, not only are they usually cheap to make, they will bring much more happiness because of the time, effort and thought that has gone into each and every one.

I was very lucky that I was given my lovely sewing machine as a birthday present last year and to me it is a very valuable, but non-essential piece of equipment that helps me create beautiful gifts, clothes and items for the home. However, a sewing machine can also be a brilliant tool to help people earn a living and fight poverty for families who are less fortunate than we are. Through Oxfam unwrapped you can purchase the gift of a sewing machine, which is tailor made to help kick-start a career in making clothes and comes with training and materials to help get people started in their new business.

charity giftsI was really keen to support the Oxfam Simplify Your Christmas Carnival over at Who’s The Mummy as not only am I aiming to simplify my Christmas by creating gifts, but I also love Oxfam Unwrapped gifts and bought them for all the men in our family for Father’s Day last year. If you like this idea and would like to buy a sewing machine to help a family start their own business, it is £80 and can be bought using code OU5054LH on the Oxfam Unwrapped website.

To find out about more gifts available then pop over to the Carnival on Who’s The Mummy and find out about some of the other ways bloggers are celebrating Christmas and other gift ideas from Oxfam Unwrapped.