Some homemade gifts are fabulous, some are awful! I do love homemade gifts from kids no matter what they are -- it's really touching to me that they care enough to want to make me something. And I love stuff like scrapbooks. I think the biggest thing that gets me about homemade gifts are that they reflect what the giver wants to give, not what the giver thinks I want to receive. Like, so, if you're going to spend hours and hours making this great quilt, why are you making it in violent shades of magenta, purple, and lime-green when you know that my favorite colors are muted pastels? Or, if you make me soap or bath salts, weren't you paying attention the last 7 years when I'm constantly whining about how my skin is so sensitive that nearly all bath products give me rashes? Or, I know that for some reason you get a kick out of covering dead wreaths in gold spray paint, but have you noticed that I have NO DEAD WREATHS in my house? Or, that heartening plaque you carefully painted with friendly geese and the legend "Welcome To My Home" may be all sweet and country-esque, but haven't you noticed that everything in my house is all modern chrome and glass?
I mean, I'm not saying everything above actually applies to me (I hate chrome and glass (and friendly geese)), but honestly, I just don't think it's right to expect someone to love a homemade gift just because you spent three hours on it instead of $30.
And, yes, store-bought gifts can suck just as much as homemade gifts. It's not how much time or money you spend -- it really is the thought that counts. And the thought is whether or not you're making the effort to find out what the other person really wants.
I have a feeling that this sounds very grinchy. I don't mean it that way. Or maybe I do. I haven't gone Christmas shopping yet and the only thing I know for sure is that my sister will be getting cash. 
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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depends on the gift
