Homemade Christmas gifts

Do you have any ideas for homemade Christmas presents, especially for teachers and grandparents?

What first came to my mind is jar mixes. You can find many recipes for jar mixes for soups, cookies, breads, etc at the library and on the net. With the help of a funnel, children can help, too. Great for those who "have everything".

If you are into sewing, check out Sew mama sew I'm constantly amazed at the neat sewing ideas and tutorials that I find on their site. Last year, every day in November they had simple ideas for handmade gifts, and I was thrilled to see they are doing it again this November! I hope it is as good as last year! My only problem is that my project idea list is already longer then I will ever complete! To check out last year's archives see Handmade Holidays and keep checking back to see what they add this year. Each day seems to be dedicated to a particular person, such as grandparents, cooks, teens, etc.

One of my Christmas memories is of my mom burning some midnight oil sewing some gifts after the little ones were asleep. Even though she usually did her Christmas shopping weeks earlier, it just seemed that she always wanted to make something herself. I've obviously caught her gene in that area. We try to keep Christmas very simple for our children but I'm always trying to find something that I could make that they would enjoy! There is just something so much more personal about handcrafting a gift, even if it takes you longer, and the supplies may cost you more then just buying the item!

I'd love to hear your ideas for handmade gifts, and not just for Christmas, but anytime!