A Hand-Made; Home-Made Christmas

Things are tough for myself and so many others this year, and more importantly, at this TIME of year....

That being said, my sons & I have agreed (more on my part than theirs) that this year will be the year of the "Hand-made/Home-made Christmas".

We have a pact to MAKE our gifts this year, rather than purchase them. That is not to say that NO purchase can be allowed....rather, if you have to purchase something, it has to be for the purpose of making a gift. 

Basically, what you purchase must be something you need and can't replicate in order to make an actual gift.  And the purchase cannot exceed the cost of the gift itself if you were to buy it outright.

It's an undertaking, for sure, but I can't wait to see what we all come up with. 

And I know for a fact that whatever we make or receive will be the most precious things we could give to one another. 

I digress.....

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, I started "Google-ing" hand made gifts for men...

Not much to choose from... but in the event you have men in your life (or in my case, older teenagers) that you would like to "hand-make" gifts for, maybe I can give you some ideas.

Luckily, none of my children (or family, friends, etc. ) read my blog, so I feel safe sharing my ideas.

My youngest son hates an electric razor.  He has always opted for a "regular" razor, or simply to let his beard grow.  And, yes, at 16 his beard rivals his 30 year old brothers'! 

For him, I have made "Mom's Homemade Shaving Soap"... (recipe found here)

I made 4 bars, which I custom wrapped and labeled, and will present them along with a vintage shaving mug (Old Spice given to him from his Dad... from his Dad), a new shaving brush (purchased from here), my vintage Gillette shaver (circa 1950) that I have had forever and the double sided razor blades that can still be purchased at WalMart.

I know he'll love it and I can't wait to figure out a cool way to box it up.  If you would like a copy of the vintage inspired label I created to make for yourself, just let me know and I'll be happy to share.

Check back tomorrow for my home-made aftershave lotion.... which is so very "cool" that I'm thinking of making a line for women as well!