Three gifts you, yes you, can make
Part 3/3 of the 2024 Silky Crunch Gift Guide
What’s your gifting philosophy? I love giving “just because” gifts whenever I see the perfect thing. By the time Christmas rolls around, I’m overwhelmed by all the possibilities and petrified by the idea of buying some nice gift that will be 90% off on December 26th. I have a friend who dislikes giving “little” presents; he prefers gifting loved ones “a big one” every few years(!).
Ideally, gifts can be a way to say, I see you, I know you… I get you. You’re special and deserve the best smelling soaps, you’re the one who’d appreciate this book about hand-painted ski maps!
Some gifts I enjoyed giving:
Sponsoring an orangutan for a pal who is passionate about primates
A24 screenplay book for a friend who says Hereditary is her favorite movie and took a screenwriting class
Russ & Daughters bagels and lox delivered to my uncle in Seattle, who asks about NYC bagels whenever I visit
Humblebrag aside, there are also times I missed the mark, realizing in hindsight that my gift wasn’t so perfect after all. This ginormous $65 MOBOT foam roller travel water bottle comes to mind. In 2020 I genuinely believed it was perfect for my roommate who revels in the joys of hydration and foam rolling.
I’ve been on the receiving end of a tragic gift too, holding an object for a caricature of me and feeling misunderstood. Gifting can be stressful when we want to show we understand someone… because what if we don’t? What if the gift is neither practical nor indulgent, at worst, an annoyance?
There’s a warm persuasion of gifts that enhances connection and never feels isolating. I feel understood, even if I don’t understand the gift! For me, it’s any gift that has the touch of a human hand, which makes life feel a little less factory-made.
Unfortunately I have no handsy skills. So here are three easy peasy homemade gifts I’m making this year:
Flaxseed Gel Cream 🧴
Nour requested this flaxseed gel after seeing a vid on TikTok. I played around with several recipes but this one from Curly Hair Reddit is my favorite. I don’t have curly hair but massage the gel into my scalp because I read flaxseeds and rosemary oil help with balding, and I’m paranoid that my hairline is receding.
Without the essential oils, I also use flaxseed gel on my face and lips as a sleeping mask (and seal with thick face cream). If you want to be #zerowaste, you can freeze the leftover boiled flaxseeds into an ice cube mold and toss into smoothies!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole flax seeds
4 cups water
1 tsp honey
For hair, add:
2 tsp salt (for stiff hold, add more)
2-4 drops of essential oil (I’ve used rosemary, tea tree, or lavender)
Instructions:
Add ½ cup whole flax seeds and 4 cups of water into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring so flax seeds don’t get stuck on bottom, then strain immediately. It might look very watery but the gel becomes thicker as it cools!
Once strained, add in the honey, salt, and essential oils. Mix.
This gel lasts two weeks in the refrigerator. I think it’s such a unique treat! My favorite combo rosemary + honey smells so. good. Expensive, even?
This flaxseed gel worked as well as my Got2B spray (recc’d by my friend and hairstylist to the stars) in keeping down my baby hairs. I was pleasantly surprised the next morning the flaxseed hold had softened but not flaked.
Wine glass bracelets 💍
Last Christmas, I saw the Gohar World stemware bracelets ($112) and wondered, is this perhaps a craft that my noncrafty self could do?! I feel like it’s so festive!
I made a simpler version this year with gold-plated wine glass rings ($7 for 120) with vintage glass and crystal beads sourced from Etsy and eBay. Having pliers is helpful for straightening the closure to get the beads on, but other than that, no additional supplies are needed.
Last week, I gifted beaded wine glass rings to dinner party hosts. They accidentally ran the wine glasses in the dishwasher with the rings on, but were pleased to find that nothing was ruined. That’s what’s nice about the gold plating and glass/ceramic/crystal beads. (Don’t run them in the dishwasher though if you can help it, haha.)
These Wicked-themed wine rings are a gift for Silky Crunch’s first paid subscriber (thanks Hiba 💚) who adores the musical and knows every lyric by heart.
Batched Manhattan 🍹
A fun gift for someone who enjoys a strong aperitif but wouldn’t shake one up at home. I follow the Serious Eats recipe! Kept in the fridge, it lasts two weeks.
Even more elegant when paired with some schmancy Luxardo or Amarena cherries.
There’s a fragile possibility I might make some cents if you purchase through certain links above.
Now that we’re done with the gifts I can “craft,” here are three homemade gifts I would love to receive ;-)
Cookies 🤤
I feel sooo loved when anyone bakes me anything from scratch because the oven arts are dark and mysterious to me, akin to sorcery! I would cry if someone baked the simplest chocolate chip cookies, in fact, I have. Whenever people are like, “Have you ever had a cookie from *insert newly hyped bakery?!” I’m not that interested… but homemade cookies mean everything.
Last year I co-hosted a cookie-decorating holiday party just so that talented friends would show up with cookies heh.
Ceramics
The lumpier the better! I love giving and receiving ceramic gifts. Right now I’m looking forward to this tea mug that Nour’s been crafting for weeks. What color glaze should I ask for? I’m too lazy to drink loose leaf tea, but I’m hoping this mug will be that one little trick to change my habits!
Thank you to everyone who shared loose leaf tea brands in the comments of my last post!! A tea you enjoy would be a dreamy gift to accompany this ceramic mug. I haven’t bought any yet because all the recs looked so good that I became indecisive…
Fiber Arts 🧶
How delightful is this crochet Christmas ornament I received last year? Feeling #blessed to have a talented friend in the fiber arts. I got a sneak peek of my ornament for this year (a wreath!) and it was so adorable.
Would you try making any of these gifts? I’d love to hear how you’re expressing your creativity! What homemade gifts do you hope to receive?
A friend of mine made some collages of birds and put them in IKEA frames and painted the frames with a wash of white paint and gifted them to me and I still cherish them a decade later! Handmade gifts are the best.
As someone with fine curly hair, I also endorse flax seed hair gel.