Buy Hand for the Holidays Challenge

* This is cross-posted on all my sites. It seems I've been busier on them lately than here...

When I was a child, I was so excited by Christmas and gift giving. I loved finding what I thought was the 'perfect', gift within my limited means, to give people I loved. As consumerism has become rampant and it has gotten more and more difficult to find and give a meaningful gift I have been more and more unhappy with holiday shopping and gifting.

About 10 years ago I went through a financiallly rough year and gave hand-made toilettries for the holidays. Some people liked them more than others, but the desire to give and receive "consumables" not dust-catching gifts from the $20 and under or $10 and under tables so pervasive in the malls, has spread throughout my group of friends.

For many years now, this group of friends has exchanged gifts that you can't buy at the mall; and some years I've extended that and given hand-made gifts to family as well.

Sometime things that have been given are: concert/event tickets, home prepared meals, jar mixes, toilettries, jams and jellies, home canned salsa, pickles, hand made clothing, quilts, and much more.

Well, this year Deanna over at Crunchy Chicken has posted the Buy Hand for the Hollidays Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to have you do one or more of the following:
* hand-make your gifts
* buy your gifts that are handmade by someone else (like from Etsy or a local craftsperson)
* buy it used either at a thrift store, yard sale, Craigslist or Freecycle, etc.
* barter for your gifts

I'm going to attempt it as much as possible, and I invite you to do the same. To add your voice and officially join the challenge, just click the picture in my side bar.

I personally LOVE home made gifts, and I know my friends do as well....so far, even though my kids do want all the "usual" stuff for the holidays, they also like receiving gifts that were made "just for them".

Let me know if you sign up for the challenge, or if this is something you already do.How do your friends/family receive these gifts? Happily or not?