To gift or not to gift: That is the question

Every year, I struggle with whom to buy for and whom not to buy for. For years, my husband and I didn't buy gifts for each other because we bought for our parents, nieces and nephews. Even though we now have a child of our own, we have continued to buy for everyone but ourselves for years. I say, "No more."

When I was a child, I barely got presents from my grandparents, much less aunts or uncles. My grandparents had so many grandchildren that we usually got something from a garage sale or a pair of socks. Why, then, is our generation expected to give extravagant gifts to nieces and nephews? I can see wanting to buy stuff for them when they are young and you don't have children yourself, but when they get around 10 and you have children of our own, I think we should be done. I'm done.

And, like most of you, I am going to college. Need I say more on that subject?

In lieu of buying for nieces and nephews, of which I have 12, I am spending my hard-earned cash on my parents, my precious daughter and husband. These are the people I should be spending my money on, right?

For this holiday season, I say give to the ones closest to you. If you don't have an extra $600 or so lying around to spend on a dozen nieces and nephews, be comfortable with your decision. So when your sister-in-law asks "Was this present for little Jimmy from you?", you won't feel guilty in replying, "No, we just bought for our immediate family this year." If they are rational, they will understand.

Top five reasons to give hand-made gifts this year

We've all been there. The holidays are approaching, and you've got $100 to spend on gifts for 20 people. Life is expensive, so it's difficult to buy something wonderful for every special person in your life for the holidays.

I believe with some planning and creativity, you don't have to spend a fortune to give gifts that are insightful and meaningful. Here are some tips to get you thinking.

Top five reasons to give a hand-made gift versus a store-bought gift for the holidays:
1. There isn't a chance that you will give them something they already have.
2. If you put the recipient's name on the gift, you can pretty much guarantee they won't regift the item.
3. Store-bought may make your recipient feel you just grabbed the first thing you saw.
4. Hand-made may make your recipient feel you spent a lot of time, thought and energy into the gift. Even though the gift could be something that took very little time to create
5. It's less expensive, and you are a college student so every penny counts!

Here are some ideas I like:
1. Pour dry ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) into a Mason jar or paper sack with a little recipe card attached with a ribbon. The ingredients could be for homemade cocoa, cookies, brownies, etc. Use your imagination! Put enough dry ingredients in each jar to make 5-10 servings. The gift recipient just has to add water, eggs, etc., and bake! Example
2. Buy a ceramic plaque and paint the name or initials of the gift recipient on the plaque. Hobby Lobby has some great ones that start at $2.99 a piece, and some of them have holes at the top for hanging. Example
3. For the guys in your life, why not make home-made coozies? These are so cute and cheap, and he will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Example

If you have other hand-made gift ideas, please share!