Gift-giving is quintessential to any Christmas celebration. In fact, you could be one of those who are already preparing early for this year’s festivities to get ahead of the rush.

But while there are always the go-to gifts you can buy, why not create homemade gifts that add more sentimental value instead? Here are 6 ideas to try:

1. Advent calendar

Advent calendars help to build excitement before the main day itself. An advent calendar counts down to the days of Christmas – usually the 12 days until Christmas Eve, but sometimes throughout the whole month – with each day containing a clue or small gift connected to the main gift. Why not choose an item as your main present, say the Thermos® One-Push Tumbler, and create your advent calendar around that!

2. A knitted gift

The possibilities are endless when knitting a gift for a loved one. During your free time, take on one of these easy knitting projects, perfect for beginners. It could be a pair of baby slippers for a godson, a knit bag for a friend or a hat for your sister – the choice is yours!

 3. A pottery product

If you want to learn a new skill and create gifts for loved ones at the same time, you can join a local pottery class and make your creations – bowls, plates, or vases – your gifts for the people you love. Make sure to join these pottery classes here and here early to have enough time to practice and make everything you need in time for Christmas.

 4. A painting

If you’re into artwork and want to let your kids join in on the Christmas preparations, painting is a great activity for the entire family to try. You can create some paintings together, have them framed and give them as gifts to family and friends.

 5. Christmas food

Cooking food for someone else is always a gift, and you have near-endless options when choosing recipes for loved ones and friends. Enjoy baking? Try cookies, cakes or sweet treats to put in cute boxes or tin cans and offer as presents. Don’t forget to keep dietary considerations in mind when preparing this delicious present!

If you want to make a hot meal that includes Christmas classics such as cranberry sauce and smooth mashed potato, use the Shuttle Chef® to make cooking in batches much easier. Store these offerings in beautiful containers and have them delivered on Christmas day. If you’re looking to dress it up even further, package your meal with an accompanying gift basket containing wine, chocolates and even a charcuterie board!

 6. Plants

Who doesn’t love plants anyway? The great thing about giving plants as a gift is that you can start nurturing the seeds early on. Simply transfer the plants into beautiful pots – just in time for Christmas. Plants are such useful gifts because they help beautify any space while cleaning the air around it.

Preparing as early as now will give you enough time to think about the right gifts to get for each person on your list. You don’t need to spend much to make your loved ones and friends feel extra-special on Christmas day. With these homemade gifts, you’ll surely make the people you love know how much they matter to you.