 Looking for the perfect Christmas gift to make for a friend or family member
– why not make something special and different from
all the holiday gifts found at the mall? In keeping
with the Victorian tradition of gift giving at
Christmas and New Year's, homemade gifts worked by the giver
are always more cherished. One choice would be to
make an authentic 19th century gift for that special
person on your list or perhaps a Christmas hamper. Many nineteenth century
women's fashion publications provided a "Work
Department" with instructions, illustrations and
patterns to create fashion and household items.
Today we can use these 100+ year old crafts to
create unusual gifts and accessories. Here are some
ideas.
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Christmas Crafts for Gifts |
Try tatting or knitting. For those who can knit or crochet, why not modernize
an antique accessory for the fashionable
lady of today. Pick a purse pattern to make a unique cell phone
holder. |
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 Today’s
business cards are reminiscent of Victorian
calling cards. During the nineteenth century,
when a person paid a formal call on a friend, it was
customary to leave a visiting card or calling card
as a reminder of the visit. These cards were
typically small, about 2 by 3 inches. Many
ladies’ magazines provided engravings with
directions to make cases to hold these cards.
Craft one of your own for that business woman on
your gift list to carry her modern-day business
card. |
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Christmas Gifts to Make for Kids |
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 A full color page of a playground scene with cutout figures of boys designed to be pasted on
the large playground picture can be printed and
given to the young child on your Christmas gift list.
Illustrated are some favorite pastimes including
shooting marbles, ball games with sticks and bats,
bowling, trundling hoops, playing soldier, and
leapfrog. |
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Simple and inexpensive Christmas gift-making projects were
worked with perforated paper.
Both women and children made a wide variety of
embroidered items including bookmarks, small
samplers to frame, needle cases and other decorative
items for the house. |
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Hand painting china was an easy and popular Christmas gifts to make,
especially at holiday time. Finding a single tea cup
and saucer at an antique store, then wrapping it
with cookies and tea bags would make a special gift
year round. Furthermore, it would be easy to create
your own ceramic Christmas gift - most pottery or ceramic
studios provide everything: including stamps,
stencils, sponges, idea books, a little coaching,
and a lot of encouragement. |
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Another easy Christmas gift to make is a small pincushion;
this gift is both decorative and useful. During the
1800s, many patterns with instructions were
available. These projects involve very little
time or skill, but still are quite artistic when
finished. Much of the design is made with the pins
themselves. |
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For the gentleman Civil War
buff or re-enactor, we have an embroidery pattern
for a smoking cap to be
worked in appliqué and braid. |
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 For
the lady you can make an pair of needlework
slippers. This pattern for a "Christmas Slipper" from
an 1860 women's magazine would be the perfect
Christmas gift ... either make it yourself or supply
the yarn with a copy of the pattern. For those
ladies who dress up in Victorian garb there is an
embroidery pattern for undersleeves. |
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 Of the various Christmas gift-making activities during the
Victorian era, none is, perhaps, more interesting
than hair work. During the mid-nineteenth century hair work became a
popular drawing-room occupation, as fashionable as
the much-practiced knitting, netting, and
crocheting. By acquiring knowledge of this
art, ladies were able to manufacture the hair of
beloved friends and relatives into bracelets,
chains, rings, earrings, and thus insure that they
could actually wear the treasured memento they
prized. You can find antique examples of this
art to purchase from dealers in antique jewelry,
or even try your hand at making your own. |
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