Monday, January 21, 2013

HANDMADE GIFT IDEA #14


Okay, so I will freely admit that I am stretching the "handmade" gift title quite a bit with this one - but it was such a hit with the hubby (and men are SO hard to make gifts for), and this gift is all about the packaging which was handmade, so . . . I'm counting it.

I call this mountain of packages "12 Dates for Christmas."  The idea is to come up with 12 dates that you and your sweetie will enjoy, and purchase/make anything you will need for those dates (gift cards, etc.).  For John's gift,  I also created an invitation for each date to let him know what to look forward to.  Then I wrapped up each "date" in a separate box and attached the invitation to the box.  In one final card (which is the only thing he opened up on Christmas day), I explained what I had done, and how it would work, and gave him numbered clues for each date.  Each week for the 12 weeks following Christmas he picks a date (using only the clues and numbers), opens the invitation the morning of our date, and then opens the gift when we are ready to go.

The great thing about this gift, is you can make it as expensive or inexpensive as you like.  I tried to stay around $10 per date, and more than half of them are things to do at home after the little guy is asleep so we don't have to worry about a babysitter every week.  You could easily use this same idea for an anniversary (one date a month to celebrate your "12 year and 3 month anniversary," etc.), or Valentine's Day (one date a day leading up to the big day). 

Now, if you are thinking your main squeeze would love this, but don't have a clue how to come up with 12 date ideas, let me introduce you to the Dating Divas.  This blog is the ultimate source for creatively dating your spouse.  SO MANY great ideas! And most of them already have a printable invitation you can use - so easy! I had this idea back in September, and then a "12 Daytz of Christmas" popped up on the Dating Divas in December - slightly different, and it might give you some more ideas.  Happy dating!

 Resources: Dating Divas
 Approximate time to put together*: 5 hours  
Approximate cost for supplies*: varies
*Please remember that these are just approximations. CopyCrafts makes no guarantee of their accuracy.

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