Holiday parties and events are in full swing and if you are like us at Photo Booth of the Stars you are busier than ever.  There just is not enough time in the day to get everything done from booking your party venues, checking off your Christmas shopping list, and getting the house ready for out of town guests, ugh we are getting tired just thinking about all of the things that need to get done before Christmas.

While making homemade gifts are a very nice sentiment many of us just don’t have the time to pull it off.  If you are one of us juggling all of the holiday party planning RELAX.  We put together a few quick ways to put a homemade spin onto your store bought items so that your recipients still feel that personal touch without ever knowing you didn’t take hours to make their gifts.

Creating gifts that are a little hand made mixed with a little store bought are easier than you might think.  If you are attending holiday parties, be sure to include a gift for the host/hostess.  A go-to gift is a nice bottle of wine or drink of choice.  That alone is a nice gift, but add a quick homemade touch by simply purchasing a festive holiday tea towel and wrapping it around the bottle, tie it off with a pretty bow and add a gift tag and you are good to go.  This same idea could be used on a vinegar and oil set as well or for wedding gifts.  Just swap out the holiday tea towel and incorporate the wedding theme and colors.

Instead of buying a pre-packaged gift basket, create your own personalized and semi homemade one with items your receiver will love.  Wine bottles, gourmet olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, white wine vinegar, pastas, or whatever your heart desires.  Wrap them up in your cloth of choice, whether it be a tea towel, a nice pair of cashmere gloves, or even a scarf.

Then, find a nice wine holder, crate, vintage organizer, really it can be anything you know your receiver will love.  Place your beautifully wrapped items in the wine holder or whatever you decided on and you have a very nice unique and completely personalized gift basket that is oozing with your homemade touch.

We came across this great DIY from crème de la craft that gives a step by step tutorial on wrapping gifts in ways including stitching pieces of felt together, using a wool sweater sleeve, and also a tea towel.  We just love the look of these gifts.  Just note, if you are wrapping your bottles with the tea towels, be sure the towel is just slightly taller than the object you are wrapping.

Giving someone a gift card?  Don’t just stick it in one of those cards or tins, wrap it up with a towel or scarf.  It’s a gift inside of a gift that is quick to do and looks like you spent extra time on the gift, even though it really takes the same amount of time as gift wrap.

These chalkboard painted mugs are sure to be a hit!  We found the mug on dodoburd.com and there are 59 other homemade gift ideas for you to scroll through!  They are fast to make, and you can even do it to wine glasses so names can be written on the bottom during holiday entertaining!

We hope this gives you some inspiration to add some personalized touches to your holiday gifts this year if you haven’t already!  Happy holidays to you from Photo Booth of the Stars!  Don’t forget to call our Chicago area Photo Booth of the Stars office today at 815-975-8762 and reserve your date!