10 DIY Holiday Food And Craft Gifts

Good for you! You’ve decided to ditch the mall and put your hands to work creating gifts for your loved ones. Did you know creating crafts can soothe your brain?

Writer, Amy DuFault of EcoSalon wrote a series called, Using Your Hands To Soothe Your Brain. The series highlights the “simple mental health value of keeping their hands moving chemical changes can in fact occur in the brain to alleviate mood maladies and in some cases, mental illness like depression.”

Those of us who craft and cook know this to be inherently true. DuFault supports this premise when she cites neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, author of Lifting Depression:

“Lambert shows how when you knit a sweater or plant a garden, when you prepare a meal or simply repair a lamp, you are bathing your brain in feel-good chemicals and creating a kind of mental vitamin. Our grandparents and great grandparents, who had to work hard for basic resources, developed more resilience against depression; even those who suffered great hardships had much lower rates of this mood disorder. But with today’s overly-mechanized lifestyle we have forgotten that our brains crave the well-being that comes from meaningful effort.”

The holiday’s are the perfect time slow down and acknowledge the great value of creating gifts. Not only can we enjoy the deeply satisfying relationship of giving a handmade gift, we can also reap the benefits and soothe our brains.

5 DIY Food Gifts

1. Good For You Whoopie Pies from Eating Well

2. Cocoa Lip Balm from Econesting

3. Flavored Salts from Steamy Kitchen

4. Mulling Sachets from Martha Stewart

5. Healthy Dog Treats from Econesting

5 DIY Craft Gifts

1. Necktie Camera Strap from Ecouterre

2. Pet Bed from ReadyMade

3. Altoid Box LED Flashlight from Instructables

4. Felted Wrist Warmers from Purl Bee

5. Peace Wreath from Econesting

Please share some of your favorite DIY food and craft gift ideas.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Talya H.

6:27PM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Ah, am so going to have a better look into all these things!

send a green star

Eternal G.

3:55PM PST on Dec 18, 2011

Beautiful, thanks.

Sarah M.

7:20PM PST on Dec 17, 2011

thanks

Brook J.

8:57AM PST on Dec 13, 2011

I am very excited about making my own Holiday gifts this year thanks to your suggestions!

Christina V.

10:08PM PST on Dec 12, 2011

Thanks

Roxane C.

5:47AM PST on Dec 12, 2011

I've been making soft sculpture dolls from old socks and nylons since I could use a needle. I've recently started stuffing their bellies with potpourri sachets. (For decoration use)

Alberta G.

5:30PM PST on Dec 11, 2011

Thanks.

4:57PM PST on Dec 7, 2011

Love it, thanks.

Danuta W.

12:37AM PST on Dec 7, 2011

Thanks for posting.

Sheri P.

11:04AM PST on Dec 6, 2011

LOVE the necktie camera strap and felted wristwarmers!