"oh... thanks" (the worst thing to hear!)

[loves2experiment]

It could very well be that there are folks who were raised with the belief that homemade=thrifty.  Back then, it could have been cheaper to knit a scarf, as opposed to buying one? 

These days, it's the opposite.  After paying for the yarn, needles, and possibly a pattern, and factoring in time spent on making a scarf, it's usually cheaper to buy one

[Infinite Annie]

Argh!  It's happened to me, too!

For my nieces 12th birthday party present I spent a good deal of time perfecting a slice of faux cake from felt.  It was a vanilla layer cake with chocolate frosting.  It was topped with a cream poof and strawberry with bead seeds.  Every hand stitch a perfect 1/8" from the last, etc., etc. 

It looked so real that 2 days after I made, when I walked into the room and saw it again, it even fooled me.

I completed the look by packaging it in a real bakery box.

At the well tended party my niece opened it and someone immediately said, "It's a dog toy?!  Squeeze it!". (She doesn't even have a dog!)

Well, my niece took it in both hands and smooshed the *!#&*? out of it!  And when everyone looked visually disappointed that it didn't make a sound, she stuffed it back in the box and moved onto the next present.  Sigh...

She then spent to next 4 hours beaming and extolling over and showing off the virtues of a plastic cup someone gave her that had the official 'Starbucks' logo on it.

[WIPs]

Whoa, that's the opposite of what I would do. Hand-made gifts are much more important than store-bought.

[sleepybunny]

It could very well be that there are folks who were raised with the belief that homemade=thrifty.  Back then, it could have been cheaper to knit a scarf, as opposed to buying one? 

These days, it's the opposite.  After paying for the yarn, needles, and possibly a pattern, and factoring in time spent on making a scarf, it's usually cheaper to buy one

I think you're right there - I remember older people when I was a kid (and even now) being very sniffy about "homemade" stuff.  I guess they went through rationing etc during and for several years after WW2 (in the UK) so had no choice but to "make do and mend" - and not everyone had the talent of us Craftsters!  I'm not saying they're right, though.

Also we now live in a "throw-away" society where cheapness is seen as a virtue rather than a sad result of the exploitation of people and resources. And some people just can't understand why anyone would spend more on something and then have to make it themselves as well! (I sometimes still fight with that one myself, even though I enjoy the making!).

Sorry this turned into a bit of a rant!

[loves2experiment]

And some people just can't understand why anyone would spend more on something and then have to make it themselves as well! (I sometimes still fight with that one myself, even though I enjoy the making!).

LOL.  I often have that debate with myself too! 

Then again, I've come to realize that I craft because it's therapeutic to do so...and because I want to create items which are unique    

[sirensrising]

This thread reminds me of a couple of older (70+) ladies I once overheard chatting in a fabric store.  It seems both of them had recently received invitations (wedding?  graduation?) from someone they didn't know very well.  Their conversation went something like this:

"Can you believe she had the nerve to send an invitation to me?  I haven't even seen her in years!"

"Yeah, it's obvious she just wants a gift!"

"Well, I'm sure not going to actually buy her anything!  I'll just give her something I made."

"Me, too!"

It's sad, but that wasn't the first time I've overheard someone say that.  "I'm not going to spend my money buying something for her!  I'll just give her something I made instead!"

Now, I'm certain none of us here (including me!) could ever feel that way.  We consider hand-made gifts to be special, and we consider our time and work to be labors of love when it comes to gifts. 

That's obviously not true for people like the older ladies I overheard.  It makes me wonder if people who don't appreciate hand-made gifts are ladies like these, or maybe they were raised with that sort of attitude.  Either way, I consider it their loss.  I only give hand-made gifts to people I know will appreciate them, like my mom.

Maybe what they meant is, "I'll just make her something shitty?" 

This is probably a horrible generalisation, but maybe if they didn't have much money growing up or something it was the kind of thing they had to do and it was routine and cheaper? Or maybe it would cost nothing if they have all the materials at home and would spend their time doing X anyway. Or maybe they knew she wouldn't appreciate something handmade and wanted to go to a lot of effort to spite her

But there are a lot of people who don't understand crafts who do think it's just cheaper and lazier.

[whitestar]

My worst moment was when I made a crochet hook case for my best friend's birthday. She crafts like a fiend, and I thought that a case for her hooks would be a great gift... but when she opened it, she said, "What is it... a scarf?" Broke my heart, it really did.
A close runner up was the baby afghan I made for a good friend's sister. Her nursery theme was ducks, so I spent forever perfecting a duck pattern and putting it all together - probably a couple months altogether. I gave it to him to give to her, and haven't heard a word from her since, not a call or card to say thanks at all. Sigh!
Even when it's not well received, I still love making gifts for people and do so frequently. I figure that the "Oh my god you really made that, it's so amazing!" times even out the bad ones.

[anwylaeth]

I agree with the idea that only people who craft, or otherwise spend many hours perfecting/creating something, can really appreciate a handmade gift.  That having been said, I also feel that if I enjoy creating the gift, and packaging it, and all that, then I'm getting some enjoyment already out of handcrafting.  I really don't enjoy shopping, and it irks me to purchase something mass-produced, especially for someone I really care about.  So even for my giftees who I happen to know would be just as happy with a gift card for "Wally World", I'm still gonna craft them something, 'cause I'll enjoy it more that way, see?    I'm such a selfish biotch...

[TheMistressT]

I try to use a couple of guidelines when crafting for gifts.  First I just don't craft for people that I don't think would like it and second, I try to craft specifically for them.  I may make magnets for one person who I would never make a throw pillow for and a throw pillow for someone that I'd never paint something for.  I have a friend who has a HUGE family and she will decide on a gift and just give that to everyone for that year's birthdays. So every sister, sister-in-law, adult niece, niece-in-law and honorary female family member will get Y and X for their birthday that year.  It works for her, but I tend to craft for each person individually - especially adults.  I'm lucky that I've chosen recipients carefully enough that even those who don't craft are very appreciative - usually more so, because they are in awe of someone being able to make something and then making it just for them.

[BeccaJaneStClair]

I have a slightly funny story.

I made my tall friend SA a long brocade robe for Christmas, that I gave him in November. (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=132756.msg1303989#msg1303989)

Everytime he complained he was cold, I'd tell him to go put on his robe.  His response "Oh yeah. since it's in my closet, i forget I have it" *facepalm*

On the money front -  I made a gift basket for two of my freinds who got married and decopaged a cutting board, added beads to the stems of wine glasses and cheese knives, hand sewed a wine bottle bag, and decorated the basket. All said and told, I think I spent just as much on the basket and stuff that I would have spent buying something off their registry...but since I wanted to give them something unique, I crafted.