Lightweight Homemade Gifts

It can be easy to overpack a suitcase with gifts for your family back home. 

I know people who take 

• Christmas crackers
• Swiss chocolate
• Scottish shortbread
• French chocolate spread
• and Italian wine

back to the States as gifts. These are all relatively heavy. They also do not feel to me like a complete Christmas gift but rather supplementary to Christmas festivities.

Your family may say things like, 'The greatest gift is yourselves' or 'just bring yourselves.'

You can however save so much money with homemade gifts which you hand-deliver. The secret is to be travel savvy about it.

The best gift for traveling 

My friends and I have decided the most economic in terms of cost, space and weight is the humble pillowcase. 

Personalized pillowcases are a great gift for grandparents. The kids can decorate these with handprints and messages. It makes for a fun craft!

Just don't make the age-old mistake that I have often made of not putting a protective board or newspaper between layers to prevent 'bleeds.'

Other ideas

Here are some gifts we have made over the years to pack for transatlantic Christmases in the States.

As you can see my priority has been lightweight rather than not bulky for some of these. I find if I put them at the bottom of a backpack however, they tend to collapse down considerably.

doublet for budding Shakespearean

red fencing jacket for little sister - modeling it on myself

quilt topper for another sister

baby bag with personalized embroidery of name

Shakespeare-themed table runners - that was the year I made 4 for various family and friends

fencing jacket for little brother who is now taller than I am!

The dashing dude in the red Dickensian, double breasted piece is my work

This male model is sporting a vest we gave him - though now that I think about it, a plaid scarf would have been a good idea too!

quilted sleeping bag for American girls for American-girl themed sleepovers that my little sister attended

a kid sized kilt and maybe a homemade shirt to go with it! You can spend a fortune on kilt accessories but apparently to a real Scottish person the only essential is a belt.

Other ideas which we have done but don't have photos for:

• Personalized aprons
• personalized t shirts
• pattern pieces for extra pockets for a travel vest/jacket