Your 2010 Handmade Gift Guide

I love presents. Love love love them. I love giving them and I love getting them. I love the anticipation that comes before them and the emotions that come along with the unveiling. So you can bet I love Christmas. And I RELISH the feeling you get when you have found a fabulous, personalized Christmas gift for someone in your life.

There is no better place to find unique, thoughtful gifts than the electronic bible for all things handmade, Etsy. I was reminded the other day that not every human on the planet knows about Etsy (though my gut tells me everyone reading this blog does), when a guy I work with came looking for a recommendation for funky jewelry. I suggested Etsy and (obviously) he was delighted with the results.

To save you folks time, I pulled together some of my Etsy faves that would make great gifts this holiday season.

*Please note that all photos shown below are the property of the sellers listed. Sources are available in the corresponding product links.

Stuff someone's stocking with this beautifully crafted footed mini cutting board made of rock maple ($32) from Gray Works Interpretive Furniture Designs. The Gray Works duo creates everything exclusively from locally, sustainably harvested or salvaged hardwoods in Woodstock, NY. This gift will prove both eco-friendly and countertop-friendly.

Looking for a hostess gift? Live From Bklyn has unique and affordable block print tea towels, like the williamsburg flour sack towel ($15) pictured here, that are sure to delight your entertaining friends.

Finally, a cool twist on the old standby gift for men. The peeps at the Cyberoptix Tie Lab have taken the "theme" tie and made it cool (incredible, right?). My personal fave is the turntable tie ($40), but among other awesome themes, they also have a beer tie and a bacon tie. Picture this: Guy gets compliment on classiness of the tie his significant other purchased (score one, significant other). In greatest moment of guy's life, he can exclaim that his tie in fact depicts bacon! There are no losers here.

Buying for babies? Save the little ones from the mundanity of Babies'R'Us (gah, that place gives me an eye twitch) and pick up a smart creature dance party onesie ($16) from by bethany.

If you've got a chef on your list, consider these beautiful handmade porcelain measuring cups ($32.70) from Mudaliscious. Bakers in particular will delight in having such unique tools for their tasty endeavors.


Caramel of the Month Club ($56 for 6 months) from Have it Sweet. A delicious new caramel every month! Need I say more? Have it Sweet is not accepting any more orders for Christmas, but you can purchase the Caramel of the Month Club for your sweet-toothed loved ones and let them know it's coming.

I like bikes. Everyone likes bikes. They are reminiscent of a simpler time (says this wise old 28 year old). Jazz up your drinkware collection with these screen-printed bicycle glasses ($35 for 4) from Vital. Or if you're a high roller, customize it!

Not buying gifts for everyone? Spread holiday cheer with the cutest cards imaginable from Deepfried Curious & Delicious Paper Goods. I'm partial to the vintage style note cards featuring Rudolph, Santa and Frosty ($26.50 for 18), but she's got note cards and other paper products for all occasions. Don't you just want those card characters to come to life and start talking to one another? Because I do.

Good luck shoppers - only 11 days left! (PS - I realize that shipping from little Etsy shops may take longer than from conglomomart.com and that I should have posted this sooner. But I didn't.)