There is a good book called “ The Five Love Languages” which I recommend. My husband and I read it together long ago. It turns out that our love languages are very different and this understanding helped us. One of my primary love languages is gift giving. As such, it is hard for me to understand people who say they cannot figure out what to give. My problem is editing my gift giving plans.

This post is approximately 25 days until Christmas. That, in my mind, is enough time to come up with several clever, inexpensive gifts… Homemade gifts… before Christmas. I am taking a stand here and recommending that you consider home made gifts this year. You could save money, and really touch the heart of the recipient all at the same time.

You may assert, and I have heard people say, that they have no artistic talent. This just hurts me to hear, as I believe it to be uniformly false, and one of the worst forms of self talk. I think with the resources that we have these days, Pinterest, magazines, and the internet at large, there are instructions for everything. Pro tip: Search " best DIY gifts". The key is to keep it simple and heartfelt. The other key is to stretch just a little each time, and you will learn more and more. Pretty soon you will be making stained glass windows.

Here are some other keys to making and giving:

Be kinds to yourself and keep your sense of humor.
Prepare your time, your workspace, and your supplies before beginning.
Establish a budget and stick to it.
Read through all the instructions first !
Be prepared to goof up and fix things.
Enjoy the process.
Consider the pros and cons of doing it yourself, versus together with a supportive friend.

Here are a few ideas for categories of home made or home assembled gifts. You know your own skill set and will be prepared to build on it. You also know your recipient. Trust yourself and move forward.

Made Things:

Wearable Gifts:

e.g. infinity scarf of some special fabric
colorful rice filled heat packs with essential oil
felted wool hats and mittens from shrunken thrift store sweaters

Edible Gifts:

e.g. flavored salts and sugars
holiday foods in nice containers, including baked goods in festive ceramics, or treats in exotic jars
jerky, jam, dried herbs

Assembled Things:

Themed gift baskets and “kits"

movie night basket with gift cards and popcorn
bath basket - with oil or fizzy bombs
garden baskets- with new gloves and seeds
art basket - with supplies
cooking themes; Try going by country, i.e. Italian, French, Mexican, Cajun, Japanese, etc.
knitting or crochet kit
crafting kit
fishing kit
hunting kit
sports related kits
workout kit

Don’t worry if your gift is not perfect. Just take care that it reflects the connection between you and the recipient.

Making and giving is a soul growing exercise. Give it a go this year.

Food is a traditional gift. But, for the postpartum mom, it is best given with some forethought.

Consider whether it would be best to do a fresh, ready to eat meal or maybe a freezer dinner for later. Make sure to find out about any allergies or food preferences before you prepare. If you do choose a freezer dinner, make sure she has enough room in the freezer. If you need recipes for make ahead meals, there is a wealth of them on food.com, epicurious.com, and of course Pinterest. For a deluxe gift, get together with a few of her friends and assign each person a meal for each day of the week for the first week she is home. Friends did this for me once and it was so much fun.

The breastfeeding mom needs between 300 and 500 calories or extra nutrition after the delivery of the baby. She especially needs high quality proteins, healthy fats and fluids. As far as food restrictions because of baby, there really are none. I have always taken the view that baby will to learn to like garlic, chili and chocolate just like I do! There really are no medical reasons to avoid strongly flavored foods when you are breastfeeding.

Food gifts do not have to be meals. They can be baked goods or even a basket of healthy snacks or a case of healthy drinks like Pellegrino water.

Gifts do not even have to be food! If you are fairly familiar with the new mom and her home, consider a gift of housekeeping, gardening, pet care or personal shopping on her behalf. You can draw up a cute certificate to present to her if you like, and she can cash it in when she prefers.

Just remember that the new postpartum mom is bound to be tired. While your gift is almost certainly welcome, your postpartum friend might not be up to a great deal of socializing. So keep your visit short and sweet.

If you are interested in information about breastfeeding and nutrition, please see the links below at on drginanelson.com.

Breastfeeding
Nutrition

In other news, I am happy to report that all of the pages on drginanelson.com finished. Of course we are still polishing them, adding new handouts, and perhaps an occasional new graphic. Nonetheless, our collection of topics provide a cohesive overview of knowledge from Obstetrics, Gynecology and healthy lifestyle that is up to the minute in accuracy.

In the next week or so, I will be reorganizing the site a bit to make navigating this content simpler and easier, especially for mobile. In all cases, your input about content and ease of use would be most welcome. There is a feedback box you can access in the left menu bar from every page on the site.

Stay tuned for more posts on Structure Sunday, Medical Monday, Wellness Wednesday, and Food Friday.