I often make dishtowels and pot holders to give at Christmas. They are always well received and are something that gets used by the whole family. I use ready made dishtowels and put rows of Seminole patchwork, prairie points, appliques, row of small quilt blocks (like hst or 4 patch) on them.
I made all my daughters and nieces aprons and you would have thought I'd given them a million dollars. I was surprised at how much they loved them. One of my daughters wore a hole in the front of hers and wanted to know if I could fix it. I dug in my stash and found the matching fabric and patched the hole and then put a pocket over it. She now has an extra pocket on her apron in an unusual place but it makes it fun.
One of the things I made this year that got the excitement going from family was dryer balls. You take 100% wool yarn and roll it in a ball about the size of a tennis ball. A skein does about 3 balls. Put the ball in an old nylon stocking and tie it tight and then stick it in your washer with hot water and then in your dryer. I ran mine through 3 times as I was washing other things like towels. I had 6 in a knee high nylon with ties in between each ball. The hot water "felts" the wool and you end up with a solid ball which then can be used over and over. You have to really pull the nylon away from the ball when you finally take them out. To use, you put 2 balls in your dryer and it keeps the clothes fluffed and the natural oils in the wool cut down on static. I got the yarn with a 40-50% off coupon at Michaels, Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's and they were very economical to make.