Jewel Continues Handmade Christmas Traditions

Jewel has enjoyed years of success as an artist and reaped the material rewards that go with such success, but around the holidays she never forgets the lessons she learned from her Christmases as a kid when there weren't many presents under the tree.

On her official blog, Jewel writes that the family would often exchange handmade gifts, and says she and husband Ty Murray now do the same. "Almost all of my Christmas trees were empty when I was growing up, and for many years after that. But you know what makes it OK? My dad taught us to make things. We would take what we had around us and make gifts. I remember turning the driftwood into windchimes for my dad, or my brother wrote us a poem."

"We would make drawings for each other and each gift meant something special," she continues. "It was much more touching than just getting a sweater. We didn't have much and I would have loved a new CD player! But the warmth I felt from creating a present and receiving one that meant a lot never made me feel poor -- it made me feel rich. Now that Ty and I can afford any gift we want, surprisingly, we really don't buy many gifts for each other. Ty and I, to this day, make presents for each other, and it means way more than any other gift we could get."

Jewel will have a gift for country fans around the first of the year -- she plans to release a new single to country radio at that time.