Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

If you go to this website, you will find a HUGE choice of ideas: http://members.  Mae/jarlinks.htm

Have Fun!!

I have a great idea...I sell Home Interiors & Gifts, with features from Better Homes and Gardens.
We have the BEST candles on the market and very affordable. Everybody likes candles and they are a hot item right now. If you are interested e-mail me at coolybr549@aol.com Thank you.

I fill Mason jars with all the dry ingredients to make either cookies or soup. Put the recipe on a pretty card and tied it with a ribbon to the jar. it's cheap and people love it-they either have dinner or dessert at hand. Hope this helps.

Here's a small gift basket idea I used as teacher's gifts that were a big hit: I baked a dozen mini muffins and included 3 packages of hot cocoa (a box of 10 costs $1). The teacher's loved it because it was something they could enjoy and not another knick knack to dust. If you want a bigger gift, add a second flavor of muffins and add herbal tea, too.

What about things like homeade hot cocoa mix or bath salts, placed in decorative jars. You can find recipes almost anywhere. The ingredients are not very expensive, and easy to find.

If you're able to visit thrift shops or yard sales, this is something you can be working on all year, not just as it gets close to Christmas: Pick up beautiful old china dinner plates--you see a lot of nice single ones left over from sets that have long since bit the dust. Then when it gets closer to the Holidays, if you're a pretty good cookie maker--or if not like me, watch your local grocery store bakery for good deals on fancy cookies--fill each plate with a nice arrangement of fancy cookies, cover the whole thing with that clear wrapping paper (pull the paper up over the top of the plate and tie some pretty grosgrain ribbon around the excess wrapping paper sticking up over the plate). A friend of mine has given me a couple of these and I just loved it! Not only did I enjoy the yummy cookies, but now I have some really pretty plates that are fun to use for snack trays for fancy parties or even just to look at in my china hutch. (People are always asking me where I got such pretty plates!)

You can make a candleholder with candy canes. You need a red long tapered candle and about six or seven canes. Glue canes around candle with the crook part down. Tie an ribbon around and add some small xmas flower. Very cute and cheap. This makes great teachers gifts

http://www.Budget101.com has some great and inexpensive ideas for gifts.

I don't have the money to buy Christmas presents for my sisters and their children, so I go to Walmart or any store that sells crafts, I purchase crosstitch ornaments for like .97 cents, that way everyone gets a present they will always have to remember me by. The ornaments only take one hour to do and learning how to crossstitch is very easy, which you could find a website that has the instructions on it for free! My family loves them!
kay neugebauer

Make Peanut Brittle and put it in a jar. It always looks harder to make than it is. Make sure it's a dry day. And if you are feeling like making something fancier use hazelnuts or almonds in place of peanuts.

Take a look at this site.

http://www.tipt  .com/violaleeroy

several shops to look at especially gifts under $5 and $10 if on a budget like me.

No matter what you make, if you want it to look like anything, you will have to spend some money. What are your abilities and what crafts do you like to do? A lot will also depend on the ages of the recipients.

You could use the ingredients you have in your kitchen to make gifts. For example, put the dry ingredients in a zip-lock bag for making a batch of cookies or a cake or bread, etc. Then write on a small card the wet ingredients that need to be added, and the instructions for mixing and baking it. Place the card in the bag.

Or you could bake cookies, place in zip-lock baggies and freeze until Christmas.

Another idea is to write down or type 5 to 10 of your very best recipes on a piece of paper or index cards, and give those as gifts.

These days most people understand that times are tough financially for some of us, I'm sure anything you give will be appreciated.

My sister has a large family encluding grandchildren and great grandchildren. She makes all the Christmas gifts and birthday gifts. She has a very small income. She quilts and knits. Every one in her family has lovely quilted place mats, lap quilts, pot holders, toaster covers, doll quilts, table toppers and door hanger decorations. She even makes tree ornaments from small quilt blocks. She knits the most wonderful dish cloths from cotton yarn. The little kids all have novelty pillowcases from kids story book prints. Her investment is the cloth, yarn and thread which is not a lot because she buys her supplies on sale and in bulk. She begins making her gifts in January and gets the birthdays out of the way first then starts on Christmas. She enjoys it and her family, me encluded, love the gifts.

If you know how to crochet, you can make rag rugs from old t-shirts. I made one for each of my sons teachers and they loved them! They also cost me nothing except my time. go to myrecycledbags.com for easy instructions.

Some ideas that I have used are candles and cards. You can make really attractive cards from card stock, photographs and creative use of colored paper. Choosing photos of family or places you have traveled makes the gift even more special. You can purchase inexpensive candles and decorate them with photos or poems and use decoupage glue to attach them to the candle.

If you make jams, jellies or relishes, a small jar with a ribbon attached is a very personal gift. You can also make cookies, always a hit! If you don't bake, get a package of cookie mix.

There are some fantastic recipes here! some include the "clone" instant coffee recipes that I intend to make and give as Christmas gifts! www.buget101.com has all kinds of gifts in a jar; make a mix etc. Make a mix: google it; find what works for you and if you don't have jars; www.freecycle.org or local recycling; post small jars needed on craigs list; or watch for "free"; Salvation Army locally has been where I pick up all kinds of jars for 25 cents each! Yard sales, thrift stores is where I pick up unusual jars with sealed lids and keep my beans, rice, etc on display as I enjoy the look so well!

Krusteaz has a pie crust mix that is flaky and used by all pie makers; available at places bakeries by from; ours locally is called United Grocers; and it's a "cash and carry" store. Makes pie making so easy you'll wonder why you haven't made any in a while! Lemon pies, coconut cream pies, whatever; doesn't have to be "expensive" ; reminds me of when folks would give me zuccini's as they had so much of them! I would grate, freeze, and then make bread and cakes from them; and give as gifts at Christmas; you can easily make your own pumpkin filling (google it) and then make pumpkin bread! The very folks who gave me the zuccini's loved having the breads and cake in return at Christmas time!

Beans, great tips were found by me on this site this morning; adding ginger to the water when soaking; and then fresh when making prevents gasiness; another was to keep beans in refrigerated "watering" them for use again in the week to avoid having the "presoak" thing; if you have come across a bean normally not used; and really enjoy them; put some in a jar with the 2 tips!

Free book exchanges: or where you can drop books off or pick up free books locally in your area I am sure!
To make either candy cane tea; or candy cane coffee; simply blend, smash with hammer, whatever, a peppermint candy. Then add to either (loose leaf tea): to your taste!

Voila! not paying high prices! Great ideas!

You can probably make suet from things in your home if you have a bird feeding person. If a gardener, you can take cuttings from your herbs and put in smaller pots and give as gifts. I found free hanging pots one time along side the road, having passed them up 5 times, still there, I stopped. What I did was go to a local nursery where the 6 plants for $2.00 was and got some pansies which do excellent in the winter, and gave those! Already had the dirt! If you don't have planters, ask for them on freecycle or craigslist; gosh, I just took a bunch back to the nursery!

Another thing: in my area bare root starts in January. I, another time, gave a note to folks that I would give them in February about the 20th, when the strawberry plants come in. I used to get 25 for $3, probably higher now. Get the ever-bearing, put them in hanging planters and they can enjoy strawberries all spring and summer long! ($20 to $25 to buy at nurseries!)

These make great Easter and Mother's Day gifts as well. $1.00 buys a new hanging planter at the $1 store! A can of paint fusion will paint oodles and oodles of older plastic pots, it fuses together and works well on all plastic items. All kinds of inexpensive do-it-yourself for wild birds items on line.

Always look at what you do have, this is the frugal way. What DO I have that I can use for this thing? Then the imaginations come! Don't stomp them out, as being "no" folks will be thrilled you thought of them, and even more thrilled you didn't buy into the "gotta buy buy buy" mentality to boot!

I need some ideas for gifts I can make either my mom or my dad or both for Xmas. Please help.

By Cedar from ATX

Answers:

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

If you are computer savvy and your computer has a burner you can make them a CD using their own music. Last year I took all the CDs from my parents' car and ripped (that's the term for removing songs) the CDs onto the computer and then compiled and burned the songs they liked onto CDs.
Or you could put together a CD of Christmas music they like. I did that last week for my mom and our pastor.

I made a post here: thriftyfun.com. on how to burn a CD.

Editor's Note: Be sure that you purchase the music or compile it off of your own CDs to avoid copyright issues. (12/07/2009)

By Suntydt

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

You could take pictures of when they were dating, first married, life in general and add them to a DVD along with music from those times, and commentary under the pics, or someone talk. This is a remarkable and most enjoyable gift anyone would love to receive. I hope you can do this. We did one and it took about 22 hours! But so worth it! Merry Christmas to you and your family. (12/13/2009)

By Vicki in KY

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Make up gift baskets with things they like. For instance, make a basket with music related items, say a movie and a CD, a couple of packs of popcorn, some chips, movie tickets to the latest movie; that sort of thing. Or a basket with make-up items or lotions, creams, for a woman, maybe fingernail polish, a barrette, perfume, etc. You could also add a pretty scarf or a notepad, pretty pen, or a necklace, whatever you think they would like.

For gardeners, a trowel, some seeds, garden gloves. Or for coffee lovers, small bags of gourmet coffee, a mug, some fancy creamer.

Food tins are nice too. Just make some of the quick, cake mix cookies, decorate them prettily and add them to a tin. Make several different ones and put them in those little plastic bags. Or maybe you have a fudge lover. Make some of the easy marshmallow fudge and add different things to each batch. Raisins, M&Ms, crushed Heath bars, crushed peppermint, nuts, etc.
You can buy the little plastic bags that shrink with a hair dryer, at craft stores and the tins you can find at dollar stores or places like Walmart.

If your mother sews, some fabric and a pattern, you know she would like would be nice. Get the thread and zipper, etc. that it calls for, so she has all she needs to make it. Or get her a craft pattern and all the things she needs to make it.

One of my favorite gifts last year, was from my sister in law. She gave me jars of homemade jam with little gingham fabric squares around the top, tied with raffia. It looks really cute. She also gave me a candle that smells really good, some chocolate covered pretzels, and homemade cookies. Oh, and a new cookbook. I loved all this and I bet anyone would. Jars are inexpensive and recipes for jam are really easy to make. Just look them up on the Internet.

We received a book with pictures of all the family and their favorite recipe printed underneath it. If they didn't have a recipe, they just listed their favorite foods and a recipe was printed for them. This book was printed out from the computer, but she bought the cover from a computer store or office supply place. All she had to do was assemble it. It is fun to see what each person chose.

This is just some of what my family gives each year. We don't spend much, but these are personal and a lot of fun to get. (12/14/2009)

By eveh

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

1. Make a calendar on the PC. Scan pictures for each of the 12 pages, on the dates put clipart for birthdays for person born on that date.
2. Type and print favorite receipts. Have the number of copies made that you need. Take to Staples, etc. and have them glue one side to make a book or punch holes or use paper that has holes already and put into a note book.
3. Make quick breads and freeze ahead of time. Put bread, homemade jam and tea mix in basket.
4. Make a few extra and take down to the park where you will find homeless and give at Xmas.
5. Make neck pillows in shape of dog bone and stuff. The fabric could be of dogs, cats, flowers, golf, fishing, etc. even use favorite sport teams fabrics. 1/2 yard will make three pillows.
6. Make pillow 15 inches long from 45 inch fabric and then about 9 inches tall, for chemo patients. Go to Vicking.com and look under community and you will find a comfort caps pattern for adult and child. Use happy looking fabric for the lining you can make it reversible.
7. Make hankies and trim with lace. I machine embroidery on fabric first.
8. Buy two baby blankets at dollar store and tie around the edges and add your own touch with embroidery, applique, etc.
9. For those using wheelchair or walker make a "bag" to hand on arm of wheelchair or front of walker. You will find pattern in pattern books or DIY pattern.
10. Go to library or used book store and buy used books for the person's hobby or whatever their interest may be.
11. Make a snuggle *really cheaper to buy at Wal Mart.
12. Nap cap and gloves for a senior to sleep in to stay warm.
13. Buy fleece and make long scarf. You don't even have to sew them. Decorate with embroidery, etc.
14. Lap throw for those using wheelchair.
15. Look for the remnants at fabric stores. They are much cheaper.
16. And last my favorite, make a tote to use as a bag or for shopping. Look in pattern books for ideas and DIY. Totes also make good diaper bags or tote for child to take to grandma's house.
17. Oops, one more favorite. Make a patchwork jacket from your scraps or tote. Use bought pattern or buy big sweatshirt.

Now back to sewing. Hope I've helped you with ideas for your presents for anytime of the year.

Grammy (06/12/2010)

By pearland