Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

The holidays are coming once again, and this year the budget seems tighter than ever. You really want to give meaningful gifts to those close to you, but want to be friendly to your pocket. Here are some wonderful gifts that won’t hit that budget, quite so hard this year.

Frames

Buy a basic $1 frame from the $1 store. Now embellish it with wonderful items that you have at home or can pick up some for cheap at a craft store. I like to keep my eyes open when I go to people’s homes, and make a mental note of their décor. This helps when the crafting time comes. A few ideas for frames are shells, pasta, or wooden cut outs. You can glue these on in a pattern. When I use really small shells, I like to make a zigzag pattern, or spirals. Then in the corners, I hot glue a larger shell. You can embellish the shells with glitter paints, antiquing paints…whatever you’d like.

Gift Baskets

Gift baskets are a great gift to make. You can build them around your budget and with a little cellophane and ribbon; they look like a very expensive gift. I like putting together a coffee basket with a pound of good coffee, a cute (but inexpensive) coffee mug, a stir stick, and maybe a few homemade cookies wrapped in cellophane. For a bath basket, I like putting in a few inexpensive candles, some trial sized bath items, and a magazine or book that I think they would enjoy. You can create any type of gift basket you’d like. The only limitation is your imagination.

Gifts In A Jar

I’m sure you’ve seen them. At a lot of craft fairs, or those cute little Mom and Pop shops sell them for a pretty penny. All you need to do is layer the dry ingredients in a mason jar, along with the recipe for the item. For example:

“Mix all ingredients together. Add two eggs, and ¼ cup of milk. Bake at 350, for 35 minutes.”

I like to write the directions on a nice recipe card, and attach it with a pretty ribbon. You can even create a little label for the jar.

For The Kids, The Craft Toolbox

I have made this for so many kids. They all love it. Our $1 store carries cute little plastic toolboxes. I fill the toolbox with cheap craft supplies like glue, watercolors, crayons, stickers, paper… I then use a stencil to put their name on the toolbox.

Nothing says “I love you” like a gift that truly was made for you….

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