Home-made Xmas Gifts? Ideas?

[bravofrenchie]

Here's what I've got so far:

1.) Plain ceramic ornamants, painted by me. ($1 apiece at the Craft Warehouse.)
2.) Empty & clean wine bottles stuffed with christmas lights. Multi-colored lights are VERY pretty against the frosted glass of an Arbor Mist bottle. A 30-foot strand of 100 mini-lights will fit 1 bottle, if you stuff hard. Plain white lights also look pretty in a blue or green bottle.
3.) Hand made cards. (Made with rubber stamps.)
4.) Gifts in a jar. Cocoa, cookie mix, waffle mix, ect. in canning jars. Got the book "Gifts from a Jar Christmas Treats." on sale at B&N.

There are 4 or 5 craft & fabric stores in my area, so supplies are no problem. I'm not much of a seamstress, but give me a hot glue gun or paint brush, and look out!

Ideas?

[Bethla]

I second the gifts in a jar. I have the book of cookie recipes and my mom has the soups and breads. You can buy plain calendars and have the kids do art work for each month. Also, candles. You can buy sheets of different color beeswax.

[ajsgirl]

I've been thinking of making my own vanilla to put in little glass bottles to give away. You can make it by soaking vanilla beans (open) in vodka for several days. The price of vanilla has really skyrocketed lately, so making your own would be crafty and thoughtful! I'm not sure of the ratio of beans to ounces of vodka, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find out.

[Mom4tot]

We are making some pretty felt star ornaments...cut with pinking shears, stuffed with wool and sewn around the edges...you can add an initial in sequins if you like. Simple, but pretty.

For family, I like to find an old picture (that maybe only I have) and make a copy at the picture maker and frame.

We will also make some gifts in a jars.

[miss_sonja]

We're not doing gifts for family this year, but I'm going to give homemade chocolate bark to friends and the postman, garbage guy (ours is so great) etc. There's an easy recipe in the latest Tupperware catalogue (ha ha)--melt chocolate chips, spread on a silicone mat, melt white choc. do same, sprinkle with chopped up peppermint candies (starlight mints) and chill. Break up and store tightly covered.

[Persephone]

I'm rather poor, so I'm baking cookies and giving them away to all my loved ones. I'm also working at Yankee Candle, and I get a substantial discount, so they'll likely get some candles too.

[WriterMama]

I've been scouting around for ideas and found some that I liked:

Homemade and/or personalized potholders with a brownie mix (or pancakes mix, etc.)

Fleece blankets, pillows or scarves

Child-sized pillows with several fun pillowcases (can do seasonal themes, too)

Knitted scarves

French memory/picture board

Homemade biscotti

Framed children's artwork

For children, small fabric/fleece purses or bags embellished with ribbon, beads, etc.

Velvet bookmarks embellished with beads and tassels

Art clipboards (see this link) http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com//cat/...c=kwd&flash=on

theme baskets (good for families)--some ideas are a boardgame and popcorn; hot chocolate and wool socks; holiday CD with hot chocolate and candy canes; a movie and popcorn or candy (if it's a tear jerker, add kleenex); art supplies, gardening stuff, etc.

[Oh the Irony]

My plan for most relatives:

a sour cream pound cake (very special, recipe of my husbands grandmother who died 2 years ago on Dec.25th--we put a label with her pic on it)

homeade Irish cream

homeade salad dressing

hand dyed cloth napkins

photos of the kids

sachets with dried herbs if I get really energetic

[Elowyn]

Knitting scarves & mittens (have a couple of *easy* patterns)

Also, lots of baked goods/fudge/etc.

Handmade candles

Handmade ornaments

Love the wine bottle idea, Frenchie. May need to try that around here - excuse for wine consumption.

[bravofrenchie]

Thanks, Elowyn! I got it from my mom. Most light strings have an outlet on one end (the end that goes into the bottle.) What I do is, cut off the wires at the plastic outlet, then wrap each wire SEPERATLY in black electrical tape. Then I tape the two wires together, and start stuffing. A wooden spoon with a long, skinny handle helps with the stuffing. And don't be afraid to push hard, indoor/outdoor lights are made to take rough treatment. The bottles look really nice in a windowsill or on a table.

[ethanplusone]

Wow! I really like these ideas! I am always looking for new things to do, and some of these would work well with our family. Anyone else have more to add? Keep 'em comin'!

[myrrhmaid]

nak
i'm making felt gingerbread ornaments with dd's picture as the face, some 2 1/2" x 1" mini quits for ornaments, i have some vintage chocolate molds-we are going to use them for chocolates and paper mache'-giving each person a chocolate with a matching paper mache' ornament. i am also making homemade cleaners/laundry soap/dishwasher soap to give away. i might do some of those soup/bean mixes you put in a jar.
i am making dd and ds paper mache head kitties with muslin, wool stuffed bodies with homemade jammies.
we also paper mache'd a bunch of water balloons in newspaper strips/starch to make some ornaments for the tree. we used bendy straws to make paper mache candy canes. we will cover them in fancy gift wrap or fabric.
for my girlfriends-i'm going to buy a pair of underwear and web fuse either their initials or a favorite cuss word-depending on who it is!:LOL
herb dream pillows
wool stuffed frogs-old 60's-70's pattern
fleece socks/legwarmers:LOL
fleece ponchos

[cinnamonamon]

Re: the lights in the bottle -- you can add less lights & add some popourri (sp??) -- the heat from the lights warms & increases the scent. If you use a canning jar, put a doily on top to allow for scent to be released into room.

Love the themed baskets idea -- I'll have to do that for my sister & her family!

[bravofrenchie]

I found some websites with some great ideas:

http://www.allfreecrafts.com
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/c.../gifts/jar.htm
http://www.grannyskitchen.com/jar.htm
http://oh.essortment.com/homemadechrist_rcxr.htm
http://rubyglen.com/articles/handmadechristmas.htm

[AnnMarie]

I use a little fancy glass jar and put potpourri in it with Christmas lights and decorate the top with a small doilie and some ribbon and flowers. When you put the lights on it heats the potpourri and smells great.

I also make gift baskets. I buy all kinds of sets, body lotion, etc., at the end of the season cheap so I have them for the next year and then I get nice baskets from the dollar store. I still have a ton of supplies in my closet which is good because I have no money for Christmas. :LOL

[stayinghome]

For the Arbor Mist bottle idea- do the 100 lights fit into the small Arbor Mist bottle or the large?

[crochetmama]

All the females on my side of hte family are getting felted bags, they are serving as "wrapping paper".. :LOL

Dad's getting Peanut butter cookies w/nuts so mom doesn't steal them (in a WAHM basket, not homemade, but still)

DD 1&2: Getting waldorf dolls (made by me)
SIS 1-5: Knitted beanie, crochet flip flops, Purse, socks, (wahm teaset)

Everyone in the family is getting a Wooden Painted Christmas ornament (if they get here in time for me to paint)..

Hugs,
tammy

[sarasprings]

Originally Posted by WriterMama

Art clipboards (see this link) http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com//cat/...c=kwd&flash=on

I saw that in a friend's catalog and ripped the page out for my craft file. I think my husband will make it for my son sometime next year.

[Persephone]

Anyone got any ideas for a teenage boy? He's into computers and video games. I don't think there is anything homemade that I could get him.

[guerrillamama]

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