Homemade Christmas Gifts - Easy For You and Easy on Your Pocketbook

Homemade Christmas Gifts - Easy For You and Easy on Your Pocketbook
By Shellie Gardner

The true spirit of Christmas is about showing our love and appreciation to family members and friends. Most often, we try to think of gift ideas we can purchase at the local mall, department store, or specialty shop. While gifts that come from these stores are wonderful and appreciated by your loved ones, why not try your hand at creating homemade Christmas gifts this year? Read on to be inspired to create personal and unique gifts for your family and friends this Christmas season.

Food Gifts
The Christmas season is a time when people's thoughts turn toward those comfort foods and special dishes that only show up around the holidays. Food gifts are much appreciated and can be enjoyed all year long. Decorate jars, baskets, gift boxes with organza, gossamer, or grosgrain ribbon and perhaps a beautifully handcrafted Christmas ornament for a special touch. Colored cellophane, printed fabric, or sparkly tissue papers are all wonderful ways to present your food gifts.

Ideas for food gifts might include:

• Cookies
• Hot chocolate mixes
• Coffee and tea packets with a special mug
• Homemade jams, jellies, relishes, salsa
• Homemade fudge
• Brownie or cookie mixes in a jar with an attached recipe
• Spiced almonds
• Trail mix or homemade granola
• Barbecue rubs for the grill masters in your life
• Homemade syrups
•  Popcorn balls
• Fresh baked breads to go with jams and jellies

These are just a few suggestions for gifts from your kitchen. Perhaps put together themed baskets and add a few store-bought items as well.

Craft Ideas
Simple craft ideas are ideal for this time of year when time is of the essence. Your family members and friends will appreciate the time you took to create something unique just for them.

• Star studded candles - Purchase candles in your choice of color and size. Use metal star studs (found at craft stores) to decorate the entire candle by pushing them into the candle at varying intervals. Add an organza or gossamer ribbon tied in a bow.
• Cinnamon candles - Pillar candles are ideal for this project. Hot glue long cinnamon sticks to a pillar candle, surrounding the entire candle or just partially. Again, tie ribbon around the candle with a bow and add a sparkly trinket in the middle of the bow for a beautiful presentation.
• Glass Christmas ornaments - Purchase plain glass ornaments at your craft store. Using acrylic paint, pour a little into the top of the ornament and allow the paint to swirl around the inside. Once the ornaments are dry, nestle several into tissue paper inside a basket or box and gift them to friends and family.
• Sewing projects - straight lines are very easy! Create potholders, themed pillowcases, tote bags, decorative pillows, and placemats that fit the decor of the recipient.
• Photo albums or photograph collages - use your favorite photos from the year to create a keepsake album or a photo collage for the wall. Images of loved ones are bound to bring smiles all year round.

Giving homemade Christmas gifts are a wonderful, personal, and unique way to show our loved ones they are special and unique themselves, so think outside the mall this year and create one-of-a-kind gifts for your children, spouse, family members and friends.

Shellie Gardner, owner of Christmas Light Source, loves Christmas and Christmas Lights. Since she is thinking of the Holiday season all year, it only stands to reason that she'd write an occasional article about Christmas and gift giving.

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