A Homemade Christmas: Gift Giving from the Heart

As the cost of holiday shopping continues to overwhelm most families, an old tradition is popping back up on the radar. Homemade gift giving is coming back in full force! Making gifts from things you have in your home already, or buying a small number of items to make several gifts is a great way to save this holiday season.

Gifts in a Jar

Gifts in a jar used to be a standard gift giving idea at the holidays. These items include brownies, cookies, pie filling, soup mix, hot chocolate mix, specialty coffee mixes. You can find a large number of gifts In a jar ideas by doing a simple Internet search. I know that I always enjoy getting these items, it gives me something fun and easy to do with my children and they taste really good too!

Framed Pictures

This gift idea can be done very nicely and with little money. Most everyone can print pictures now at home from their computers. You can have your children make homemade frames with old pieces of wood or plastic, they can color it or paint it. Grandparents love these gifts. You can also go to the dollar store and buy "real" frames sometimes two for a dollar.

Letters From the Children

Sometimes a letter from your children telling about their year can make just as nice of a gift as anything you can wrap! Getting your older children to write their own letter is a wonderful way for them to stay close to family members. Have them tell about their school year, their friends and school activities.

Needlepoint, Knitting, and Quilting

These old pastimes have come back full force in recent years. Giving of yourself and your time to make someone a blanket, shawl or other item shows how much you care about them.

Photo Calenders

There are so many websites now that offer free printable photo calenders it's a very easy way to give a wonderful gift! You can do a simple Internet search to find them. Here is one that is easy to use: http://h10050.www1.hp.com/activitycenter/us/en/maker/teen_year_at_a_glance.html