~ Rag quilts
~ Casseroles to freeze and give later to start someone on OAMC (once a month cooking)
~ Fleece robes
~ Recipe box with family recipes (I'm going to take photographs of my father-in-laws recipes cards, which we given to me after he died, then transfer the photos to Snapfish so anyone in the family can access them.)
~ Fleece tied blankets
~ Baskets with jars of basket with jars of soup mixes, cookie mixes, etc.
~ Sachets (homemade potpourri anyone? start in the spring because it takes MONTH to do.)
~ Art buckets for little kids: buy all the crayons, markets, and glue when the back to school stuff is cheap and then throw in some extras like foam sheets, pipecleaners, wiggle eyes, etc.
~ Toe Jam jars- Jars decorated and filled with nail polish, nail stickers, nail files, toe separators, etc.
~ A super hero cape for a child.
~ Felt food sets for a child (popsicles, fruit slices, pizza, etc)
~ Tree skirts / stockings / ornaments
~ Crochet hook case / knitting needle case
~ Family photo calendars
~ Box of dress-up clothes (gotten from yard sales, alter or repair as necessary)
~ Custom notecards
~ Wreathes
~ Candles
~ Beaded earrings, necklaces, watch bands, bracelettes
~ Wineglass or beer glass charms
~ Potholders
~ Aprons (mother - daughter aprons? father - son?) Gardening aprons?
~ Canned produce: salsa, jams / jellies, peaches, apple pie filling, etc.
~ A little treasure box containing 52 slips of paper, each with a verse, poem, special memory or such that I'd written on it. Pull one out each week for a year.
~ Key chains
~ Handbags / tote bags
~ Doll totes for girls
~ Eye glass cases (bedside organizers that fit between the mattress and boxspring and hand on the side of the bed are good, too)
~ book marks
~ pin cushions
~ storage bins (magazine storage boxes from cereal boxes!)
~ back of the seat organizers for cars (mini-trash bags for the car, too)
~ duct tape wallets, cheap and loads of colors
~ pajama pants (who doesn't enjoy lounging around? and are easy to sew)
~ marshmellow shooters (few pieces of pvc and a bag of marshmellows)
~ Slingshot / think of a dog ball slingshot, too
Snowman Soup Recipe:
Assemble in a gift bag, gift mug or small zipper food storage bag:
* 1 individual packet hot chocolate mix
* 2-3 chocolate kiss candies
* 10-15 mini-marshmallows
* small candy cane
And here is the poem to attach to the package:
Snowman Soup
Was told you've been real good this year.
Always glad to hear it!
With freezing weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit.
So here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick!
Friday, February 13, 2009
12 Months to a Homemade Christmas
Okay, okay, I know. Christmas was just a few weeks ago and we're still recovering. Personally, I still have a few boxes that haven't been put away even.
And that makes this is a good time to remember all we went through all so recently and prepare for Christmas 2009. I'm going to bet that the economy won't be much better next year (sadly) so it is in our best interest to make next Christmas as low-cost and stress-free as possible.
That is why I'm proposing we spend the next 12 months preparing for a great homemade Christmas. So here goes ...
~ Step One: Organize next years Christmas list. Who do you want to give to? Make notes of their likes and interests. If your family does a gift-draw and you don't know all the people you will be giving to, that is okay. You can make an unknown, generic person on your list and refine the gift ideas for them later.
~ Step Two: Make a list of general gifts you would like to give that are homemade. Some gifts - like gifts from the kitchen - MIGHT need to be made fresh. However, you can also prepare for those gifts by gathering up the ribbon, fabric, baskets and other decor that you'll need. You may also make some of your gifts from the kitchen during the fall harvest / food preservation season so you'll want to make note. Other gifts will need lots of time such as sewing and other craft projects.
~ Decide which projects you'll need to start on first then SLOWLY tackle each project in turn. But focusing on having all your gifts made by next December, we may end up giving some quality items that are far more valuable that anything that could be bought in stores.
So, what are you going to make first? Post many gift ideas so we can all be inspired!
And that makes this is a good time to remember all we went through all so recently and prepare for Christmas 2009. I'm going to bet that the economy won't be much better next year (sadly) so it is in our best interest to make next Christmas as low-cost and stress-free as possible.
That is why I'm proposing we spend the next 12 months preparing for a great homemade Christmas. So here goes ...
~ Step One: Organize next years Christmas list. Who do you want to give to? Make notes of their likes and interests. If your family does a gift-draw and you don't know all the people you will be giving to, that is okay. You can make an unknown, generic person on your list and refine the gift ideas for them later.
~ Step Two: Make a list of general gifts you would like to give that are homemade. Some gifts - like gifts from the kitchen - MIGHT need to be made fresh. However, you can also prepare for those gifts by gathering up the ribbon, fabric, baskets and other decor that you'll need. You may also make some of your gifts from the kitchen during the fall harvest / food preservation season so you'll want to make note. Other gifts will need lots of time such as sewing and other craft projects.
~ Decide which projects you'll need to start on first then SLOWLY tackle each project in turn. But focusing on having all your gifts made by next December, we may end up giving some quality items that are far more valuable that anything that could be bought in stores.
So, what are you going to make first? Post many gift ideas so we can all be inspired!
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