What are some creative but inexpensive homemade gifts for Christmas?

Last year my boyfriend and I went on a crazy shopping spree and spent well over $2,000 on gifts for everyone in the family (both his and mine) for Christmas. We've had some financial hardships this years (getting a new apartment and a new job) and we can't afford to go all out this year. We still wanna give a little something to them anyways, but we are thinking things like Christmas cards with a picture or maybe small key chains. Anyone else have any other ideas on creative, inexpensive gifts for Christmas?

What are some creative but inexpensive homemade gifts for Christmas?
Make cookies and give them in nice gift boxes.
Reply:My wife and I were in a similar situation. We had a good year and were able to give elaborate gifts to our family. But we buffered their expectations for the next year by telling them that the coming year might not be as profitable for us. We were right - it wasn't!





The cookie idea is a good one if you are proficient in the kitchen. If you are, pastries, pie, or a homemade cheesecake would put a smile on their faces too. My favorites are fudge truffle cheesecake or maple pumpkin cheesecake. Very festive.





Apart from that, the best thing to do is keep your ears open around the gift recipient or ask mutual friends and family what others may want. I now write things down throughout the year whenever I hear someone say, "Man, I'd love one of those!" If you can actually meet a need, that shows you are thinking about them. For my dad, I got all the little tidbits for his garage and workshop that make his work easier but don't cost much. I got carriers for his extension cords, little battery push lights for spaces that didn't have good lighting, etc. Likewise, I got my mom new gadgets for the kitchen to replace her old and worn out ones. Also, look for opportunities to give complete sets of things where they currently have to mix and match. I got my mom a nice set of 24 glasses to replace the odd batch of mixed up sets in her cupboard that she'd accumulated over the years. Not expensive at all, but she really appreciated it.





Another big favorite in my family is to get a wall calendar of some subject that the recipient likes - sailboats, NASCAR, kittens, pretty girls, etc. - and then go through it, writing down all the birthdays and anniversaries for the family. A lot of places can take your pictures and custom make a calendar for you. That can be really sweet, since you can do pictures of you growing up for your parents, or get neat old pictures of your grandparents and great-grandparents to do the same thing.





Hope these give you some ideas.
Reply:someone gave me an awesome idea of making gift baskets with baked goods and giving them out. i have something posted for different recipies to try out before christmas. so far chocolate covered pretzels, home made hot chocolate, and sugar cookies seem to be a hit. you could go to the dollar stores to dress them up and divide the recipies as you see fit. it seemed like a good idea to me. im going through the same finantial situation as you and im freaking out about how im going to get gifts for everyone. im going to do the baskets for the family and just buy a decent gift for my parents. im always bored on the weekends, so the cooking before christmas will keep me buisy with all the snow and hassle of shopping that goes on.
Reply:gift baskets are great and you can cutomize to each individual, yummy foods and homemade snacks and little tiny frame or candle is always appreciated
Reply:candy and cookies are always good, wrap in a nice box or tin from the dollar store. you can make ornaments for everybody, or soaps. you can also make mixes in a jelly jar for cookies or bars where they just add a few ingredients and bake whenever. (I have a cookbook called Gifts in a Jar with lots of recipes, you can find them online also) have any good recipes you'd like to share with your family? you can write out the recipe on a recipe card real nice and include whatever utensils or bake ware need for the recipe from the dollar store- Ex: a cream chez dip you can premake the seasonings and divide up into servings sizes and include a holiday chez spreader and a small bowl with the recipe. teas and coffee with a nice mug, a $5 gift card to Blockbuster,some microwave popcorn, some sodas and candy all wrapped in a popcorn bowl for movie night.
Reply:I asked a simular question - you seem to be getting some great ideas and i will be watching this space!!!!! Good luck with your finances and have a wonderful Chrissy!
Reply:Knit some nose mittens .
Reply:Try knitting, make cards, write poems, use leaves to make wreathes, sing a song, make them dinner, bake a cake/pie/cookies/etc., babysit their pets while they go away, give "tickets" (for massage, taking out garbage, etc.), have an announcement given over the radio, clean their house, offer to make a photo album of all their miscellaneous photos.





So many more. . . !
Reply:Well, if you have a creative flair (and maybe some time or long travel rides), you could crochet around the plastic part of flip-flops (I have done these and people LOVE them! Though the pattern-link is not the one I was looking for it is the same thing! Craft stores should have a free tangible copy in with their yarns). They can wear them out or as "slippers". Another idea is to make a book of pictures (though there are many ways to do this, this type is really nice).


Here are the links:





flip-flops (they are very easy to make!) http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/Furry...





Star book - http://www.geocities.com/mladys/star.htm...





I hope these help! Merry Christmas and GOD bless!!!
Reply:You can buy little ceramic bread pans at the dollar store and make several little breads with one recipe, wrap in foil or plastic wrap, and tie a ribbon around it.





You can also buy some mugs at a dollar store, go on-line to find some recipes to make coffee mixes or hot chocolate mixes, put some in a little sandwich size baggy, tie a ribbon around the bag, plop it in the mug and there's a gift.





Here's another idea. Make some popcorn. Melt some white chocolate (the wafers), and mix it up with the popcorn. Wrap in swatches of plastic wrap, tie tightly with colored Christmas ribbon. It's delicious!! Just make sure the balls of popcorn and white chocolate are hardened before you wrap.
Reply:Bath salts are nice for the people who would enjoy them.
Reply:Why not make mini scrapbooks for everyone? Gather photos that you have on hand (free) and write memories next to them. (Photos of your family members, I meant)
Reply:make bracelets with their names on it

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