Christmas Gifts

[Mommypooh]

I was wandering if any of you had some good ideas for homemade gifts. I am planning to keep christmas as cheap as possible due to raising gas prices and everything else that is makeing ends not meet.

Here are some ideas i have right now.

I went on freecycle and asked for glass jars and have at least 50 of them now. I am also asking for epsom salts, sea salts, oils and other bath salt and candel items so that I can make bath salts and candels.

I am asking for beans and rice even if they are not edible so that I can make little hackey sack bean bags for kids and make scent bags for adults by adding sented oils to the beans and rice.

I am going to make some Cinnamon shapes for people to use.

Ummm that is all I can think of now. As of this moment I haven't spent anything but am aquiring a lot of what I need through freecycle.

I will spent a couple of dollars on the cinnamon and a couple on the applesauce and other ingredients on there. I might have to buy a little bit more material for the bags, and I think I might have to buy some of the oils. I don't think I will have to buy much more than 20-30 dollars worth of items and That takes care of almost the whole family except for the one gift exchange where you have to spend 30 on the person and you have to have receits so that it can all be returned for the value of 30. (can we say money grabbing bastards???)

Well give me your ideas and links to sites with good ideas. Feel free to try any of mine as well.

[cadetevon]

I don't have a link, nor do I have the exact instructions, but they had to be easy, because I did them! LOL

Hot pads.

No wait, don't laugh.

Cut the material to size

take one 'side' of the material (um...I mean like the whole piece of material) and sew a smaller square of material in the middle of it (doesn't need to match because it'll be INSIDE the hotpad.

Don't sew all the way around.

Fill the small square with potpori stuff and hand stitch closed.

Sew the two halves together as you normally would (back to back)

Flip inside out (err...inside right...you sew, so you know what I mean here)

Hand stitch closed.

Now when the hotpad is used, it'll give off a wonderful smell.

[kgsilvas]

How about Cookie or Cocoa Basket?
Supplies:
An empty basket
Homemade cookies (any type)
Plastic wrap
Mason jar
Fabric square, about 10" x 10" (remnants, or holiday sewing leftovers)
Ribbon
Paper label Cocoa mix ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup non-dairy cream powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 3/4 cups instant nonfat milk powder
1 cup miniature marshmallows, if desired

Here are some recipes for the bath/aromatherapy products:

Bath Salts
4 cups Epsom salts
2 cups sea salt
Essential oils for scent (lavender is excellent for relaxation, citrus oils also work well)
Food coloring (optional)
Mix the two salts together; this is the base for your bath salts. Using 2 cups of salt at a time, add 4 to 10 drops of essential oil and food coloring as desired. Mix well, then place in a ziplock bag. Let cure for two weeks, shaking at least once daily. Once salts have cured for two weeks, transfer to containers for use in gift basket.

Fizzing Bath Bombs
1 cup citric acid
3 cups baking soda Fragrance or Essential Oil
water
Mix citric acid and baking soda, add scent until it reaches the strength you desire. Using a spray bottle, add a fine mist of water to the dry ingredients. Mix in well. Continue adding small amounts of water until the mixture begins to clump. Press mixture into candy or soap molds--plastic molds work best. Continue packing mixture until no more can be packed into the mold. Let mixture dry. This may take anywhere from a couple hours to several days, depending on humidity. When shaped bath bombs pop out of the containers easily, they are done. Seal individually in plastic wrap. To use, drop one or two into running bath water.

Scent Jars
8 oz clear, unscented glycerin soap
1 teaspoon fragrance or essential oil 10 drops food coloring
3 4-oz jelly jars
Melt soap in top half of double-boiler. As soon as it is melted, add fragrance and color and pour into jars. Let set for six to eight hours. Place lids on jars. Open jars will lightly scent rooms for several weeks.

[avlena]

If you have any skill with photo editing, you could do something with pictures. last year, I had a bunch of old slides scanned into photos, and put them into a collage for my family. The year before that, i took a pic of me and my 2 brothers, and interposed us over our old baby pictures. it didn't look professional, but was decent, and everyone loved it. all it cost me was time and the price of the frame.

You could also make a book. I created a story about a traveling gnome for Graf (yes, it was stolen from the movie Amelie). I took this clay garden gnome I bought for a few bucks, and went all over Orange County, taking pics of it in various situations and places, and wrote a cute story to go with it. If your kids have a favorite stuffed animal or character, you could do something similar.

If you like making bath products, you can make a cheap body scrub with sugar. I'm not sure what the recipe is, but if you do a search online, you should be able to find something.

Plus, the gift could be a service of some sort. Offer coupons for a free night of babysitting, cleaning house, etc.

Good luck! I'm hoping to find some cheap gifts this year too - with all the marriages in my family, my gift list has grown quite a bit!

[riskykougra]

A great idea a friend of mine does that I am going to try this year is to go to a thrift shop or something like it and buy old puzzles, paint the pieces all green, glue them into the shape of a wreath with over lapping pieces for strength and then paint christmas designs on them. Use ribbon so they can be hung up. They are really pretty and easy to make.