We've been trying to figure out how to make our money stretch to the end of this year. I get paid enough monthly to cover our bills, but it's necessary to take enough of my student loan money and carry it over for necessities, such as food and personal and household supplies for each month.
We also have some loans to pay back to our families. Anyway, I would like to just set aside enough for Christmas, but we just found out that my husband's dental surgery is going to cost a LOT, so it's eating up a big portion of our money.
Soooo, I need Christmas ideas. I figure if I start now, I can find inexpensive gifts and maybe even make some gifts for people. But I don't know what to make or what to look for to buy. So I thought I'd turn to Hatrack! Besides, I'm sure there are others who, like me, would like some Christmas ideas.
I need gift ideas mostly for adults, but also for a few children.
I'll start.
Crochet Something: I was thinking of teaching myself how to follow a crochet pattern. I know the basic stitch and how to add rows, but that's pretty much it. I thought I could make things like little hand purses? Although I'm not sure how useful they'd really be. What else could I crochet?
Mason Jar Goodies: Filled with dry ingredients for soup, cookies, bread, and other dishes. They look pretty--but the ingredients can be expensive depending on what you make. Things like bread in the jar look pretty boring. Covered with lace and a ribbon on top, the jars can look pretty. The soup jars with spiral pasta look especially cute.
Lavendar and Rose scented sachets: I made these for all the teachers on my hall one year. You take two cotton squares, put two or three drops of scented oil on them, and put them in sachets you can find in walmart. (I found that putting scent on one cotton square in the middle of two dry ones worked pretty well.) They come in two or three colors, and are often billed as a wedding favor item. Tied with a ribbon, these can be really pretty. They go well in drawers, and the scents are supposed to keep bugs away. They also make your pretties smell nice.
Christmas Ornaments: My friend made these, I never have. She would buy clear glass christmas ornaments and some paint. Then, she'd drizzle some paint inside and move the ornament around. Maybe using sparkle sometime, too. They turn out pretty. She gave me two, but as I haven't decorated my own Christmas tree since then, I haven't used them.
Baskets of cookies: This would take a lot of time, but hey, cookies are yummy. Not exactly a cheap solution, though.
Gel Candles: This is something I could buy that my mother-in-law makes. She makes them in all sorts of glass containers, from wide vases to wine glasses. She also puts objects inside the gel, if requested. I have probably about 6 or 8 in the house already. Since she's moved, she's not making them very often anymore, but she told me she could make some for my coworkers. They're about $5 each, and come in many colors and scents.
That's all I can think of right now. Many of the ideas are the sorts of things you'd give coworkers, not family. So please, hatrackers, list your ideas here. It's never too early to start planning!
Thanks!
Edit: First, I put that you should soak the cotton in oil... that's a BAD idea. It's very strong stuff, after all. A few drops works fine.
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You know, Hatrack wouldn't let me have "C ookie Baskets," because it thought I was trying to set a c ookie. I'm adding a space so it won't stop me again...
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Hmm. I don't know what gift giving is like in your household, but in the households of some friends of mine, they've changed the focus away from commercialization. They now draw names for all the adults and limit giving to that person to that one gift. They also assign a dollar limit that no one can go over. That could help overall.
I know another family who stopped giving presents altogether (no young children) and instead, made up gift baskets for needy families. Saved them a lot of money, but also changed the focus.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Yeah, in my family we draw names among the adults. There are 7 of us, and the limit is usually $25. It's hard not to also buy something for my mom, though, even when I don't get her name. Then there are 2 children on my mom's side, both boys, 6 and almost 2.
But on my husband's side, it's different. I don't feel comfortable instituting a change in how they do things, although I bet they could benefit from drawing names as well. I told my MIL in conversation that that's what we do on my side of the family, and she thought it was a good idea. I think she was interested in implementing it, but she's probably forgotten by now. In any case, we don't buy for everybody there--just for those who are at the Christmas Dinner that we attend. That could be just his mom and stepdad, or it could be any number of his sisters' families and children. If it turns out to be the latter, then I would like to have something inexpensive to give. Nobody expects us to spend a ton of money...so that's why I'm looking for ideas on what to make or inexpensively buy.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Katarain, homemade bath salts for the ladies is a wonderful idea. Talk about inexpensive - you can make pounds of it for under 10 bucks.
Your most expensive thing is going to be packaging. Of course they look great in those little glass jars but they can get high, so get creative and you might can get away with putting them in plastic and decorating around that with ribbon or scraps of fabric. Or use the same sachets you get at walmart and just put some pretty ribbon on them.
I did this one year for all those teachers gifts that you need but don't want to spend money on and with four kids and gymnastics coaches and dance teachers thrown in I'm usually having to come up with a lot of gifts.
Anyway, here's what to do. Get a really big bowl and gather your ingredients. What you need is Sea salt, epsom salts, and baking powder. Powder, not soda. Do not buy the sea salt sold in craft stores, get everything at a supermarket or WalMart type place where it's cheaper. The one thing you will need from the craft store is scent. You can find it with the soap making supplies (come to think of it, it's probably found in Walmart's craft section too) You can either buy one, or get two and combine them, your choice. If you're just using one, go with lavender, it's the most popular.
The recipe I used was 3 parts epsom, 1.5 parts sea salt and .5 parts baking powder. Put it in a bowl, then drop in several drops of scent. It's very concentrated, so just use a little at first.
Now, the scent will clump up, so start breaking it up and pushing it through all the salt. It will take a while to get it distributed somewhat evenly through all the salt, but at the end when you wash your hands they will smell lovely and be very soft. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I just remembered that my mom used to make homemade scented soap with us kids when we were little. They ended up looking homemade, but they smelled good and were fun to make. I'll try to get the recipe from my mom.
But I like the bath salt idea soooo much better. I could do that!! Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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If you've never really followed a crochet pattern, I personally would not start with purses. Why not do something super-easy like scarves? Make your beginning chain however wide you want them to be, then do rows of either single or double crochet till you have the length. Add some fringe on the ends and you're done! I made some chenille ones last year and they were well-received.
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Something that's fun to do with the kids is make your own ornaments. This is another one where I'd have to get the recipe from my mom. Basically, you made a dough (not for eating), cut shapes out with cookie cutters, bake, and then paint. Drill a hole through the top, and voila! Christmas ornaments! I always loved making those, and my mom still has some we made as kids. My brother got creative and shaped his out of dough instead of using a cookie cutter. He made some figure...can't remember what.. maybe a toy soldier? snowman? It's all possible, anyway...
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Space Opera, Aah. Okay. I thought purses would be easy because they're just two squares with a drawstring at the top, right? You can get chenille yarn?? That's so nice!! I had no idea.
I'm not sure about scarves, though, because we all live in the south. Well...it DOES get awfully cold in the winter, that's true. If I picked pretty and soft yarn, I could probably do that. Our mothers would probably love that...
And I'd have an excuse to go to the fabric store...or at least the yarn section of wal-mart. I really do love that. Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I would still need lots of practice. I tend to make the chains way too tight. I assume that it's okay to make the stitches loose and tight and everything in between depending on what you're making, right? Although too tight and too loose would be mutually useless? I have looked for good how-to sites on the internet, but haven't found one that's really good for a beginner with weird questions, like me.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Chenille might be good to use then, because the bulk of it will help hide any inconsistancies in your stitch tension. However, it is a bit harder to see your stitches (for counting) than a worsted-weight yarn.
How about simple knotted fleece blankets or pillows? You can watch and get the fleece on sale, and everyone loves something to snuggle up with in front of the TV.
It's pretty, but a little thicker than I like.. I think I'd pick a pretty pink or yellow or something.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Aah, I see. I think I like the crocheting idea, better. I've always wanted to learn. Maybe I could find an easy blanket or throw pattern, too.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Or....if you cross-stitch, you can do a simple design on kitchen towels for the ladies. Maybe a holiday design? Include one with a goodie-in-a-jar and that would be a really cute gift.
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Of course, I always have to tout my friends at Dharma Trading. I've done silk scarves before and most people think it's a luxurious, wonderful gift and have no idea how inexpensive it can be. Let's see how this would work out:
You don't need the stretcher and all that extra stuff, you basically just need the scarves and the paint, and table salt. They're recommending a dye much more expensive than the silk paints I use, I like Setasilk - it resonds great to the salt and it does well for sun printing too. It's 3.78 per bottle for the small one, which is all you'd need. Let's say you get two colors so you can do designs like the one shown they used three colors but you can do something nice with two.
Scarves - the cheapest is the habotai silk and it's what I normally use for these projects and people love them. The 8x54 size is a good one for normal wear and it comes out nice. They are $1.10 a piece if you buy 12 of them. Out of stock right now, but they say they'll have more mid-September and in my experience they're usually right when they say stuff like that.
I combined techniques in a scarf once - I painted the scarf with blue and aqua paint, then took a cardboard cutout of dolphin shaps and put them on it while the paint was wet, and let it dry in the sun. I salted it as well in parts, so that when the scarf came out it looked like water, with the bottom edges of the scarf having leaping dolphin shapes.
Finally, I just love the lavender wands. I may do these myself if I could figure out how to get fresh lavender.
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Oh! I DO Cross-stitch! I mean... once...but I did a good job... I might not have finished it...but uh.. yeah, I know how..
And don't shut up. If you have a million ideas and you can type that much, please share.
Wow, Belle. Those are so pretty. The scarves are a bit intimidating. I don't think I have any area in my apartment that could be easily converted into a painting area. Those lavender wands are so neat!
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I need ideas for the little people. I have 12 nieces and nephews ranging from 13 to 8 months.
I did fleese blankets one year (thanks ludosti!) and that was a huge hit, but I need something new for this year.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I would suggest felt boards for the little ones, and I-SPY jars for the older ones who can read.
Felt boards look pretty easy to make (I'm going to make one for my nephew) and little ones like them to play stories with. Might not work for actual babies, though - what about cloth books for them? The material is $4.00 at Wal-Mart, batting is about $2, and you can make one in an hour or so.
I-SPY jars: fill a clear container with various small objects (erasers, acorns, paper clips, etc.) then fill the container with rice. Attach a list on the outside listing what's hidden inside. Kids have to turn the jar every which way to try and find the objects.
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Men = homemade candy or peanut brittle. It's been my experience (and that's only *mine*) that not only is it difficult to make good crafty gifts for men, they honestly don't always like them that well either. But you can never go wrong with some sort of food item. Truffles?
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Actually, I agree with Opera for the food. A little candy or goodies and most of them are fine.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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This site has some cute ideas...most of them are better made WITH the kids...though, there is a link to a cute dollhouse you make with things around the house...
And here's another site with some more ideas. I think I like these more than the other site. It mentions making a keepsake box, and that reminds me of the year that my mom made a Treasure Box for my nephew. He had been asking for one, since he was obsessed with some recent cartoon--Elderado or something, I think. Anyway, she bought a small chest, with no decorations. then she bought some jewels at the craft store and glued them all over the outside. We looked around for a long time for plastic gold coins--nearly every place only had chocolate gold coins. We finally found them, and also bought really gawdy plastic-bead necklaces in bright colors. She also bought a box of poker chips. All in all, it turned out really nice, and he LOVED it. (She made him hunt for it, of course.)
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Make any readers a "book thong". It's a piece of string, wire, or cord with beads or charms strung on either end. (Leave enough space between beaded ends for the hight of a book). These are much classier than your average bookmark and can be personalized by using charms or the recipients favorite color in the bead selection. You can probably get all the supplies to make dozens of nice book thongs for under $30, or under $20 if you made them all the same color or with the same style of beads. You could get the supplies at almost any craft/fabric store. Email me if you want more specific instruction.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I thought of something my aunt used to make...
Toilet Paper Wall Hangers
Cut some material a little wider than a toilet paper roll, and long enough to wrap around 2 rolls, plus an extra foot or so. Fold in half, and sew two lines across so that two rolls can fit in the loops/space/whatever that's left. At the top, sew a thin strip turned over and gather the material into a small loop to use for hanging. Sew lace along the edges, and add whatever little touches you want.
I'm not very good at describing... Did that make any sense?
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Here's a picture of one Homemade Simple, but it's not exactly the same. (You have to scroll down.) The ones my aunt made were tight, not loose like those, and had a separate space for each roll. That's what I meant when I said sew across...you're sewing in between where each roll goes and at the top.
Anyway... my mom has several and makes use of them. They're a convenient place to store extra paper, and look good for guests.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I gave my five-year-old second cousin a gift she loved last year. She's into art and stuff, so:
I went to Big Lots and got paintbrushes, glitter paints, stamps, a washable inkpad, multi-colored gel pens, and some stickers. Total cost: less than $4.
I covered a cardboard box with some contact paper (if you don't have any pretty contact paper left over, you can get it by the yard at a fabric store; cheaper than getting a whole roll.) I stuck some stick-on velcro on the side with the closure.
After the adhesive had set, I opened the box, filled it with the art supplies, closed it back up, and wrapped it. Total cost less than $6 and she LOVED it.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I do baskets. I ask around and find out what the people like to do and buy a cheap basket at Hobby Lobby. One big bow later you've got yourself a gift.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Can you offer some people "services"? I'd much rather someone offer to babysit for free than give me more "stuff".
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I'm sure someone can who needs ideas for Christmas. I however, cannot, as I don't live near enough to anyone to provide any services. Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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OK, I'm ripping off this idea from another thread. Get a bunch of free Bibles. Give them as presents.
If you want to be nicer than all that, make beautiful (cross stick or hand painted or whatever craft you do) Bible covers.
Smile devoutly and say how it reflects the true meaning of the holiday, and not all this crass commercialism.
The downside is that when people find out that you think religious presents are better than the crass commercial ones, that's all you can be expecting to get from now on.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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romanylass, my mom did that for my cousin, and she loved it. She gave them a "night in/ night out basket". It had microwave popcorn, sodas for the parents, juice drinks for the kids, and a $5 rental at blockbuster for the "night in" part, and a gift certificate for a decent restaurant (not too expensive; Chili's or something) and one for a movie theater, plus a voucher for an evening of babysitting for the "night out". They absolutely loved it.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Hehe. Well, I'd like to avoid that. Everybody I know has a Bible already...if they want one.
You know, these ideas are good for ANY religious holiday, even if you don't celebrate Christmas.
I'm soooo looking forward to this. I think I'm going to make up a batch of bath salts for every female. I'm not sure what sort of containers I'll use. I wonder if I could dye the salts...I like colorful things.
And I was thinking of crocheting throws for my mom and mother-in-law. I know they both would LOVE that. I am also considering a big carry-all crocheted purse for my mom, instead of or in addition to the throw. I know she loves those, too.
For my best friend, I'll crochet a book thong, and make her one of the hair ties from the same page. She has long, THICK hair and would loooove that. It's the hippy hair one. Maybe the same thing for my cousin..but I probably won't see her around Christmas.
Maybe a basket of cookies for all of the family units. Filled with yummy goodies...but not so expensive goodies that they'll break the bank.
If I had nieces or baby nephews, I'd make this adorable crocheted bear or the tiny version . But in better colors.
My plan sounds good to me... and FUN. Now I just have to decide on colors and patterns for the throws. Here are the links to some of the throws I'm considering. They're all rated as easy or beginner, so I think I could do it.
Depending on how active it is in your area, you can usually check the "ETC" portion of Craigslist for fast, one-time jobs (e.g. someone needs help moving, or cleaning a house) and they usually pay decently for being a one-time thing.
My friend made a quick $200 one weekend just from doing that.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Ooooh, that site has Fizzy Bath Bombs. I LOVE those!! They cost a mint at the bath stores, which is the only place I've seen them.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I still haven't found a perfect idea. The jars with the things inside means I would have to find the trinkets to put inside, and by the time I buy jars and trinkets for everyone and decorate them, I could probably do something else.
I was thinking about getting them all one of those mini-flashlights, the extra-bright LED kind. They can put it on their backpacks, and I can stick their initials on it somehow. Kids love flashlights. I love flashlights. If I do that, I'd have an excuse to get one for myself.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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The fizzy bath bombs do indeed look neat, and like you could devote about $20 and a Saturday and make them for every woman in your life. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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In fact, I have just decided what I'm making my family for Christmas this year-- the women, anyway. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Last year I went preserve crazy. It was cheap, except for the jars - instead of saving and reusing old jars I left it to the last minute and had to buy new ones.
But if you had old jars already..
I made apple and fig chutney (yum and dead easy), char-grilled red peppers in olive oil (slightly more time-consuming but very pretty) and a red onion jam (ok).
Then I got cheap cotton offcuts and covered the top of each jar, and stuck a hand-written label on. They looked great.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Last year my wife had this idea, and it was such a huge hit that people still ask for it for birthdays and such...
Flavored butters. It is SO easy to make it is silly, but you can do several flavors..honey and cinamin being the favorite, with orange close behind..and make a small little gift basket with a couple of them. It is a nice, personal gift, and is fairly cheap to do as well.
She found most of her recipes on the web, and then tweaked them to her liking. Kwea
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I think those ideas sound lovely, Katarain. One word of caution however - with that much crochet planned, begin now. I'd hate to see you frantically crocheting the night of December 23rd! Ummm, not that I've done that before, myself, of course.
Kwea, that's an awesome idea about the butters. I almost wish I didn't have all my gifts planned now!
space opera
edit: Katie, the flashlight idea is great. My two loooove flashlights and just last year got one in their stockings. Sears makes a little flashlight that's an actual clip in fun colors like pink and green that's cool - and cheap - both kids bought one with their allowance while they were with my in-laws last week.
Posts: 2578 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I made my first Book Thong last night. It's so pretty. There are some flaws, though, so I'll be keeping that one for myself. I thought that's the way it would go anyway, since it was my first try. I have enough beads and string to make at LEAST 10 of them.
I stood perplexed in Wal-Mart for a long time yesterday, though. The Lion brand yarn that's recommended (because it's a Lion website, of course), is nearly $5 a skein! And at 6 skeins a throw, that's $30 for each one I'm making. Not my idea of saving money for Christmas.
Do any of you know places I can look for cheaper yarn? I couldn't find any generic or other brands like the Lion Homespun . About $2 a skein would be acceptable. It's a "fluffy" yarn, so I don't think the throw would come out right if I used a non-fluffy type.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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We used a variety of jars, all of them recycled from other uses. We tried to keep them small, not baby jars small, but not peanut butter jat large either.
We did use peanut butter jars for the people who had larger families, but even those people were asking for more within a week or so.
We did a sampler basket for the church people, I think, made up of baby jars filled with each type too, and they went over big time.
Making it was so easy, in part because we have a kitchen aid stand mixer. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Some homemade gifts my mom and I have made through the years:
Cinnamon ornaments, I'm not sure the recipe, but it's cinnamon and applesauce mixed together, rolled out like a dough, and cut with cookie cutters, use a pencil to make a hole at the top, then allowed to dry for about a week, sometimes we even use fabric paint (the poofy kind) and do designs or write names on them) then just tie with a ribbon.
Book thongs as described above, you can buy the cheap glass bead packs in a big quanity for about $10 at like Michaels, they usually have enough for 20 of them, I've always used Waxed Lenen cord for them.
Knit skarves (That's what I'm doing this year)
Stamped aprons, buy pre made white aprons at a craft store or online, some craft paint, and some foam stamps (usually less intricate than rubber ones, also bigger). I've done an amazing one where I painted with a brush onto the stamp making, it actually looks like it has pears on it, the color worked.
Gift books, I made homemade paper, in normal sized sheets, using mostly white paper, with a little bit of other stuff, and a few leaves from an asparagus fern that happened to be dying next to me. When they were dry I cut them in half, cut some resume paper (this one is called parchment, but not really parchment), and hole punched all the sheets, then took the one inch rings that open from an office supply store, and made it into books, people use them for journals and stuff like that.
Home made lipbalm using beeswax, honey, almond oil, and essensial oil, we found some little clear containers to put them in at big lots, that's really the hardest part.
Mom used to aplique sweatshirts as gifts, or stitch some knit fabric onto a onesie for a baby.
Food realy is best for men.
If you need recipees for anything I mentioned, I can look them up later, my mom has a book of ones we've done.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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kat, sorry but you're going to pay a decent amount for yarn anywhere. That's pretty cheap, in fact. Keep in mind that homemade and handmade do not always equal inexpensive. Usually the opposite is the case. I learned that really quck when I thought I'd do decorated boxes for all my nieces for Christmas one year. The boxes themselves were only $1.18. By the time I bought the ribbon, fabric, other trims, etc. they got very expensive very fast.
You could go buy a fleece throw a lot cheaper than you can buy the fabric to make one, usually. So, you have to watch the make it yourself ideas, they can quickly escalate to you spending more than if you had gotten a store bought gift.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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