Original ideas make for meaningful holiday gifts
Looking for inexpensive and original holiday gifts you can make yourself? Here are som ideas.
Homemade stationery
Take plain stationery and envelopes and jazz them up with cut-outs from magazines and newspapers or colorful stamps. Coordinate matching colors between the two. Bundle the set up with a ribbon and you have an original set of stationery.
Recipe book or journal
Collect recipes based on the recipient's taste buds. If they love chocolate, include an extra-large section with chocolate recipes. Great places to look for recipes in addition to family recipes are from books, magazines and online. Hand-write the recipes on cards and decorate a small box to store them. This is the perfect gift for the avid cook or food lover.
Scented oils
Mix together a cup of light baby or olive oil with 1/2-cup of honey, 1/2-cup of liquid soap and a drop of your favorite essential oil. Mix together gently and decant into a pretty bottle and add reeds to difuse the scented aroma, or pour into a squirt bottle for bath oil.
Dress-up box for kids
Wrap a large cardboard box with attractive paper; you can place a label on the front with the name of the recipient on it. Visit secondhand stores and select items such as hats, scarves, veils, tutus, jewelry, gloves, small jackets, dresses, shoes, etc. Children love playing dress-up, and you can customize the gift for a boy or a girl.
Ceramics, boxes and birdhouses
Purchase plain white ceramic items from a craft or hobby store and decorate them with a bottle of ceramic paint, stencils or stamps. Many stores sell plain wooden boxes and birdhouses in all sizes and shapes they may also be decorated for a special gift.
Flavored cooking oil
Fill empty oil and vinegar bottles halfway with peanut or olive oil. Add twigs of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley and more. For extra decoration add peppercorns and fill the bottle with more oil. Place a ribbon on the neck of the bottle after closing the lid or corking it. These not only look good on the kitchen shelf but they enhance cooking.
Personalized calendar
Personalize by placing family member's birthdays in the calendar and other important family dates. Its simple and meaningful.
Pots of love
Hand-painted terra cotta pots always brighten winter days. Fill the flowerpot with little stones or cuttings from some of your favorite houseplants.
Photo clock
Pop the plastic cover off an inexpensive clock and remove the clock face. Cut prepared artwork to the same size as the clock face and add numbers around the edge. Slide the artwork in place and replace the plastic cover.
Family legacy video
Videotape and interview your elderly parents about childhood memories, how they met, etc., and give to siblings or children. If a video camera isn't available, record memories by hand and make copies.