Inexpensive Christmas gift ideas

**amaranthe** · 12-10-2008, 10:25 PM

UGH! I am STILL not finished Christmas shopping! I cant finish up until next Wed, since that's when I get my SSD check. It KILLS me cutting it this close! I usually have everything bought and wrapped well before Thanksgiving. I hate waiting to the last minute anyway, but it also makes me nervous doing that. b/c having IC, I never know when I am going to flare or have a day that is too bad for me to shop. (And yes, I would LOVE to just go ahead and shop online, but my DH refuses to ever use our Credit Card. (Even though we will have the money next week to pay it back off, that's just how he is! UGH!)

So, anyway, I was looking online for some homemade gift ideas that I can do for a few ppl and found some great ideas. One I really liked was layering the dry ingrediants for cookies and soups in clear Mason jars, then attaching the instruction card with a pretty ribbon and getting some inexpensive seasonal fabric to cover the tops of the jars. If anyone is interested, the Jar Recipes can be found at All Free Crafts.

One cute idea they had was to give the Spiced Tea/Friendship Tea and homemade chicken noodle soup, and the homemade rice heating pad, and put an inexpensive book or magazine with it and put it all in a gift basket for someone who is sick over the holidays.

There are all kinds of crafts there to make too. I really like that site.

Hope this helps someone!
Amaranthe

**jaime15** · 12-10-2008, 11:57 PM

I love to cook. But I'm not into baking cookies..........they look awful when I'm done!

So there is a little bakery up the street from where we live. She is making these gingerbread cookies with icing. There are 6 wrapped in a clear bag with a ribbon. The thing is $5.
I have about 6 people to get something small for...(teachers, assistants, sunday school personel, music director).....anyway I'm so excited because these cookies are soooo good and it is inexpensive enough to not break the bank.

I love the layering cookie idea........those are so pretty. I hope everyone loves their presents.........just think..........it's almost over........and we don't have to think about it for another year!

***ICNDonna*** · 12-11-2008, 12:56 AM

Great ideas! I'll be putting together some food boxes for a couple of people this year. Both are for people who live alone so I'll get small sizes of everything.

Donna

**mary124** · 12-11-2008, 08:30 AM

I saw something on Oprah a week ago and one of the suggestions that was written in to her was the mason jar with whatever ingredients and put a pretty ribbon or bow on it. I made some for a few co-workers with hot cocoa/marshmellows.

***dyno*** · 12-11-2008, 08:40 AM

I am going to do the jar gifts and I have also made placemats with left over fabric I have. One year I bought a inexpensive journal and there was a website, you would have to google, and they had ideas for journaling that you could cut up and put in a jar and it was called a journal jar. That with instructions to pull one out everyday and write in the jouranl, it was a neat gift that some of my friends really liked.