Fantastic Christmas Gifts That Won't Break Your Budget!

Every year we all go through the same thing. We want to give the perfect gift to everyone on our list. But that list keeps getting longer, and longer, and longer. Well, you get the idea. How can a person possibly afford buying gifts for everyone.

This year, in light of the September 11 tragedies, and our recession I wanted to help you save some money by showing you several ways that you can give fantastic gifts without breaking out the credit cards!

1. Make Home Made Wrapping Paper. All you need for this is a few Christmas themed colored craft paints, a sponge, a metallic paint pen, and some brown or white rolls of craft paper. You simply sponge one color of paint all over the craft paper, let it dry. Add another color. Let it dry. Then, take your metallic paint pens (found at just about any store in the school supply isle) and write different Christmas words such as “Peace”, “Joy”, “Christmas”, “Noel” etc. in large words (I prefer cursive, but everyone has different tastes) all over the craft paper. Let it dry a few minutes. Re-roll the paper and tie it with a coordinating ribbon. Add some curling ribbon, some fabric ribbon and viola! High-end, hand-made wrapping paper! This beautiful gift will cost you about $3.50 to make and sells in some of the high-end stores and catalogs for $30!!! Don’t think you are crafty. Then invest in one or two big Christmas themed rubber stamps, a couple of colored stamp pads and stamp your way to Christmas bliss!!!

2. Home Made Christmas Cards. This theory is much the same as the wrapping paper. However, you can get your colored papers at craft stores, or even at the local office supply store – get some card stock in two different colors and have at it! Fold one piece of each color paper in ½ the fat way. With one of the papers, trim 1/8” off all the edges. Take some white Elmer’s glue and glue the smaller piece to the larger pieces making sure that you are centered on the paper. Then, either sponge or stamp a Christmas picture or words on the front of the Card (Thank you notes are a great sentiment to! They are great after-Christmas items) You can even punch two holes side by side in the center of the top of the card and tie a little piece of string, raffia, or ribbon on the card to add a little touch. Make up 10 of them, add some cards and you have yourself another great Christmas gift! And, they only take a few minutes to make!

3. Cinnamon scented Christmas ornaments. Here is yet another quick and easy gift that is absolutely fantastic! The smells will astound you once you begin hanging these ornaments on your trees, or your loved one opens their present. (Get the Recipe HERE). Just mix 5 ingredients together, roll out like dough, and use cookie cutters to turn them into whatever shaped ornament you want! I think that these would be absolutely fantastic gingerbread Christmas ornaments. And, I hear that once they are cooked, you can paint them too! Regardless, they are fragrant and fantastic!

4. To continue the theme of Christmas tree decorations, you can always make garland out of Hershey’s Kisses! Yep! Hershey’s kisses. All you need is a whole lot of Saran Wrap, curling ribbon, and colored Hershey’s Kisses. You unroll a huge piece of Saran wrap (we’re talking about 6-8’ long). Then, place 1-2 Hershey’s kisses every 4-6 inches apart until you have reached the other end of the saran wrap. Be sure to leave 3-4 inches on each end to tie the ends. Then, you wrap the Hershey’s Kisses in the saran wrap like you would roll a cinnamon roll. Once wrapped, just use the curling ribbon to tie a bow around the saran wrap between each tootsie roll. Then, use it as garland on your Christmas tree. It is particularly spectacular when they are mingled with your Christmas lights. Who knew that Hershey’s kisses were so versatile!

5. If you are new to our newsletter, last year, we showed our subscribers how to make Icicles and snowmen out of Sculpy modeling clay. You’ll love them!

6. Don’t go to the store and buy yards and yards of wrapping paper that will be ripped, torn, and forgotten in a matter of seconds (particularly frustrating if you wrap with the expensive gift wrap or spend an hour wrapping each gift). This year make your gift completely memorable. You can go down to your local fabric store and buy some inexpensive velvet, or beautifully themed material and make your own gift wrap! You don’t even need a sewing machine to do it! Jut an iron and some Stitch Witch. Fold your material in half. Place your gift on the fold and cut the material in a square or rectangle to fit the gift. Be sure to leave about 6-8 extra inches on each side and another 8 inches on the top of the gift to allow room for extra bulky items. Then, follow the Stitch Witch directions and iron the Stitch witch to the two sides of the material, right sides together. Add some stitch witch to the top, allowing the material to fold down into the bag. Then tie the top with some ribbon or tassel and you’re present will stand out among all the rest of the presents under the tree!!

7. Fleece blankets are the absolute easiest things to make! All you need to do is go to the local craft store and purchase fleece to fit the bed you want (they will know the dimensions necessary) or just buy 2 yards of it for a comfy throw pillow. Once cut, the edges don’t fray. And, if you want to add a little flair to it, just get some yarn in a matching color and sew in great big stitches around the edges!

8. Sachets - What can get easier than this! Go to the store and buy some nice lacy material (actually, most any material will work – so get something that will match the décor!) and some of your favorite smelling Potpourri. Cut the material into some fun designs – hearts, stars, circles – you name it! With some pinking sheers to prevent fraying. Sew (or stitch witch!) the edges, leaving just enough space to add some potpourri. Fill the inside of the material with the potpourri. Take 6” of 1/4" or 1/8” ribbon and attach it to the inside of the opening with hot glue or thread, then sew (or stitch witch) the opening closed. These take next to no time to make- especially if you make them in quantities. They are excellent for gift baskets, drawers, people who travel, closets, and nasty stinky shoes.

9. If you are looking for something a little more original, you can get a huge bowl, jar, or clear container and some Christmas lights (I prefer white). Fill the bowl with your favorite potpourri, then mix the lights in with the potpourri making sure that you can see some of them from the outside. Plug the lights in and the warmth from the light will fill your home with the smell of your potpourri! And, as with all Christmas lights, I wouldn’t suggest you leave it on all night or unattended for long periods of time.

10. Hand painted ornaments. Get some clear Christmas ornaments. Buy some glass paint. And get creative! I’ve seen these sold at the craft fairs for $5 per ornament! How neat would it be to be able to give your friends a dozen hand-painted one-of-a-kind ornaments and know that you only spent a few dollars on them!

11. Picture frames. Not just any picture frame, silly! We’re talking hand-made, one of a kind, nothing like it picture frames! The sky is the limit with these babies. If your friend is a Yankees fan, go through some old magazines and get lots of Yankee pictures, then decoupage them onto a $1 picture frame. Does your girlfriend like sea shells. Glue some onto a picture frame and she’ll love you forever. When my first child was born, I cut out a bunch of baby photos from magazines, then decoupaged them to a plain black picture frame. It made all the difference in the world. Do you like Sunflowers. Go pick up some fake sunflowers and glue them all over the frame. Sounds funny. But it’s interesting, easy, and looks great!

12. One of my most favorite wedding presents was a denim blanket given to me at a bridal shower. It is warm, comfy, durable, and it goes on just about every outdoor adventure I go on. Did you know you could make a denim blanket out of your old blue jeans. And, to add a little extra flavor, cut out the squares with your pockets attached! It costs you nothing but some old jeans you’d probably have to throw out anyway. You’re just sewing a bunch of squares together. And, if it ends up crooked, no problem! You meant to do that, right. J

13. Cross stitching. Cross stitching is the artfully deprived persons way of making beautiful pictures. All you do is put little X’s on a piece of material. Beware! It’s not the difficulty of the project that will get you. It’s the time involved!!!! Cross-stitching takes forever, but the ending effect is amazing.

14. Fix something for them. Who says your gift has to be wrapped up with a bow on it. If your neighbor has been begging her husband to fix the leaky faucet for 6 months and nothing has happened, go fix it – then put a bow on it.

15. Coupons. This year my daughter will get a coupon for a special day for just her and me. I will take her shopping, take her to the beauty salon, go to the movies and out to lunch at her favorite restaurant. This is her special day! It’s her favorite gift at Christmas time, and my coupon from my mother for a lunch with just her and me was something I looked forward to every Christmas too! Other coupon ideas could include coupons for the movies, dinner out, Staying out late, or a Wild Card which means that they get their way “just this once!”

16. Yes/No dice. This is along the same lines as the Wild Card coupon. However, it comes in the form of wooden blocks that have the words “Yes” or “No” printed on them. I’m usually one to be stingy with my dice – I’ll give them only one because they usually save them for the big fights or disputes. If you give these out, you must be prepared to give them what they want when they redeem their dice!

17. Homemade treats are few and far between. For many people it is so much easier to just buy a pie, or treats for the holidays. Why not take the time to bake them their favorite goodie. Show them that you care enough to give the very best – food that is.

Reference Box: Do you have any other inexpensive ways to give gifts for Christmas. Why not tell us! Maybe we’ll add your comments to our next month’s articles! Did you like what you read. Why not sign up for our FREE monthly Gift-Giving Guide and have it sent to you every month! Visit our site at http://www.acbouquet.com or e-mail us at acbouquet@acbouquet.com