Do you have any Homemade or cheap Gift ideas?

hurricanekeri

I have 25 people to get gifts for, 10 of which are in couples. We have very little money but, would like to get people something. My only idea so far is that I have a card that allows me to print off 60 more pictures. I could give people wedding pictures in some creative way.

           I could only give pictures to a few people so, I need more ideas. There are 7 kids ages 2 m-14 and the rest are adults.

GodsRainbow1984

I make some really good Peppermint Bark, Toffee Bark, and Fudge that I can put in pretty gift tins as gifts

jenniann87

Fleece blankets with the tied edges are always good. I am actually making one for BFs son this year with his favorite football team on it.

Cookie/Popcorn tins

 

alison.reen@gmail.com

This is what I do:  Buy a nice set of box cards and put a christmas scratch off lottery ticket in each.  A chance to win money and they are fun.

Then make a big batch of chex party mix and actually bake it.  The recipe is on the back of the chex boxes.  It is way better than the store bought kind.  Put it in cute little clear baggies with ribbons tied on them.  I give them out with a card to co-workers and friends whom I didn't get a present for already. 

hurricanekeri

GodsRainbow1984:

I make some really good Peppermint Bark, Toffee Bark, and Fudge that I can put in pretty gift tins as gifts

This sounds like a good idea but, do these treats require an oven?

Sagenhaft

I wrote down 10 memories I have of my aunt and I that really show how important my relationship with her has been to me throughout my life. I chose a bunch of pictures and had them made into a shutterfly photobook with the memories.

 

I didn't actually choose this because it was cheap, but it is a very inexpensive gift. Shutterfly is having a sale right now on photobooks.

sassysally1

I'm making a fleece blanket for my 6 y/o niece with her and her dad's favorite college team (and some other toys) then her little sister who is 2 y/o is getting a tutu made of her and her mommy's favorite college team.  The girls are sisters and these two teams are rivals.

GodsRainbow1984

hurricanekeri:

GodsRainbow1984:

I make some really good Peppermint Bark, Toffee Bark, and Fudge that I can put in pretty gift tins as gifts

This sounds like a good idea but, do these treats require an oven?

I use only a microwave for the bark gifts

sarahdtobe

I cant take credit for this idea because I read about it in another post....but, I just bought my grandmother a 1 yr subscription to Ladies Home Journal.  Only cost $5 on Amazon.

My sister-in-law makes chocolate dipped pretzels with fun sprinkles or small candies.  She only uses a microwave to make them, super easy.  She uses cello bags you can get at the craft store and ties them with curly ribbon.  So cute.

castle9388

This is an idea for future year if you are in the same situation. Its too late to start now.... But, one year my mom made homemade vanilla for the adults on our Christmas list. You make it out of fresh vanilla beans and alcohol. (She used rum). You can find instructions many places online as well as cheaper beans than in the stores. BUT, it takes a couple months, so you have to start in like October. What she did was make vanilla, and put it in small colored glass bottles, and printed homemade labels to put on them. (Not sure where she got the bottles, but you could probably find them cheap in bulk somewhere). So, while I think this is a great idea, its not really applicable for this year. Sorry....

 I do however like the idea of some kind of baked chex mix thing or chocolate covered pretzels or something like that that you could put in decorative tins or baggies. You could put together some cheap gift baskets if you shop at somewhere like DollarTree. You could get some kitchen utensils and dishtowels or something like that. Sometimes you can find some really neat things at dollar stores and its not all bad quality.

 Good luck, I hope you find something good to give!

shanesfiance

The cheap bins at Target often have some good deals, esp. for kids.

s5m9j

Next year I plan on making etched wine glasses / beer mugs etc for family members. The etching cream is about $12 but a little goes a long way and you can get glasses relatively cheap at places like Wal*Mart / Ikea etc.

There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube if you need directions or ideas. I watched a few last night to see what I wanted to do.

RIngReady

I make Butter Rum mixes. There are a ton of recipes online to m ake a 'batch' of buttered rum. ' I put the mix in a Kerr jar and then get a small $2 shot bottle of rum, wrap it up and give it to all my neighbors- (20 of them) 

I can usually get everyones gift including the alcohol for about $50.00 and I can't tell you the number of people who every year tell me that that is the gift they like best!  

lafmariemich

I am in the same situation this year.

I am going to make "cookies in a jar".  Basically you purchase your ingredients and put them all in a jar that you decorate.  It's easy, un expensive and personal!

 

Magdala

Coasters--either resin or fabric.

For the resin coasters, scrub several tuna cans to use as a template.  Go to a Michael's or other craft store and pick up the two part resin kit.  Place small objects in the tuna can. Acorns and poker chips worked really well but you can use pebbles, small toys or candies. Combine the resin kit and pour over the objects in the can moving slowly to pour evenly and totally cover the small objects.  Let set to hard and remove cans.  The resin kit should include instructions that identify how long the resin needs to set.  I had to remove the bottom of the can with a can opener and push the completed coaster through the can; then sand around the edge.

For the fabric coasters, use two pieces of fabric cut in 4.5 inch circles.  Fabric stores have fabric stiffener to use for placemats, coasters etc.  Place a circle of stiffener inside the two circles of fabric ensuring that the pretty side of the fabric faces outward. Glue or Stitch all three circles together.  I picked up this craft idea from JoAnn's fabric several years ago.    I have also used the same technique to make placemats and potholders.

 

brandee.mcgrew

Last year for all the women I made homemade candles. I used some jars that I already had from old candles. I just boiled them to get the old wax out. I bought some new ones from the dollar store. You can get wicks, wax and any scent you want from any craft store for a decent price.If you know how to sew you could make all the women personalized aprons and get their guys bbq sets. There is a whole websites with recipe's and printout's to do all sorts of things in jars. Just google gifts in jars.

For girls, I've made tutu's and matching wands.  I have a friend who made all the younger kids homemade pillow pets. I've made legwarmers with matching scarves for older girls, but older boys and girls tend to be hard to make homemade gifts for.

u2mimi

This year my husband and I are making jar cookie mixes for a lot of our family. It is a rather inexpensive gift that goes a long way. It is really easy to do, and makes a nice homemade gift that everybody likes!

I found some recipes on allrecipes.com, but there are certainly plenty more out there to find.

 Spread a little love, from your home to theirs

onesandtwos

For each family, we bought a large picture frame that hold a matted 8x10. We found the frames at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Gabriel Brothers for around $3 a piece. On a large piece of chipboard or heavy cardstock, cut to the size of the frame, we created a crossword puzzle out of Scrabble tiles (that we bought for less than $5 on eBay). The crossword puzzles have the family's last name in the center (we outlined the last name tiles in black so that they really pop) with the first names of everyone else in the family surrounding the last name and interconnected like a finished game of Scrabble would be. The finished product was under $8 for each family, but they are BEAUTIFUL and we know everyone will love having a personalized gift!