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The Christmas season can be an expensive time of year. The average family can spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on gifts.
Of course, you can always hunt for bargains (and that helps). There is another way to ease the pain, though. Make your own gifts.
Here are five homemade gifts that are bound to be appreciated:
- Food. Who wouldn’t like to open a package of homemade fudge or dig into a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies? We’ve given fudge and cookies as gifts to family members and friends for five years now. Every year about this time people start to ask: when am I going to get my fudge?
- Clothing. If you are crafty you may be able to put together some cute clothing items. If you don’t know the recipient’s exact size, consider giving an item that’s not size specific. Examples include: scarves, gloves, hats, aprons, purse, and belts.
- Time Certificates. Maybe you’re not crafty. You can still put some nice paper in the printer and print out the gift of your time at a future date. Some ideas: a certificate for a girl’s night out to a friend, a certificate for a football party (complete with soda, chips, and dips) to a husband, a certificate for a trip to the park for a child.
- Photographs. If you take lots of pictures (as I do), photo gifts are a good option that are especially appreciated by nonlocal or elderly friends and family. For very little cost you can turn your favorite photos into a calendar or memory book. Or, just enlarge and frame your best shot.
- Jewelry, candles, or other craft items. If you are a crafter you can often make elegant jewelry or beautiful candles for a fraction of what similar items would cost in the store. Be creative!
A homemade gift is more than just an item. A homemade gift represents the time and effort that the giver put into creating it. Best of all, homemade gifts can create wonderful family memories – not only when they are received, but as you are making them (try enlisting the kids help for the simpler gifts.)
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
3 responses so far ↓
1 Festival of Frugality #102 // Dec 4, 2007 at 7:57 am
[…] OpinionMom gives some ideas for some homemade gifts. […]
2 homemom3 // Dec 5, 2007 at 9:55 am
Thanks for the lead, just got an email to try something out. I know you’ll know what I’m talking about. 🙂
3 Frugal Fridays: To Regift or Not To Regift // Dec 14, 2007 at 4:37 pm
[…] This might seem like an anti-frugal tip, and in some ways it is. But, aren’t people worth more than money? Remember you don’t have to spend a lot to give an orginal gift. […]