Simple Homemade Holiday Gifts
The Best Inexpensive Homemade Gifts for Everyone on The Holiday List
Nov 5, 2009
The holiday season is approaching and finding gift ideas for everyone can be a stressful task. On top of searching for gifts, cost is a concern for many people during the holidays. The answer is simple and creative homemade holiday gifts.
Homemade Gift Ideas for Him
Shopping for a gift can be difficult to do for the men on a holiday gift list. Try these simple homemade gift ideas as they are versatile and almost anyone could use these inexpensive handcrafted gifts. A handmade secret hollow book to hide a favorite pipe, money or keys. A paperweight to use at home or the office. A media tribute is a great gift of captured memories that can be viewed year after year. Lastly, a themed gift basket made up of some inexpensive add-ins makes a great homemade holiday gift.
The secret hollow book is made by using a hardcover book. Try to find a classic hardcover or nice leather bound book by looking at local thrift shops, Goodwill, yard sales or use one collecting dust in the garage or attic.
- Open the book and the first step is to glue the pages together by using a mixture of 1/4 cup of hot water and 1 cup of all-purpose glue.
- Paint the edges of the pages with a thick layer of glue, but be careful not to drench the pages. Place a separator piece of cardboard or anything you can find and keep the glued pages from the front cover.
- Keep the book closed on a hard surface and allow to dry for about 40 minutes.
- Next, use a ruler and pencil to trace a straight line about 1/2 inch from the border of the pages.
- Use an X-Acto knife or box cutter and cut through the glued pages.
- After all the pages are trimmed out, clean out the paper dust and paint the glue mixture on the inside of the page border.
- Allow to thoroughly dry for 24 hours. Fill the book with a few treasures, chocolates or cookies.
A crafty, homemade paperweight is a great gift for any man. It's also a cute gift for a child to give. This paperweight is easy to make. You will need a baby food jar, assorted nuts, bolts, screws, glue, a piece of burlap and a piece of packaging cord.
- Fill a clean baby food jar with the assorted nuts, bolts and screws.
- Glue the baby food jar lid to the jar and allow to dry.
- Wrap the burlap around the lid and place a dot of glue to keep it in place.
- Finish off with the packaging cord and attach a personalized card.
A media tribute is a great gift and is easy and inexpensive to make. Gather favorite photographs that capture special memories in the recipient's life. Use a seasonal theme, a special song and create a Power Point presentation or use other editing software. It can then be burned onto a DVD to play year after year. Place the DVD into a sleeve and wrap up.
A themed gift basket is a simple homemade holiday gift for any man. If a recipient enjoys sports and beer this is a great present. This is just an example. A basket can be filled with just about anything your recipient likes.
- Buy a wicker or any type basket from a dollar store or discount store.
- Fill with shredded paper bought from the store or make your own creative paper shred.
- Fill with assorted beers, homemade snacks like popcorn, peanut butter brittle, chips and salsa.
- Add a football or other sports memorabilia and hard candy or gum to fill up empty spaces.
- Wrap with cellophane and tie with an inexpensive raffia ribbon purchased at a craft store.
Homemade Gift Ideas for Him, Her and Everyone on The Christmas List
The right homemade holiday gift comes from finding many different options to choose from to make at home. Other great gift ideas include tile trivets for the cook on the gift list, homemade truffles, cookie and soup kits made from scratch in a jar, bath salt gift sets, homemade soaps and lip gloss.
The tile trivet gift is a great gift for the kitchen, a gift for someone to place their hot coffee mug on or can be a decorative piece for a bathroom.
- Shop a local hardware store for decorative tiles. Sometimes they can be found at deep discount for discontinued tiles.
- Attach a piece of thick felt the same size as the tile to the back with all-purpose glue.
- Wrap in cellophane or place in a box and wrap.
Chocolate truffles are easy to make and are great last-minute gifts to give to anyone. Try this truffle recipe by clicking here. You can add special touches like chopped nuts, shredded coconut or sprinkles. Place about 9-12 truffles in a plain box and wrap with raffia ribbon.
Homemade cookie and soup kits in a jar are a hit every holiday season. They are inexpensive, quick to make and have a great presentation.
- Use a 1qt. canning jar and layer the dry ingredients of your favorite recipe in the jar for a decorative touch.
- Keep the lightest ingredients towards the bottom and heaviest ingredients like chocolate chips or beans at the top.
- Seal the jar with lid and add a piece of seasonal fabric wrapped with a ribbon or raffia string. Attach a note card for the remainder of the recipe (wet ingredients needed) and cooking instructions.
The bath salts, homemade soaps, teacup candles, lip gloss and other bath and body homemade holiday gift recipes can be found by clicking here. Try these recipes using different seasonal scents, neutral scents or keep the items unscented for sensitive skin.
This holiday season try homemade presents for everyone on the list. These recipes and instructions can be altered to add personal touches as they are just a guide. This season a handcrafted gift will come from the heart, is simple to make and is easy on the wallet.
Sources:
- J.D. (Nov. 2008) Get Rich Slowly. A Do-It-Yourself Christmas. 34 Great Gifts You Can Make Yourself
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