Some great Christmas gift ideas

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2004
Some great Christmas gift ideas
4
Fri, 12-03-2004 - 1:43pm

I have been racking my brain to come up with personal gift ideas that don't cost much money. But when I really thought about it a store bought gift is rarely personal at all. This realization made my quest a little easier. Anyway here are a list of ideas I have come up with and the inspriation behind them.

1. A letter to dh or anybody you really care about like your mom, kids etc. Write a letter to them telling them how much you appeciate them, use specific things that they do for you that really mean a lot to you. What they have done for you in the past and how your love and appeciation for them has grown, and how you expect it to further grow over time. Add what you hope to mean to them. You know just really bare your heart and soul. Then get a decorative box or make one if you're crafty enough for them to keep it in.Kids may not appreciate this gift so much now as they will as adults. I got the original insirpation for this from reading some of celebrity's favorite Christmas gifts, this was Heather Locklear's from her husband (of course he has an elaborate little box that was carved, but the thought is what made it so special to her). In light of the recent death of my great-grandmother who was very close to all 11 of her children and ALL of thier respective families, and grandchildren including myself (a truly remarkable woman) I am reminded that our time with our family is limited so we should say what we really mean while we are here to say it. Also by writing them a letter you are giving them a piece of you to keep forever in case you leave this earth before they do. If it happens the other way around you will know that you took the opportunity to tell them how you really felt about them. What a better time of year to do this than at Christmas time? I couldn't think of a better gift to give. (Sorry this one was so long I got a little carried away;)

2. Candy. Make fudge or cookies, buy those ziplock containers in Christmas colors if they have them and decorate the container. There is nothing better than homemade candy:)

3. A list of favors. One year for dh I gave him a list of favors of things i know he loves for me to do for him like a massage, or his favorite dinner, or desert etc. And he could cash in a favor any time he liked. This can be tailored to anybody and include anything.

4. Compile a personalized cook book. All you need is the net and a binder decorated to suit the recipients taste. Look up recipes you know the person would like or enjoy experimenting with, and put them in a binder with a picture of the finished product if possible. How annoying is it to leaf through all the recipes in your cook book that you know you will never fix? Wouldn't it be nice to have a whole book of recipes you love? Good sites are bettycrocker.com, kraftfoods.com, and if you need some more suggestions just let me know and I'll give some more (I can't remember anymore at the moment:)

5. Make a Christmas ordament. This can be anything you would like. It is something that will be remembered everytime the tree goes up. Now how many other gifts have you ever given that is remembered every year even years later?

6. Make a cd. Of course you need a cd burner for this. All you do is buy cd's to burn, and download all the recipients favorite songs. You can download free music from bearshare.com Even if they already have a copy of certain songs, nothing is better than having an entire cd of songs you love in one place.

7. Give pictures. This is especially a good gift if you have kids. Someone else mentioned it before. But kids grow so fast, a picture should always be appreciated.

8. Make a scrapebook. You may want to start this one way way ahead of time. However this has to be one of the most personal gifts I can think of. I am a scrapbooker myself and it is truly a wonderful fun hobby. As well as a great keepsake when it is finished. You can do a smaller one focused around one theme, such as a new baby, new marriage, Christmas, the possibilities are endless. This can be costly if you really get into it, but with enough creativity and practice you can create the same look for a page that you would buy from a craft store. For scrapebookin inspriation go to creativememories.com

9. Buy a candle. Find a candle in the recipients favorite sent or no scent if they are allergic to scented candles. The dollar store has nice ones in jars for $2. If they are little plain then just decorate with ribbon or even rhinestones, and pearls with hot glue. Use your creativity. A candle is always a tasteful, and practical, useful gift in my opinion.

10. Shop at the dollar store of a thrift shop for what you are looking for. You will be amazed at how much you will find that you were looking for at the fraction of the price. Such as nail polish or clothing for someone. Thrift store shopping takes a little more time but it is usually well worth it. Besides isn't the fun of getting someone a gift in the shopping for it, or in the making of it? (If not then maybe you should re-evaluate what Christmas means to you. No offense, not having the time to shop is always a henderence to enjoying the process, and everyone enjoys shopping on different levels. I was just trying to help everyone to see the meaning of Christmas. As a kid I loved trying to outdo my brothers in getting the very best and most meaningful gift for each other and our parents. I think we were all more excited to see how much everybody liked the presents we got them, as we were to see what Santa brought us.)

Well I will continue my quest and update you guys of anymore ideas I find. Anyone who has any ideas to add please share!:)

Happy Holidays
Jessi

Jessi

Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-17-2004
Fri, 12-03-2004 - 11:32pm

Wow! Those are great ideas for someone (such as myself) who has limited funds for Christmas!!!! I am currently burning cds for my mother-in-law because she collects music..but the cookbook idea would be great for my mom.....she loves to buy different cook books, etc. Thanks for the great ideas!!! Merry Christmas to you!!

Erin :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 3:46am

If you are somewhat crafty, making mittens, gloves or hats that not only match the person's jacket but also are realy warm(this is for those in the cold climates of course). Its also possible to find some really fantastic yarns to use for people who love very soft textures, etc.

Buy some fleece and make a blanket out of it(you can do this just by cutting a fringe around it.)and this can be a great way to make them really special by giving the person a design with something they are really interest in.....animals, hobbies and even the various sports teams).

If you have a computer program like printmaster, it really is quite simple to make address labels for people. You can find pictures all over the place to use and to make them really really special, use pictures with the person's pet, child, grandchild, etc. Can also find lots of various pictures for all sorts of interests. A way to sort of hurry up the process is to make one label for the person, and then just change the pictures. IT is quite simple to edit and change the font, color, etc.

Or if the person reads a lot and collects books, you can use the same method to make them "book labels" . They can have just the persons name, name and a saying, or both and pictures or designs. I use 2" x 4" labels for those. The return address labels I use 1" by 2 5/8" labels. If you plan on making a number of them.....its cheapest to go someplace like Sams's or else a office supply store, and buy a big package. I also buy a package of the small return address labels...and i can give a person an assortment of about 6-7 designs, and it usually runs only about 50 cents a page for the labels. If you are doing it for a bunch of people, you can either change the name and address or change the picture. Either way can speed up the process. This is really a great present for recently married people, recently moved, those with new babies grandbabies, new pets, etc etc. People seem to think it takes forever to do these, and once you get the hang of it, it really does not.

One year I gave my sister a dozen frozen pie crusts(she just never got the hang of making them.)But you could make any type of food, many things for the freezer can be great!!

It is also possible if someone has some major hobby or interest, you might find some neat things on Ebay.

Auntydoxzz

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2004
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 12:34pm

No problem Erin. I am of limited funds for Christmas as well, so I know how you feel. Glad to have helped out some:) Merry Christmas to you too.

Jessi

Jessi

Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2004
Sat, 12-04-2004 - 12:43pm

Thanks for some more great ideas.

For my dd I am making her dress up stuff such as pretty shaws and such she is almost 2, luckily I can sew, so I can do this. If anybody else can sew you can easily make throw pillows as well. Making the frozen food is agreat idea as well. Especially for family members who never have the time to cook. That can also be a great gift for a couple with a new baby-anytime of the year.

Well still working on more ideas, Merry Christmas!

Jessi

Jessi

Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.