gifts suggestions for the uncreative

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2007
gifts suggestions for the uncreative
11
Sat, 10-10-2009 - 4:15pm

This year I've had to take a 6% paycut and I'd really like to do an inexpensive Christmas.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-05-2006
Sat, 10-10-2009 - 4:44pm
My mom makes this fabulous chocolate. Melt chocolate, add in Candy of some sort, peppermint, toffee, nuts, then when it has cooled, drizzle it in white chocolate. Break it up and make it look pretty in bags. I also like the mugs with a packet of hot chocolate, and then dip a pretty spoon in chocolate.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
Sat, 10-10-2009 - 8:34pm

I have these chocolate molds in the shape of christmasy things like santas, candy etc. But honestly I tried something last year and that is what people go for first. I made chocolate chip cookies and dipped half in melted chocolate. I put them on a pretty plate and they were a hit! Simple but special!


iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Sat, 10-10-2009 - 10:37pm

One year someone gave me notecards that they did stamping on.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Sat, 10-10-2009 - 11:08pm

You can make address labels, or bookplates(labels for inside books).

If you have any kind of basic print program, you should be able to do it easily. I use my old version of printmaster. If you are doing them for relatives, you can use pictures of grandkids, grand dogs, etc etc. I use 2" X 4" size labels for the book plates. I also found some funny holiday images not sure if i t was on line or where. I am in WI and so the relatives got a real kick out of address labels with a cow wearing a christmas wreath. You can also

Its also possible to put pictures on magnets, although Walmart no long sells those sheets. Those work best if you are giving a bunch of the same pictures. I used a paper cutter cut the sheets. You can also make teeshirts with family pictures on them. The labels are cheaper though. I got a big box of maybe 200 sheets or 100 sheets at Sams club. I think it was less than $20 and I made each person their own labels, and some for couples and some for the kids too. I know for sure getting that big box, the cost ran to about 50 cents a sheet for labels.

Basically I would just go and pick one of the label projects and then just change the pictures out. Actually I also got one box of the small return address labels(no room for pictures) and made everyone a sheet of those. I usually care one strip of those in my purse in case I need to put name and address on anything.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 5:08am

Promise you will not laugh


Here is one that doesn't require any cooking. By the time you spend the money for baking cookies that will be gone tomorrow you could do this and if you are a cheap shopper you can do this for pennies and looks like you spent big bucks on it.


And it is pretty and will only cost you about 5.00 a piece

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2007
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 7:43am

That is a great idea!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 8:52am

I have a fail proof, easy as can be recipe for fudge.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2008
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 11:08am

Sorry to hear about the pay cut. Boo.

Do you have kids to buy for? In going with a "crafty" holiday I found a pillowcase that has a design (pirate one for boys and a fairy one for girls) that they color themselves. The pillowcase came with markers and washing instructions. I found this at Michaels (large craft store - do you have one by you?) and we usually get 40% off coupons weekly for Michaels in the Sunday paper. Using my coupon the pillowcase came to be $7 and my niece will love it.

As for baking - I am a HUGE baker. Each year a friend comes over (she isn't a baker) and she brings 1/2 the ingredients and we make a double batch of four or five different cookies. Usually that's our "coworker" gifts but this year I am laid off and she is working for a much smaller team so we will probably bake one batch of each this year. Anyway - anyone you can team with that can share the cost of baking and also share the cookies???

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-02-1998
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 2:40pm
How about gifts in a jar? A friend of mine and made these one year, we bought some nice glass jars (about 1 litre size) that used large corks for lids, we went to the bulk food place and bought soup ingredients, filled the jars with them and attached a gift card with the recipe on it. I have also seen this done with cookie ingredients. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/country-soup-in-a-jar/detail.aspx is one idea, but I'm sure you can find more on the net. My mom did up jars of hot chocolate this way one year as well.




iVillage Member
Registered: 04-12-2007
Tue, 10-13-2009 - 4:23pm
Thanks, guys!!!

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