I recently had a friend ask if I had any good ideas for Christmas gifts. I actually keep a list in my "scrapbook" notebook in case I draw a blank when I need an idea! Some are really simple, but all have been appreciated by those I have given them to!
1. Gifts in a can-you can buy empty paint cans and decorate the outside to go with the theme of the items inside. I have a list of ideas for items to put inside to go along with any theme...but I don't know where I put that. If anyone is interested, I will look for it. Examples are tape measure, thread, chalk pencil, etc. for someone who likes to sew. You can also do marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolates in a smaller can for s'mores.
2. Lighted glass block-the idea is a few years old, but with a nice vinyl design on the front, they make cute night lights for kids.
3. Tissue paper stamped candles-You can stamp onto white tissue paper and then "melt" it into the side of a candle. I have seen some where people printed sheet music, designs, and even family photos onto tissue paper and then put them on a candle. With some ribbon around the top and bottom (and maybe even a fancy thumb tack) these look great!
4. Mixes in a jar-these are an old idea, too, but still very appreciated by someone who needs a quick snack or soup. You can find these recipes anywhere now...and even labels to print to go with them. There are some cute ones at www.organizedChristmas.com
5. Story a Day 'til Christmas-I LOVE these! This is a great idea for families with small children. Some of the books even include a song to sing each day. I got mine from www.theideadoor.com. They have a couple of them. This is an LDS site, so a couple of the stories were LDS based. When I made them for the families that were not LDS, I just searched out other stories and changed out the ones I needed to. Besides, our family has many stories that are dear to us that weren't included, so I needed to add those to mine :o)
6. Journal jars and Journal-I gave these to several people a few years back! I got the journal slips at www.organizedChristmas.com and just printed them out. I decorated a blank journal and the outside of the jar with the same papers and these were a hit!
7. You can always make a CD of someones favorite music and design a special label for them. We have done this several times for helping out male friends for their wives on Valentine's Day.
8. One of my goals had been to make an "Ultimate Gift" calendar to give along with a copy of the movie. There are 12 "gifts" in the movie, so it would be perfect to dedicate each month to one of them. I haven't ever done this, but it is still an idea I would like to do. If you haven't seen "The Ultimate Gift", you need to watch it!
9. For kids' friends or those you just want to know that you are thinking about them, we have bought a bag of candy or a giant candy bar and made a custom label for it.
10. Homemade ornaments are a big thing for me! I have made gingerbread men with brown felt and then clothes for them, beaded felt ornaments and this year the glitter inside the clear bulb with a vinyl letter is the popular choice. You just use Johnson's floor wax (in the clear bottle with the blue lid) and swirl it around inside the ornament. I then turn it upside down on the bottle of wax to let all extra run off. Then pour some extra fine glitter (Martha Stewart works best) and shake it around. Dump out whatever extra back into the bottle and put the hanger back on. Zachary made these for me last year--he was 3! It is such a fun activity for the little ones. If you want to add an initial, the flat round ones are the best choice.
11. Family calendars are always a good idea. I add all of the birthdays and anniversaries for that side of the family and then leave the top layouts open for them to add their own family photos. I have done 6x6, 8 1/2x11, and 12x12.
12. I am planning to do painted pillowcases for the grandchildren this year...hopefully! You can take pretty much any design that you print off and trace it onto a pillow. If you don't have a light table to trace on, just tape the design to the window and trace it from there. I have a light table and I most often use the window anyway! You can just color it with paint markers.
13. You can take your digital pictures and make a DVD with music. We did this for my parents' retirement party and a memory one for my uncle. It takes a little bit of practice (I need Geno for it), but it is well worth the time! I pick the photos and songs and Geno messes with it to make sure that every frame fades in and out with perfect timing to the songs :o)
14. Your favorite recipes and a gift card to the local grocery store. Who can't use that??
15. A framed family photo with smaller photos on the mat around it. I have also seen where on top of the family photo is a favorite poem printed on vellum and the photo shows through behind. This is usually with a wedding photo.
16. Address labels-I made some for the kids last year and gave them a book of stamps and a set of notecards with it.
17. Book labels-for the kids who like to read and have a lot of books. You can find templates for "From the Library of" labels. Give this with a book. The Kohl's Cares for Kids books are only $5.00 for a hardback! You can give a nice gift and help a good cause.
18. A nice bread pan or pie pan with bread or a pie baked in it! If you give the bread, add a little jar of homemade jam. If you don't make jam, buy some from a special place in the area and throw that in.
19. Garden stepping stones made by the kids. They have kits at Hobby Lobby on sale all the time. If your parents have a nice garden, they will enjoy these.
20. Crock pot with a recipe box full of crock pot recipes! I believe EVERYONE should own a crockpot ;o)
21. Package of homemade gift tags. Save them from having to go buy some.
22. Scrapbooks. You can make a scrapbook for grandparents with pages featuring each grandchild. You can do one with a two-page spread that covers each month of the previous year. Just pick your favorite photos for each month of this past year and make them into layouts. I found a really easy idea where you follow the same layout for each month and there isn't much to the embellishing part!
23. Framed scrapbook pages-just do a favorite layout featuring the recipient and frame it for them. My favorite gift that I have given in the last few years was to take a wedding photo of Geno's grandfather and grandmother on their wedding day and print an 8x10. I bought a package of flower embellishments at Hobby Lobby made by K&Company that you punch out, fold and layer to make them 3-D. I added their names and the flowers to make a VERY NICE layout and put it in one of the scrapbook frames from Hobby Lobby that allows room for embellishments. I gave it to him the Christmas after she passed away.
24. Photo blocks-we are doing these for Super Saturday this week. You can go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get 2x6's cut into 9" (I think!) pieces. You just paint the block of wood and then use Mod Podge to put a 5x7 photo onto the wood set off to one side. Then Mod Podge again over the photo and block. Add a cute dotted ribbon on the side left empty. This is awesome for cute photos of the kids. You can see this idea at www.theideadoor.com, too!
25. One of my other favorites was to take 12-3x3 photos and put them around the outside of a 12x12 frame and then cut out the 6x6 space in the middle. I would add some saying here and the paint on the wall would show through. Of course, if you don't like the color of the wall, you can just back it with scrapbook paper. I think this idea is way back in one of my EARLIER posts!
I will try to post some photos over the next little bit so that you can get some ideas of what I am talking about...or at least get you the exact site addresses. If you are looking for inexpensive ideas, google "Super Saturday project ideas" and just go from there! You will get several LDS sites with LDS ideas, but you can certainly change things around. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, if you have any ideas for gifts for those who can buy whatever they want and have everything they need but you still would like to give them something...let me know!!
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