Friday, October 5, 2012

{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 5~ Consider Handcrafted Gifts Pt. 2





Well, yesterday I shared why I love making and receiving homemade gifts for Christmas. Today I thought I would share some of my favorite easy gift ideas.


Food Gifts

Who doesn't like special treats during the holidays? There are so many things I like about giving food gifts. First of all, they are consumable. This is a great idea in this "everybody has too much stuff anyway" world.  Some people are hard to buy for and by giving a gift that can be eaten and enjoyed takes the pressure off of me and I don't fret about what to give them. My favorite things to give are either a cookies tray or some type of quick bread. In the past, I have made several kinds of cookies but if that is too much for you, one kind will be just as delicious. I do like to bake and most years I build time in my December schedule to have a few baking days. ....pssst.... One year, I didn't have the time to bake cookies from scratch so I picked up several packages of cookie mix from the baking isle and nobody knew the difference. A friend of mine, who is "famous" for her cookie baking, told me recently that most of the cookie mix companies have a website. On the website, they have recipes that start with a mix, add some ingredients, yielding a more "like homemade" cookie. I have also used some of the quick bread mixes for gifts. Krustease makes a cranberry orange bread that is really good. One year I bought some decorative mini loaf pans, whipped up the bread mix, and got raves from the people who received them. 

Personal Gifts
I want to make
For some of the special people in our lives, we need to give a more personal gift. My tendecy is to make something for their home. As I said yesterday, my favorite site for craft ideas is Pinterest. One thing I really like about this site is there is a picture of each craft. Very helpful in choosing. There is also a wide range from super easy to more difficult. There are things you put together from scratch or things you re-purpose. Like these "chalk board" trays. 

Pretty!

Or maybe you have a teen girl in your life- this button monogram would look great in her room. Fleece blankets are still a great gift idea. Most fabric stores even have sports team fleece. You can find the instruction for this no sew project online. 


Check back tomorrow for part 3-  Stress Free Themed Gifts.




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