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Last year, my two daughters and I (ages 3 & 5) made homemade soaps and soap dishes that were the hit of Christmas morning. We took Sculpey polymer clay in skin tone colors, although other colors could be used. We rolled it out flat (we used a pasta machine, but rolling pins would work too). Then we traced around their hand with a pencil, pressing lightly, and then cut it out with a paring or x-acto knife. We then shaped them over an upside down custard dish to look like and open hand. Make sure you gently write (with pencil or pen) the child's name and year on the bottom before cooking. (It could be added with permanent marker after cooking too. They cooked for about 10 minutes in a 275 degree oven. After cooling we put two coats of water based varnish on them. We then made soaps using a kit and molds (hearts, roses, cicular chammomile soap, etc.). The soaps were wrapped in colored saran wrap and nestled in their little open hands. I've seen these cookie jars in stores and plan on making them for friends this year. Take a canning jar (new or old) and layer cookie dough ingredients (1/2 the white ingredients [flour, baking soda, salt, sugar], 1/2 the brouwn sugar, all the chocolate chips or m&m's [the ones i saw had holiday m&m's], the other half brown sugar, the other half white ingredients). Then, between the lid and jar ring, put a piece of muslin or a doily and stamp pretty Christmas stars or use stickers to decorate. Tie raffia around the jar with a tag telling what to add (1 egg, 1 cup butter, 1 tsp. vanilla usually), and how to cook them. I though this would be a great pre-Christmas gift to give to friends that you want to remember but can't afford to buy much for. A jar of homemade spice tea or cappacino in a basket with coffee spoons and/or a mug, could be added to make it extra special! I made a nifty certificate on our home computer signing my aunt up for the "Letter A Week" club. She recently moved into an assisted living care facility, and mail is one of the things she really looks forward. I promised on the certificate to send her mail at least once a week, and we'll also include some of my five-year-old's artwork, funny stories and comics from the newspaper, and such. Here is a great gift for the family. (Especially Grandma and Grandpa!) Take pictures of the family, your kids or yourself (old or new pictures) and cut them out and glue them on a strip of paper. Laminate it and you will have a wonderful bookmark. The best inexpensive Christmas gift I ever received was from my son when he was in Kindergarten. The class took empty boxes (hair color, toothpaste, whatever) and wrapped them in wrapping paper and tied them with a ribbon. Attached to the box was this note: I took an ordinary box But please don't ever open it You could also change the ribbon line to read "just leave the bow applied" if you use bows instead of ribbon. This, of course, is easier than the ribbon for little ones. I loved this gift and will keep it forever. This is a great idea for an inexpensive extra touch at Christmas. It seems to work especially well at the office, where you'd like to do something a little special for several people. (It's for those times when you feel like a card alone is not enough, but there's no way you'd be able to get individual gifts for everyone without going broke.) It's small, memorable, and inexpensive, and people with kids will love taking it home. Magic Christmas Dust
In each baggie, put a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal and a couple of pinches of glitter. Seal up the baggie. On small slips of paper, print (type or handwritten) the following message: "On Christmas Eve sprinkle magical dust on your lawn. The glitter will sparkle in the moonlight and help Santa find your house. The smell of the oats will guide the Reindeer!" Either tape the message to the baggie or attach with a ribbon. You could actually put the paper inside the baggie if there's not too much oatmeal in the way to read it! You can make several at a time just line up your baggies and go down the row with your ingredients. This is a great item to put inside of a Christmas card-makes it a little bit more special and memorable. I have found ready made gift baskets to be very expensive, but I love the way they look. I have started making my own for various occasions and the response has been great. The trick is making them personable and keeping the cost to your budget. I buy the baskets at thrift shops and garage sales. I have found recipies for homemade beauty items in the "dollar stretcher" and other sites which save maney. It's easy and fun to pick out just the right things so nothing goes to waste . I wrap them in colored saran wrap and dress with ribbons and bows. For those just starting out on their own, write some recipes on 3x5 cards and add a gift certificate to a main grocery store. Tie with a pretty bow. It is cheaper to mail then food baskets. You could clip those coupons and add those to the pile to make the perfect gift that will most definitely be appreciated! As a home schooling mother of three, we always try include inexpensive hand made items as Christmas gifts. Remembering the greatest gift was fashioned by God's hand for us. Here are some ideas I shared with our Mom's group.
Robin D I have taken wrapping paper and cut it to about a 6x6 square and made a fan out of it, then, glue lace around the edges and put a piece of lace on the back for a hanger. These make great tree ornaments. And, you can even make them smaller and make pins out of them. I also use material and get fabric stiffener and then shape and decorate them. You can use lace, artificial flowers old puzzle pieces, buttons, ribbon, or a number of others things. On the gift wrapped ones, I even made one out of solid gold gift wrap and cut an angels face out of a different wrap and glued it in the center. It turned out beautifully. Discuss "Christmas Gifts" with other Dollar Stretchers in The Dollar Stretcher Community Share your thoughts about this article with the editor: Click Here Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips@stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!
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