Homemade Christmas Gifts

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Homemade Christmas Gifts: Special Spoons

Buy a package of plastic spoons, preferably in festive colors. Dip them in chocolate (melted chocolate chips work well) and shake off the excess. Place them on wax paper and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy. After they dry, wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon. Put a few spoons in a coffee mug along with some individual hot cocoa or coffee packets and you have a great gift for those chilly nights!
Sarah W

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Candles

Melt down old candle ends or any type of wax and you could add a little scented oil like lemongrass or grapefruit. I put a wick in. This is really cheap by the yard from the craft store. For about $1, I have a nice gift with a little tag attached to the handle.
Susan S.

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Bath Salts

2 Boxes Baking Soda
2 Boxes Table Salt
2 oz. Oil (I use tanning oil)
2 oz. Vanilla Extract

Put in plastic bag and mix. As an option, you can use lemon juice instead of vanilla extract. I store in Betty Crocker plastic cake icing containers but you can store in nice glass or plastic containers and decorate the lid with seashells.
Judy

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Fleece Blankets

At your local fabric store, purchase fleece that is 60"X60". Wash the fleece to ensure that there is no shrinkage. Lay on a flat surface and cut 2" fringe around all the edges. Now, tie knots in the strips as close to the uncut fabric as possible. Do this around the entire piece. Once this is complete, throw your blanket back in the washer/dryer to soften up the fringe.
Sharon

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Pinecone Ornaments

Gather pine cones from the woods and boil them. When they dry, they open beautifully! Then paint, glitter and decorate them and hang from hooks. They make wonderful ornaments for gifts.
Steffie

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Incense Smudge

If you grow any kind of herb in abundance, you can make an incense smudge in late summer for Christmas giving. When you light the end, they shoulder and give off a beautiful scent. Lavender is especially nice for this. Just bundle herbs into a log shape, about 1.5 - 2 inches thick. Wrap with colorful cotton thread or string. You can dry these as is, or dry in a microwave. I microwave them for 2 minutes at a time until they are perfectly dry. Watch them carefully as they could ignite if over-micro waved. Wrap two or three of the dried smudges together as a gift.
Lisa

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