Homemade Gift Ideas for Christmas

We asked our DCW Members and Ezine Subscribers to share with us their ideas and suggestions for Homemade Gifts and we received some very good gift suggestions. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Household Supplies

A great gift a friend of mine gives a box of household supplies. Paper towels toilet paper laundry soap dish soap. Young people are always running out of these things and if money is tight, what a great help!!

by Winona Follansbee

Coloring Books

A very unique Homemade Christmas gift idea that is costs almost nothing at all is a coloring book made from your favorite photos. You can create coloring books for your friends & family from their favorite photos.

To create one of these coloring books, you will need a computer of course! You will also need either a digital camera or scanner to scan in your photos. After you have done that part, you will need to open your photos in Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and work with your photos. You can create an almost instant coloring book image by going to the photocopy feature in Adobe Photoshop. You will have to enhance & edit from there. After you are done, you can customize your pages in a Printshop program or MS Word then you can print them. After they are printed you can put them together with staples or pretty strings or bows. You can also frame one and give it to a loved one.

This makes a great inexpensive gift for someone who already has everything.

by Amanda of Contest For Moms

Paperdoll Year

My grandchildren, nieces and nephews now have children of their own who are playing with some of the Christmas gifts that I made them when they were young.

Their very favorite was the 'Paperdoll Year'. I took photos of each in their bathing suits on the beach one summer.
*Had them made into 8 x 10 photos
*Glued onto sturdy cardboard
*Cut out with a craft knife
*Laminated (you could probably seal with decoupage glue)
*Made a small slit in the bottom for a stand - also cardboard
*Made an outfit for each from regular typing paper - some had lace or sequins glued on, others were simply drawn and colored with crayons (added the 'Tabs' to attach these paperdoll clothes)
*Included several sheets of paper, trim scraps, a box of crayons with each so they could make more clothes for themselves

They were SO delighted to have a paperdoll of 'themselves' These paperdolls were played with constantly, taken into 'Show and Tell' at school, they added paperdolls that they made of photos of their friends and other family members, etc.

I was really surprised that the boys actually played with these - but a funny thing - the girls spent HOURS making more clothes for themselves while the boys went through their dad's sports catalogs and simply added accessories - guns, skis, binoculars, etc. LOL

by Frances Stewart of McColl Name

Unique wine glass basket

A new twist on a gift basket!
Calls for a little investigating!

Find out if they have a nice set or just a breakable one. Coordinate it with their decor: kitchen, living room, bed or Bath!!! Decide if making it for a romantic interlude or a "couples" get together.

You will need:
Wine glasses
Wine or other beverage - (Either in a nice bottle or bag)
Basket
Other items:
-Either etching material and stencils or glass paint that is safe for dishes to decorate glasses
-Beads and wire to make glass markers (Bead books should have patterns ) OR purchase already made ones
-basket filler : to fill bottom of basket colored shredded paper, straw, a table cloth & napkins
- tissue paper, ribbon, or beads to fill glasses

Note:
*For several baskets a grape type garland could enhance several.
*if you attach "garnishes" with wire the recipient can reuse the basket and change accents

Put it all together!
Decorate glasses with etching or paint

Make coordinating but different wine glass markers for twisting around stems. (option: Make them all the same with different charms at the ends)

Assemble the basket
Fill basket with "basket filler", wrap glass markers around your unique wine glasses. Put tissue paper and beads or napkins in wine glasses. Arrange in basket with wine

Add candles for a romantic twist. You now have a unique gift basket!

by Karen Osieczonek

Gift Mixes

The Gooseberry Patch book titled 'Gift Mixes' includes all sorts of great drink, dip, and cookie-in-a-jar mixes to make and give as gifts.

by Megan Corwin

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