Christmas Gift Ideas... - Uniontown,PA

I am in the same situation. This year, I will be making EVERYONE Amish Friendship Bread. The recipe is online & really easy to make. What's nice is once you start it once, it keeps going & going & going. You'll see. LOL! I just got done stocking up my freezer of the dough & I have enough to make well over 250 loaves. But it's super super tastey!

Last Christmas my husband's family was low on dough & did a gift from the heart and I LOVED receiving it. She made everyone a "Family Cookbook." She got all the special recipes from members of the family & organized them all into a cookbook. Have fun with it. My favorite "recipe" was for Mac n Cheese. The instructions read:

Call Grandma (who works at KFC)
Order
Pick Up
Serve

Enjoy!

I don't have any real specific answers here, but my family gets Family Fun magazine and they always have a ton of cool and easy crafts and gifts that get the whole family involved.
Have fun!!

I always liked the mason jar gifts...not only can you do cookies & stuff, but also soups, breads, etc in jars. Also check online for good dip recipes...you can get the small ziplock bags at Michaels or a craft store, mix up the dry ingredients for a dip mix and slap a label on the bag with instructions! Who doesn't love dip??!! Also love the salt dough ornaments. I'm gonna have to go online and get a recipe!

I'm not crafty, but my friend made something called "no-sew fleece tie blankets" for my whole family one year, and we love them! Apparently, they are inexpensive and simple to make. My kids use them every day in cool weather...on the couch, building "forts", and as a blankie at bedtime. My friend made each family member's blanket using different fleece patterns - pink bears for my daughter, ducks for the baby, black & blue plaid for my husband, etc.

Here's one link of many that I found on the subject: http://www.allkindsofbabystuff.com/no_sew_fleece_blankets...

Good luck! I totally agree with your ideas about Christmas. It's not all about a getting/giving a bazillion gifts. The simplest gifts are often the most appreciated.

We've done reusable fabric gift bags for our family members the last several years and everyone has gone crazy about them. they essentially look like lined pillowcases (of varying sizes from tiny to grocery-bag sized) with ribbon drawstrings at the top. The first two years we did Christmas fabric ones, but this year we've had requests for either solid-colored ones or birthday-themed ones. They are a great way to use up fabric scraps you have left over (free!) AND green up your holiday gift giving by elimating the waste of wrapping paper and plastic ribbon.

You kinda have to know what your family members like (Iike I want everything under my tree to match, but my folks like as many different colors and patterns as possible under theirs), but once you get the pattern figured out, they are pretty quick and easy to do.

Good luck!

My all time fave is homemade vanilla extract (takes about 2mos of sitting beforehand).

I also like homemade roasted garlic butter (or other flavored butters).

I'm not a scrapbooker and put all of my son's memories/postcards/artwork/event tix/etc in an airtight storage box, decorate it with markers and call it a time capsule. I do one for each year and a friend of mine wanted one for her newborn. So, as an inexpensive gift, I made one for her and gave her extra markers for her to write what she wants.

Good luck!

If you find yourself running out of time check out the site etsy.com.

I was and still am in the same boat as you. The niece and nephew list keeps growing, the number of god children is unbelievable and I still have my own two kids to worry about.
I found it very helpful last year and found myself shopping for everything there for everyone, young and old. You can use this site to control your spending and keep track of what you are buying and for whom. There are so many handmade, plus more, on there, then you will ever believe. Plus, if you are crafty, it will give you glorious ideas for you to attempt for yourself.
"Hi, my name is _ and I am addicted to etsy.com". :)
Hope this helps.

I do a lot of baked goods. In the past I have made woodne letter for kids rooms (if you want directions let me know). Also for kids making reindeer food (you can find online).

L.--
We must be twins separated at birth--my grammy used to make those hangers and I STILL love and use them ALL of the time! LOL
My aunt also makes the pot scrubbies--they are awesome!
The ornaments would be adorable, too.
I love all of your ideas--especially the pillow sweaters.
You're on a great track already--you don't need any ideas from (uncrafty) me.

For the lil girls make cute flower or bow clippies/headbands..
Saltdough ornaments I made those 1 yr and by the time Christmas was over time to take down the tree they molded maybe I did something wrong.Go online to Hobby Lobby or go into the store they have free instructions all over hanging around the store.
I know how Christmas can get out o f control I have scalded way back over the yrs.

My SIL makes doilies and I love them. She and my brother are hurting financially and she always makes gifts. She crochets blankets for her baby gifts, one year she made purses out of Capri Sun pouches.

As for myself, I am not that crafty but for neighbors, everyone LOVES it when we deliver our home made chex mix in a decorative tin, We make applesauce/cinnamon ornaments and use them as gift wrap decor.

Hope that helps a little.

I am a fan of gifts that can be consumed, mostly because otherwise we just keep accumulating more stuff! Some of my favorite gifts that I have received throughout the years are homemade biscotti with homemade teas. My friends would make the biscottis from recipes they found online, and they would purchase herbs from farmer's markets, grocery stores, etc., dry them, and combine them for great tea! My mom makes "Russian tea" and puts it in pretty containers for gifts. Those are especially welcome on a cold winter's night.

I also really like jars with either soup or cookie ingredients in them. They are great meal/treat ideas and make it easy for the recipient to always have something on hand that is quick, tasty, and really convenient.

Not sure if you are into scrapbooking but even if you aren't and you have friends/family who are, you can make 12X12 pages relatively cheap (just buy the pages) - use scraps of paper, things you find around the house to decorate themed pages and then have space for different 4X6 photos (2-3 per page). Or if you are into scrapbooking and want to give another scrapper a gift, go through and put together items to make a 12X12 layout. This is as cheap as can be and all it takes is the time to go through your stuff!

A 'gift' I love is a coupon for an evening out (could be an evening 'in') with someone you love. You offer to make dinner at your house and clean up and then play games. Maybe it's offering a free night of babysitting to a friend or family member with young kids so they can go out!

Macaroni necklaces (and if you have other beads/things for a necklace). You can have your kids paint the macaroni and put a few through a thread then put other items (beads, buttons, etc) on the necklace to make it look homemade BUT also really funky/crafty!

Stuff to make cookies in a mason jar (I know you can find the measurements for the mix online).

Homemade soap or laundry soap (again online) maybe in a pretty or inexpensive basket.

I usually make a lot of our gifts and just got a "new" idea from a home improvement show. They made personalized wine glasses by buying etching cream and using stencils. Apparently you tape on the stencil, paint on the etching cream and wipe/wash off after a few minutes and it permanently etches whatever you stenciled into the glass. I found ideas for glass frames, mirrors and other gifts but my favorite was for a casserole dish with the person's last name etched across the bottom. What a great idea for a dish you can bring to parties and be sure to get it back with ease. http://www.the-best-homemade-gift-ideas.com/cake-baking-p... . Good luck!

My aunt once made a sled ornament for me & all my cousins out of popsicle sticks. She painted them green, wrote merry christmas on the seat portion & our names on the bar across the top. All of us still have them 25 years later. I love it even more now than I did then. And your son could help with the green painting part.

I imagine if you google making christmas ornaments, you will probably get a ton of ideas. My aunt made us something new every year & I love putting all my ornaments on our tree. Each one has a special memory. MUCH better than the hallmark ones.