Christmas is fast approaching and some how, each year, it seems to catch us off guard even quicker then the year before.
If you’re a family living on a very tight budget it can be a time of anxiousness as you try to plan what you can do to make Christmas memorable!
This year, as many years past in our 20 years of marriage, winter seems to get the better of us and the finances get tighter and tighter, yet the bills never decrease. This can dampen that wonderful Christmas “spirit”! But each year, no matter what our situation, I determine that I’m just not going to let that happen! Christmas is about giving, and thinking of those you love. Not about how much you spend! Today, more then ever, it can be difficult to remember that with ads coming at us from every corner about every hottest new item that everyone “must have”! It’s a slippery slope one can easily fall into if not careful!
I knew I’d have to be extra smart this year if I was going to have time to do everything before Christmas. No matter how well one plans and budgets, there’s one aspect that’s often hard to fit in, and that’s “extra” time. Many gifts can be created and crafted, but that extra time needed is often elusive to get it all done!
With that in mind, I’d like to share some gift ideas that I’ve either used in the past, will use this year, or would like to use in the future. Christmas is less then a month away. Today my sister invited our three youngest girls to spend the night so I jumped at the opportunity to spend a few hours preparing my sewing area for this upcoming busy season AND devising a plan to put it all together!
First, what I find easiest, gifts for the children in our lives.
This year my husband had mentioned how nice it would be if we could get some bean bag chairs for our girls. Our living room is very small, so we are only able to fit in a couch and one chair in there. That means we don’t all fit comfortably in there unless some people sit on the floor or we use dinning room chairs to sit on. Not the most cozy ideal way to spend family time together watching a movie.
Beanbag chairs are EXPENSIVE! I knew if I could find an easy pattern, I could probably make some, I certainly have enough fabric, but that still left me with the issue of the cost of the ‘beans’ to fill the chairs. Not sure about elsewhere, but here in Canada, they are VERY pricey when you are multiplying by three! So at first I scrapped that idea all together. Then I saw an ad for chairs very similar to beanbag chairs, but instead of filled with ‘beans’, these were filled with stuffed animals! Well… in a small home, for a mom of five children, this idea just seemed like pure genius! So I’m going to see if I can change up the pattern I have for a bean bag chair, to fit a ‘flap’ in which we’ll use to ‘stuff’ the chairs with teddies. I hope it works! If it does, we may just be able to watch a movie together in comfort for the first time in five years! I’ll be using the pattern I found here: Bean Bag Chair Pattern
Another idea I’ve used in the past when things were REALLY tight was for our son. He always loved playing with his toy cars, and they were inexpensive enough that every Christmas we could always add to his collection. However, all the toys that go along with the cars were expensive. Everything from play mats to garages. This one year in particular when he was about 4 or 5 years old, I found a couple of good sturdy cardboard boxes and went to work creating a full garage complete with a several level parkade with ramps and all! He LOVED it! He played with that ‘toy’ until it could be played with no longer! Here’s an idea long the same lines for a cardboard ‘coral’! Cardboard Coral Google homemade cardboard toys and you’ll find everything from cardboard houses, to castles, to play boats! The possibilities are endless!
One great Christmas gift I’ve seen quite often is homemade play kitchens. The store bought kitchens can be VERY pricey. Lately I’ve seen not only homemade ones made out of wood by crafty people, but also many made from recycled items such as tv stands and more! Google homemade play kitchens and browse through the images! It’s unreal what some people have done! This one in particular caught my eye and made me wish our girls were still small! It’s brilliant! Homemade Kitchen That one is quite big and would never do in our small home, but there are many others out there that are much smaller and just as cute!
Another very inexpensive gift that most children will just LOVE are homemade canopy’s/tents! Just a very large piece of light weight fabric,(many love play silks!) either dyed or decorated, will stire up the imagination of any child! Over the years our children have used such pieces of fabrics as indoor tents in the cool months, and outdoor tents in the summer months. They can be hung over chairs to be used as anything from a puppet theater to a fort! Since my younger girls don’t read here, I’ll share what I plan to do for them. I have a VERY large piece of fabric I had bought, just plain white, and light weight, with the intention of practicing fabric dyeing. Instead, I’m going to cut it into three large pieces, serge the ends, fold them up neatly and tuck them into gift bags. Along with them, I’m going to add a homemade Gift Certificate letting them know that I will help them dye their fabric any colors they choose. These will then become their imagination fabrics and I know they will provide countless hours of play. Even at their ages of 10 and 12! One is never too old to play!
For teens, there are also many things you can put together that can be quite budget friendly. Special “baskets” can be a real hit.
For a teen boy, a personal “movie night” basket (you can use a big bowl) filled with popcorn, maybe a movie if you can afford it, and all sorts of other goodies that you know your boy will enjoy, is sure to please! This can be a great gift for any man, or really anyone in your life. Fill it up extra big and turn it into a “Family Night” basket for the whole family! Make it for two and turn it into a “Date Night” basket for a special couple in your life!
For a teen girl, a glamor basket with anything and everything from nail polish to make up to hair accessories can also be a big hit! This can also be a fun idea in small scale for the little ‘princess’ in your life. Better yet, add a homemade crown and some jewelry, maybe even some vintage dresses, and you’ve got enough to fill a decorated dress up “box”!
For the hard working women in our lives, pampering baskets are always a great idea. Homemade soaps, bath salts, milk baths, facial cloths and wash cloths all combine together to make a lovely gift. Add in a couple of candles and anything else you can afford to put in there, and you can go as small or big as you budget or creativity allow! These baskets can also be great for teen girls!
Heating packs can be made quite easily with long grain rice, a little herbs and/or essential oils. These can be the perfect gift for anyone on your list who suffers from aches and pains. It can also be added to a gift basket. Make a small one in cute children’s fabrics for the younger ones in your life to be used as boo boo buddies by placing them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. You can even get real creative and make them in all sorts of fun shapes for that added homemade loving touch! Here’s one link where lots of people have shared how they make theirs: Rice Packs
If you sew, there are many many MANY ideas to pull from online! For the beginner (or those short on lots of time) there are simple tote bags which can be made special by piecing a few fabrics together instead of just one. Basic small quilts can be made for a young child’s doll, or a full basic quilt made simply by piecing squares together can turn out really nicely! Want to try your hand at quilting but don’t have time to do a big project, how about a small table runner or centerpiece? Again, the possibilities are endless and with the capability to search online, you’ll never be out of ideas!
Along the lines of sewing, just about anyone could use some sort of fabric ‘caddy’ in their life! Whether it be a simple book ‘caddy’ that can hang over the side of a child’s bed, or a remote caddy to hang over the arm of a couch or chair. Even teens will appreciate somewhere to put their magazines! My son wants one for his car mags! I’ll be making a small one for my husband’s nail clippers. They continually grow legs and walk away from his night stand…
Google “homemade fabric caddy” and you’ll find numerous ideas for just about anyone and everyone on your Christmas list!
Last but certainly not least, food!
Food is ALWAYS a well received and VERY loved gift! If you’re not the greatest at baking, start out with a simply shortbread recipe. I typed “easy scotch shortbread recipe” and even found some videos. Shortbread with a little bit of Christmas sprinkles on it to add some color, then wrapped up carefully in a pretty tin makes a great gift! Sugar cookies can be easy as well, and also taste great for many days.
A very simple favorite in our home every year are chocolate covered pretzels. You can keep them REAL simple by just dipping pretzel sticks in melted milk chocolate.
Or get a little ‘fancier’ and drizzle melted whilte chocolate over top. Get REAL fancy and dip them in milk chocolate, then roll them in skor bits, and then drizzle them in the white chocolate! Delicious! My mouth is watering just thinking about them! Thankfully Alesia made some just the other day, but of course they are all gone already or I’d go grab one right now.
I’ll ask Alesia to do a guest blog post some time soon to share our recipe for peanut butter rice crispie balls. They are superbly delicious, and VERY easy!
There are many very simple recipes that can be dressed up a little by just adding that extra touch. Drizzling chocolate is one of the easiest methods we’ve found.
And with that, it’s 2:30 am and I hear horses kicking around something in the paddock, so I had better go see what they are up to and then get to bed!
If you have any crafty and/or budget friendly gift ideas to share, please do so! I’d love to hear them, as I’m sure others would too!
And remember…
Time is your only limit, creativity is endless!
