Christmas presents

If you are like me, you have a lot of family members to buy or make gifts for, and not always a lot of great ideas! I don't think of myself as a really "great shopper" like my sister Daniella or my Aunt Diana. I can't always find something that I just KNOW the person will love, and I don't really love going shopping all the time! Also, when you have been in the same family for so many years - or friends for many years, like my best friend Rachel! - you start to run out of ideas. You've kind of done it all before! So here are a few ideas I've seen recently that are different and not terribly expensive:

1. Pumpkin Butter
I LOVE pumpkin (see my last post!), and I almost always buy a big one around Halloween just because I think they make pretty decorations. After Thanksgiving is over, I turn mine into a crock pot full of pumpkin butter. Here are some simple directions on how to do it - it's really quite easy!
NOTES - they say to use pie pumpkins, but I have always made mine with a regular large pumpkin and it turns out just fine. Just remember to cook the pumpkin first, either in the oven or the steamer! You should have seen me chipping away the rock-hard pumpkin from the shell the first year! ;-) It was funny...in retrospect. Put the finished butter in small, pretty glass canning jars and tie a ribbon around them, and you have a great gift for friends, neighbors, or Sunday School teachers. Just remember to tell them that the pumpkin butter NEEDS TO BE REFRIGERATED because it doesn't "can" safely like most other fruits. For this reason, you also can't mail it very well.

2. Build your own Smores Kit
I saw this for sale in some magazine, but I would totally do it myself. Three small decorative boxes, each with one component (graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows) inside, stacked and tied together with a ribbon. So easy! Check out the dollar store or Hobby Lobby for the boxes - HL often has 1/2 off seasonal sales that makes things like this very reasonable.

3. Peppermint/Almond Bark
This is what I'm making for all the kids' teachers and neighbors this year! Here's a recipe for this simple and delicious treat. Sams Club sells 5lb bars of Ghiridelli white and milk chocolate for (I believe) about $4.88 each? Of course you could use chocolate chips as well. Same story as #2, find some boxes or tins on sale, and you are set! For almond bark, simply replace the peppermint oil with almond extract (you may have to play with the quantities, depending on the strength of the extract) and the crushed peppermint on top with chopped almonds. You could even toast the almonds for extra flavor and crunch.

KIDS

4. Build your own superhero cape kit
I saw this in a magazine too, but it seems so simple that I would make it. Cut a large rectangle of fabric in whatever colorful or shiny fabric you choose, wider at the bottom than the top (like this). (If you're really ambitious you can hem it like in the picture, but I probably won't. ;-) My kids will not care.) You can sew a ribbon/string on either side of the narrow end, or you can sew on a strip across the top with velcro on each end (again, see the link above). Then cut out a bunch of shapes, letters, or symbols out of different colored fabrics. You can find all sorts of sparkly, shiny, or otherwise interesting materials at the fabric store, or you could just use what you have at home! You can add beads, sequins, or even fabric paints, depending on the age of the child. Then wrap the cape up together with all the accessories and label it "Build Your Own Superhero Cape!" You may need to include some kind of fabric glue if you are giving this to someone else's children (again, depends on the age of the child!) so they can attach all their decorations to their cape.

5. Dress up box.
Find a largish box and paste pretty paper on the outside. Or you could buy a decorative box, even a hatbox, at a store - Tuesday Morning is one of my favorites, and they have tons of pretty boxes. A plastic bin with a lid from, say, Wal-Mart would work too, and you could decorate it with girly stickers. Then go to the thrift store and find all kinds of fun accessories, like gloves, hats, high-heeled shoes, feather boas, shawls, beads, costume jewelry, fluffy skirts, etc. for very cheap prices! Fill the box with all these dress up clothes and make a little girl's day! Note - You could use this idea for a boy too, just pick more manly attire like suit jacket, glasses frames, tie, man shoes, fedora, cape, sword, uniform, toy pistols, cowboy hat, etc.

KITCHEN

6. Bay Leaf wreath
Here's the link. This struck me as a really pretty and unique idea for someone who likes to cook. It's a wreath made out of fresh bay leaves, which makes the room look pretty and smell good, and then once it dries, you can pluck the leaves off and use them in cooking all year long. William Sonoma offers a garland too.

7. Personalized coffee mugs
Here's the link to a glass etching tutorial. It sounds intimidating, but it actually looks really easy. I am going to try this for a few of my own presents. It's basically just painting an etching acid (that they sell at Hobby Lobby) into a stencil that's pasted onto glass. The acid eats away at the glass, and you have a beautiful etched picture or image. I thought you could buy each person an inexpensive coffee mug - maybe even at the dollar store - and then etch their initial or full name onto it. That way, nobody gets their cups mixed up! Great for an office, or a household with many coffee drinkers. The possibilities here are pretty much limitless. You could buy a set of water glasses and give each person their own glass. You could etch names or initials onto pyrex storage containers or baking dishes so people don't get their lunches mixed up or lose their 9x13 pan at a potluck. (I hate it when I do that!) You can do fancy wine glasses for married couples. They sell several different styles of stencil for this at HL. Use your imagination!

8. Gift Basket for the Baker
They sell these pre-made, but they are SO expensive. Buy a pretty basket. Fill it with unique and neat things related to baking i.e. fun-shaped cookie cutters, hand towels, an apron (here's a site that shows you how to make one out of a man's shirt!), special flavorings or spices, like fancy vanilla, cardamom, almond extract, cinnamon, etc. You could include baking chocolate, a pretty pie pan or mini cake tins, pot holders that look like pineapples, etc. etc. (Just don't try to make your own potholders. They NEVER turn out right and they are just not worth the time and effort when you can buy them so cheaply. At least, that has been my experience!)The sky's the limit. Add a cookbook! or just some recipe cards with your favorites. You could do a "coffee basket" or "tea basket" with a mug and some different coffee/tea flavors, along with fancy sugar,  or a "hot chocolate basket" with marshmallows. I really like the idea of building your own gift basket because you can make each one unique to the person.


Those are my ideas so far. I have one other, but I am not going to share it because I know my mom and sisters read my blog sometimes, and I am making it for them for Christmas!