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Luvz2travel
Guest
Ok so I’m not a creative person but like to give creative gifts with Christmas around the corner lets share some creative gift ideas. I’ll try to think of some to share as well. 
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Ophelia23
Guest
You can always make cookies in a jar! You know, where you stack the dry ingredients on top of each other in a mason jar, and then make a nice instructions card and tie it on with a pretty ribbon…
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Lochias
Guest
Yup. This works well with dry soup ingredients too, like egg noodles and spices and whatnot.
J
jediliz
Guest
Duct Tape…there are a lot of crafts you can make with them. I made myself a duct tape wallet. Some are simple, some are complicated. You can even make realistic looking flowers/Roses.
Here’s one that would be simple and inexpensive to make:
How to Make a Duct Tape Coinbank - YouTube
You just need duct tape, scissors, a hobby knife and a cube facial tissue box that is empty of tissues.
Here’s one that would be simple and inexpensive to make:
How to Make a Duct Tape Coinbank - YouTube
You just need duct tape, scissors, a hobby knife and a cube facial tissue box that is empty of tissues.
S
stormiemccloud
Guest
I love getting together with my nieces and nephew at the family holiday party and having them decorate the cake I made with crazy sprinkles and candy! They add their own touch of creativity!
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Ophelia23
Guest
Fun!!!I love getting together with my nieces and nephew at the family holiday party and having them decorate the cake I made with crazy sprinkles and candy! They add their own touch of creativity!
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Ophelia23
Guest
Oooh I’ve never thought of that before. Now you’re giving me ideas!
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UntimelyGiggles
Guest
Normally, for friends and family friends, I tend to give the same Christmas present for all of them. Last year, it was just chocolates and a prayer card bookmark. The year before it was a nice home-baked crinkle cookies (very Christmas-y, actually) in a Christmas-themed tin can, which they all LOVED.
I think this year, it’ll be plain and simple – salted popcorn with melted white and milk chocolate on top, with some red sprinkles for the joyous occasion. Then, I’ll just be bagging it nicely with a plastic bag and creating a nice Christmas prayer tag for them. It’s easy, and I don’t have to spend more time as I will be with my family’s presents; and it’s also going to be one of our family friend’s baptism just before so, everything will be a tad bit busy (time-wise).
Lollicakes, I find, are quite a huge hit also in the Christmas season. But I just find them too sweet, and so, that’s probably going to be a not on the list.
I think this year, it’ll be plain and simple – salted popcorn with melted white and milk chocolate on top, with some red sprinkles for the joyous occasion. Then, I’ll just be bagging it nicely with a plastic bag and creating a nice Christmas prayer tag for them. It’s easy, and I don’t have to spend more time as I will be with my family’s presents; and it’s also going to be one of our family friend’s baptism just before so, everything will be a tad bit busy (time-wise).
Lollicakes, I find, are quite a huge hit also in the Christmas season. But I just find them too sweet, and so, that’s probably going to be a not on the list.
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Lochias
Guest
Heh. One of our aunts used to give them to us…soup base and the like all layered, and needing only the addition of a few carrots, water and left-over turkey for some truly fantastic turkey-noodle soup.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
Instead of giving flowers, just give a packet of seeds and let the person grow their own.
T
TheRealJuliane
Guest
Well, I’d have to nominate a foster mother, because my flowers would never grow…Instead of giving flowers, just give a packet of seeds and let the person grow their own.
:bighanky::sad_bye:
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LegoGE1947
Guest
Someone gave my wife once a potted plant and they said the plant was impossible to kill. You might guess the rest of the story–She killed it!
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tabycat
Guest
Sounds like what did to a jade plant. Of couse, knocking off of its shelf upside down on the floor did not help.Someone gave my wife once a potted plant and they said the plant was impossible to kill. You might guess the rest of the story–She killed it!
For a cook, severel packets of herb seeds, a planter (or two), and some potting soil. Or for a crafter, some craft notions in a basket. :christmastree1: :winter:
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LegoGE1947
Guest
Yeah, I think knocking a potted plant off a shelf onto the floor might help kill it!
C
Cat
Guest
We give time.
For many years now (at least 20), we have hosted a huge family get-together at Christmas. For several years, we booked a hotel and hosted a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, followed by swimming in the hotel pool, movies in one of the rooms, shopping if the hotel had a shopping area, etc.
We have such wonderful memories of our grandparents (now passed on, RIP) sitting around the pool throwing the beach ball back and forth!
By accident, we discovered a farm house in our area (Northern Illinois) that has been fixed up to look just like a Midwestern Living country dream house, and the owner rents it out for family reunions, receptions, retreats, etc. It’s awesome–out in the middle of nowhere in the farm country, where American eagles live. Hot tub. Rec room. Home theater. Giant country kitchen. A lake that freezes over (for ice skating) if it gets cold enough (it’s only gotten cold enough twice in ten years.)
So for the last ten years, we have rented this house around the holidays and host a house party. The immediate family is invited to spend the night, while the other family members are invited to hang out and have a huge dinner. Usually there is sing-along with the musical members of the family providing the music.
So many great memories! I think one of my favorite years was during a bad snowstorm when most of the family (except me and my mother-in-law) started a huge poker game. We never knew that a certain uncle, who always seemed like such a quiet type, was such an awesome poker player! He cleaned everyone out (pennies were the stakes).
We haven’t bought presents for our relatives for years because we spend the money on this family houseparty. The time is our gift, and everyone loves it. The small children in the family have grown up doing this, and they are now old enough to ask, “Are we doing the house party again?”
Not everyone can have a house-party, but I do think that gifts of time are so nice and highly recommend them. Even giving out “Taking a Walk Together at the park” Coupons is a good way to give others one of your most precious commodities–your time.
Just make sure that if you go to a restaurant for a dinner party, that it’s in a place where everyone can hear each other, because a lot of restaurants are so noisy that you can’t hear anything–not conducive to family conversation. Also remember that many little kids really don’t enjoy going to restaurants for more than fifteen minutes unless the restaurant has a playground.
For many years now (at least 20), we have hosted a huge family get-together at Christmas. For several years, we booked a hotel and hosted a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, followed by swimming in the hotel pool, movies in one of the rooms, shopping if the hotel had a shopping area, etc.
We have such wonderful memories of our grandparents (now passed on, RIP) sitting around the pool throwing the beach ball back and forth!
By accident, we discovered a farm house in our area (Northern Illinois) that has been fixed up to look just like a Midwestern Living country dream house, and the owner rents it out for family reunions, receptions, retreats, etc. It’s awesome–out in the middle of nowhere in the farm country, where American eagles live. Hot tub. Rec room. Home theater. Giant country kitchen. A lake that freezes over (for ice skating) if it gets cold enough (it’s only gotten cold enough twice in ten years.)
So for the last ten years, we have rented this house around the holidays and host a house party. The immediate family is invited to spend the night, while the other family members are invited to hang out and have a huge dinner. Usually there is sing-along with the musical members of the family providing the music.
So many great memories! I think one of my favorite years was during a bad snowstorm when most of the family (except me and my mother-in-law) started a huge poker game. We never knew that a certain uncle, who always seemed like such a quiet type, was such an awesome poker player! He cleaned everyone out (pennies were the stakes).
We haven’t bought presents for our relatives for years because we spend the money on this family houseparty. The time is our gift, and everyone loves it. The small children in the family have grown up doing this, and they are now old enough to ask, “Are we doing the house party again?”
Not everyone can have a house-party, but I do think that gifts of time are so nice and highly recommend them. Even giving out “Taking a Walk Together at the park” Coupons is a good way to give others one of your most precious commodities–your time.
Just make sure that if you go to a restaurant for a dinner party, that it’s in a place where everyone can hear each other, because a lot of restaurants are so noisy that you can’t hear anything–not conducive to family conversation. Also remember that many little kids really don’t enjoy going to restaurants for more than fifteen minutes unless the restaurant has a playground.
L
Lochias
Guest
Instead of giving flowers, just give a packet of seeds and let the person grow their own.
Hey, the soup mix sorta makes me feel like I’m doing some actual cooking…I’m usually the type that’ll burn down the kitchen if left to my own devices for too long.
R
Ridgerunner
Guest
This isn’t very imaginative, but when I was a kid, I loved getting books for Christmas. It was as if the gift (and therefore Christmas) never really ended, because I could always go back and re-read the book. I give my adult children and young grandchildren books, and they like getting them.
This will seem weird, but my wife and I usually do some shopping at farm and ranch supply stores. Sometimes the stuff they have is surprisingly neat. One year we bought (I think it cost $5.00) an actual, no-kidding rodeo lariat. It was used, which added massively to its appeal to the young grandson who received it. You see, real rodeo people get new ones all the time and trade in their old ones for some little amount of money.
One year, we bought one of our daughters (who was then in grad school) an old-fashioned coffee pot and tin mug at a farm/ranch supply store. You know, the kind where you put the grounds right in the pot and then strain it as you pour. It was a huge hit at her school, and other students wanted one themselves. They’re made to brew over an open fire, but can be used on a stove or hot plate.
They have things like real mule-hide gloves. Very strong (made to withstand barbed wire) and usually insulated, and very inexpensive. And, of course, the “Caterpillar” caps and “Cowgirl Up!” sweatshirts and that kind of thing. “Bib overalls”. My daughter was the “source” for her city friends after that and could have undoubtedly made money reselling some of that stuff.
Generally, too, (where there are Amish, especially) they have homemade goods of surprising variety.
Some of them have simply and strongly-made toys made out of that heavy metal that we all thought went out of existence back in 1952 or whenever.
Now and then you’ll run across some farm/ranch item of surprising home utility. Tools of unimaginable variety, galvanized stuff.
Anyway, it’s a thought.
This will seem weird, but my wife and I usually do some shopping at farm and ranch supply stores. Sometimes the stuff they have is surprisingly neat. One year we bought (I think it cost $5.00) an actual, no-kidding rodeo lariat. It was used, which added massively to its appeal to the young grandson who received it. You see, real rodeo people get new ones all the time and trade in their old ones for some little amount of money.
One year, we bought one of our daughters (who was then in grad school) an old-fashioned coffee pot and tin mug at a farm/ranch supply store. You know, the kind where you put the grounds right in the pot and then strain it as you pour. It was a huge hit at her school, and other students wanted one themselves. They’re made to brew over an open fire, but can be used on a stove or hot plate.
They have things like real mule-hide gloves. Very strong (made to withstand barbed wire) and usually insulated, and very inexpensive. And, of course, the “Caterpillar” caps and “Cowgirl Up!” sweatshirts and that kind of thing. “Bib overalls”. My daughter was the “source” for her city friends after that and could have undoubtedly made money reselling some of that stuff.
Generally, too, (where there are Amish, especially) they have homemade goods of surprising variety.
Some of them have simply and strongly-made toys made out of that heavy metal that we all thought went out of existence back in 1952 or whenever.
Now and then you’ll run across some farm/ranch item of surprising home utility. Tools of unimaginable variety, galvanized stuff.
Anyway, it’s a thought.
U
UntimelyGiggles
Guest
C
CatholicRaven
Guest
We make most of our Christmas gifts, because it’s both less expensive and (generally) more personal. Last year, I gave my mom the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” 
Some of my favorites:
For little girls, we love giving dress-up kits. Just check garage sales, thrift stores, and your own closets, and find random things they can use for costumes and pretend play. Purses, hats, bead necklaces, “dressy” gloves, and scarves seem to be especially popular! Fit them all into a decorated cardboard box, toybox, or plastic storage container so Mom doesn’t have to find a place to put it all!
For boys (and some girls), we have put together an outdoor building kit from various pvc fittings and lengths of pvc pipe cut into 6", 12", 18", and 24" pieces (some hardware stores will cut them for you; some charge extra for that). Be sure to sand the ends so they are smooth, though! If you have the extra money, as a cute storage idea, you might even be able to find a toolbox to fit all the pieces into (I found a plastic one at a garage sale that worked perfectly).
If you know someone who has an interest in a different culture or language, you can make a nice framed translation for them in that language. It may be their name (especially nice when the language looks different, such as Kanji–Japanese), or perhaps a short phrase like, “Live, Laugh, Love.” It may take some time if you ink it by hand (with paint or caligraphy ink), but IMHO, it nearly always looks better than computer-printed versions.
You could also use a similar idea for a t-shirt (fabric paints or fabric markers), pillow or pillowcase, canvas tote, apron, etc. A cool phrase, their nickname, a picture, or just something fun that reminds you of them in some way.
Old-fashioned toys are often inexpensive to make, too, if you have the tools and a little ingenuity. Hummer buttons, puppets, whammydiddles, Tower of Hanoi, Jacob’s ladder…
if you can sew even a little bit, you can make three beanbags and put those and three small, sheer scarves into a small box or tube as a “juggling kit.”
HTH!
Some of my favorites:
For little girls, we love giving dress-up kits. Just check garage sales, thrift stores, and your own closets, and find random things they can use for costumes and pretend play. Purses, hats, bead necklaces, “dressy” gloves, and scarves seem to be especially popular! Fit them all into a decorated cardboard box, toybox, or plastic storage container so Mom doesn’t have to find a place to put it all!
For boys (and some girls), we have put together an outdoor building kit from various pvc fittings and lengths of pvc pipe cut into 6", 12", 18", and 24" pieces (some hardware stores will cut them for you; some charge extra for that). Be sure to sand the ends so they are smooth, though! If you have the extra money, as a cute storage idea, you might even be able to find a toolbox to fit all the pieces into (I found a plastic one at a garage sale that worked perfectly).
If you know someone who has an interest in a different culture or language, you can make a nice framed translation for them in that language. It may be their name (especially nice when the language looks different, such as Kanji–Japanese), or perhaps a short phrase like, “Live, Laugh, Love.” It may take some time if you ink it by hand (with paint or caligraphy ink), but IMHO, it nearly always looks better than computer-printed versions.
You could also use a similar idea for a t-shirt (fabric paints or fabric markers), pillow or pillowcase, canvas tote, apron, etc. A cool phrase, their nickname, a picture, or just something fun that reminds you of them in some way.
Old-fashioned toys are often inexpensive to make, too, if you have the tools and a little ingenuity. Hummer buttons, puppets, whammydiddles, Tower of Hanoi, Jacob’s ladder…
if you can sew even a little bit, you can make three beanbags and put those and three small, sheer scarves into a small box or tube as a “juggling kit.”
HTH!
K
Kelfa28
Guest
I love this idea and I’m kicking myself for not keeping my dress up box. My mom, sister and I were all dancers and we had piles of costumes from all of the performances we did. Quite handy for Halloween every year but it was also fantastic for dress up. We had a huge trunk filled with all of our costumes and we’d parade around the house dressed as princesses, brides, fancy ladies…you name it! I miss it!
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