Crafts
• A great gift for Grandparents are personalized Holiday Placemats.
Arrange cards, photos, or a collage of their grandchildren's artwork onto heavy paper measuring 13 X 19 then cover with clear contact paper. These can be wiped cleaned easily and should last for many Christmases to come.
Last Minute Ideas
Combine a Card, a Container and a Gift for
a quick thoughtful gift.
• For a teacher:
Card:
A teacher can't live by apples alone
she needs "hugs" too!
Container:
A coffee Mug filled with Hershey's Hugs
• For a neighbor or unexpected guest:
Card:
Just "poppin" by with a warm Christmas 'Hi'
Merry Christmas!
Container/Gift:
Pop Corn Popper Or a Decorated Tin filled with pop corn, salt, and oil
• For the Mailman or Newspaper delivery person:
Card:
Warm wishes for the Holidays
Container:
Christmas Mug filled with hot chocolate or hot Wassail
mix with a copy of Hot Chocolate for the
Mystical Soul: 101 True Stories of Angels, Miracles, and Healings
• For a Neighbor, Friend, or unexpected Company
Card: To a Really 'Grate' Neighbor (or whatever is needed)
Container: Atop a cheese board wrap a grater, cheese knife,
and cheeses.
• Card: Feliz Navidad
Container: Fill a basket with Margarita glasses, Chips,
Salsa, and perhaps a coupon for dinner at a favorite
Mexican Restaurant.
Escpeially for Kids
• Christmas Scrunchie
Materials:
Small amount of Christmas yarn
Ponytail elastic
12 Jingle Bells - any size
Crochet hook, size H
Instructions:
String jingle bells onto yarn then:
Rnd 1) Attach yarn to ponytail holder sc around holder until full.
Rnd 2) Ch4, *skip st, dc in next st, ch1. Repeat from * around. Join in 3rd ch of first ch4.
Rnd 3) Ch3, pull up bell ch3, sk ch space, sc in dc, *ch3, pull up bell, ch3, sk ch sp, sc in dc, ch6. sk ch sp, sc in dc, ch6, sk ch sp. sc in dc. Repeat from * around. Join in base of first ch3.
Finish off.
Variations can be made with decorative buttons, 'pearls' or charms.
• Glue a reindeer head to the lid of a small baby
food bottle and the legs to the bottom of the
bottle. Fill the bottle with candies.
Shopping
This year, promise yourself a stress free shopping experience. No more driving through crowded malls looking for a shopping place. No more grumbling over last minute impulse buys you didn't need. This year avoid the crowds, the traffic, the cold, the stress - shop in your jammies in the comfort of your computer chair.
• For your new grandparents create a custom photo calendar at Kodak EasyShare Gallery
• For Aunt Linda who loves to read why not fill a gift basket with a selection or two from her favorite author, an 'itty bitty book light', a decorative book mark, and a collection of her favorites.
• For anyone on your list a calendar can be a great gift
that will be a reminder of your thoughtfulness every day of the year. Or for a personal touch
create your own photo calendar.
• For Grandpa who loves to travel give him a travel bag or suitcase filled with
travel sized toiletries.
• And for your nephew Mikey, the budding artist, collect paper, a custom box of 64 crayons from Crayola.com
, paints, and
supplies from MisterArt.com
to present in a basket.
• For Pete, the sports nut how about a couple of tickets to his favorite team's game, some big league chewing gum,
items with his teams logo on them and a foam finger.
• For your Mother in Law perhaps a basket of bath and shower gifts.
Include soaps, a Bath Scrubbie all tucked in a towel.
• For a gift that keeps on giving how about a
subscription to
Food and Gourmet Magazines
• For any coffee lover give them an assortment of flavored coffees in a coffee mug.
• For your Aunt Gina who loves to cook create a
fun basket with an exotic cookbook, some hand
painted potholders, and a decorative cookie cutter.
• Cinnamon Stick Candle Holder
Materials:
Glass votive holder with straight sides
Cinnamon sticks
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Red Raffia to wrap around votive and form a bow
Instructions:
Cut the ends off of the cinnamon sticks
to make them even and as tall as the votive holder.
Glue the cinnamon sticks
vertically to the outside of the votive holder until
the entire votive holder has been covered.
Finish with the raffia ribbon around the holder and form a bow.
A variation is to use wrapped peppermint stick candy.
• What teenage girl wouldn't love a basket of bath salts, lotions, polishes, and beauty products bundled in pink?
• And for Aunt Susie (with her green thumb) why not collect a Garden basket of goodies for her? Add seeds packets, a trowel, gloves, decorative pots, and a surprise or two? The trowel, gloves and pot can even be painted to
coordinate.
• And for a newly married couple or someone with a new baby how about a special
ornament for the occasion?
• For any youth or teenage boy how about a poster for his room? Use this search to find his or her coolest favorites:
