Christmas – an exciting time of year, but it can also be one of the biggest headaches when you’re trying to figure out what to buy and how much to spend on gifts. Well…you can end the headaches and hassles by creating your own gifts! The homemade Christmas gift ideas below will help keep more money in your pocket during the holiday season while providing a personal and memorable gift to that special someone.

TIP: I have a Dollar Tree Store nearby where everything’s a dollar – if you have one near you or something similar you can save BIG money while creating great gifts!

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas:

Christmas Candles – pick up some plain pillar candles (white or red are great choices) and then decorate them with ribbons, plastic berries, or gift tags. Pick up some fabric and dress up the candles.  Another idea is to purchase small votive candle, votive holder and a wide glass vase.  Partially fill the vase with Christmas decorations – plastic holly, fake poinsettias, red/green/gold glass beads, etc. – and then place the votive in the small holder in the bottom.  You can find all kinds of decorations that will work – just use your imagination. You can spend less than $20 at a local dollar store and make up to 10 candle gifts, now that’s how to keep more money in your pocket.

Christmas baskets -  purchase a large, plain, wicker basket and any type of Christmas fabric with a small print.  You will need to purchase 2 to 3 yards of fabric.  You will need fiber fill material and a 2 yard strip of elastic.  Place the fiber fill material in the bottom of the basket.  Sew the strip of elastic around the edge of the fabric.  Place the fabric in the basket so that the edge with the elastic sewn in it is covering the outer edge of the basket. These baskets are great for carrying cookies and other goodies.

Christmas tray - purchase a plain wooden tray from a craft supplies store.  Decorate it with paints and premade Christmas designs.  (You can find all of these items at the craft supplies store.)  Another idea is to paint the tray a solid color, then place a photograph in the center of the tray.  Cover the photograph and the bottom of the tray with a thin sheet of glass.  (This will make it waterproof.)

Christmas ornaments - you have many different options for homemade Christmas ornaments.  One of the easiest ways to make homemade ornaments is to buy the plain wooden, ceramic, or glass ornaments from a craft supplies store and then decorate them yourself.  You can also make ornaments from paper.  Another idea is to get plain glass ornaments and cover them with swirled paint or use decoupage techniques to cover them with decorative paper.

Visit our Homemade Christmas Ornaments Recipes page for a creative way to make ornaments!

Photo ornaments – purchase scrap booking supplies and several sheets of card stock.  You can use premade scrapbooking picture frames and use the card stock as the backing for the ornaments.

Homemade Christmas gift ideas are a great way to let your creativity and thriftiness shine through during a very special season of the year.  Making your Christmas gifts by hand will ensure that your gift stands out. The only thing that limits you is your budget and your imagination.

Don’t get caught in the hype of keeping up with everyone else when purchasing gifts. Sure…you want to make it special, but there’s no reason why the Christmas gift you buy can’t be economical and special. The key to not breaking the bank is stay away from making purchases using your credit card – interest & fines can add to the total cost.

If you’re in need of some ideas to make your dollar stretch further,  then these Cheap Christmas Gift Ideas are for you:

Gift Certificates – these have always been one of our popular choices during the holidays. McDonalds & Subway are at the top of our list. Subway is limited in its offering, but is great for teenagers & college students. McDonalds is good for children of all ages with its offering of burgers, fries, ice cream, & more! $5.00 dollars goes a long way and they also make great Christmas Stocking Stuffers.

Gift Baskets are the ultimate in cheap gift ideas. My wife and I have used these for years – best of all you can customize them for anybody and any occasion! One of our favorites we put together is Movie Night Basket (DVD or coupon for free rental, popcorn, drinks). You can even customize these even further like man movie night, romantic night, family night, kid’s night, etc. Other ideas for gift baskets are coffee lovers, candle lovers, tea lovers, etc.

Giving coupons – make your own homemade ones that say stuff like you’ll mow the lawn, babysit, bring breakfast in bed, give a back massage, foot massage, or whatever your imagination can think of…ideas like this are limitless and most them only cost a little time! You can easily create some printable coupons using Microsoft Word or some other program and then place them in a nice Christmas card.

Remember the old “cliché”? It’s the “thought that counts!”

Maybe you can add to these Cheap Christmas Gift Ideas with some of your own – feel free to post some below!

We decorated our Christmas tree a few days ago and as we unpacked boxes we found the ornaments we had made when the children were younger. We laughed as we looked at them, imperfections and all, we wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world (as the commercial says “Priceless!”).

Take some time this year – gather together your children and use this Homemade Christmas Ornaments Recipes to mix up your own memories:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

• 2 C. flour
• 1 C. salt
• 1 C. water

Mix salt and flour together. Add in about half the water and add the remaining water in slowly mixing until dough is smooth (5 – 10 minutes).

Roll the dough out flat (like making cookies) onto some wax paper.

Break out the Christmas cookie cutters and start cutting out your decorations. 

Use your imagination – use a toothpick or a small knife to add features to your ornaments, roll pieces of dough together and make snowmen or snowwomen, wreaths and more. To keep the dough from sticking dust it occassionally with some flour.

Use a straw or nail to make a hole for hanging the ornament on your tree.

Once your ready bake them for 1 to 2 hours or until dry (times may vary based on thickness).

Let them completely cool before you decorate them.

Use brightly colored paints, beads, glitter, etc. whatever you can think of to decorate use it – make it fun and memorable.

To preserve the memories throughout the years use an acrylic varnish over the completed ornament (once all the paint has dried). I hope you find this Homemade Christmas Ornaments Recipe useful – if you have anything to add please leave a comment below in the space provided.

People of all ages love the countdown to Christmas – Children especially love this time-honored tradition and NOW is the best time to start counting  down the days…

My children loved it when we hung up the Christmas Countdown Calendar, each morning we’d let them move the marker to the next day. It was fun to hear them exclaim, 20 more days till Christmas, 14 more days, 5, 2, and finally 1 more day till Santa comes! Each day made the anticipation grow as well as the excitement! While you’re getting your hands on your free calendar grab a FREE Official Nice List Guide… Make Christmas even more exciting and create even more great memories by sharing in the season with a Printable Christmas Countdown Calendar!

I was just as excited to look inside my Christmas stocking as I was opening the presents under the tree. Even today, as an adult, I still look forward to see what kind of goodies have been stuffed into my stocking.

Our family tradition has always been to allow the children to open up whatever is in the Christmas stockings first. Most of the time they would wake up before we did – so this was the first thing they could do. They loved it.

Whatever your tradition is you’ll find some great ideas for Christmas Stocking Stuffers listed below:

 Stocking Stuffers for Children:

• Silly Putty (I loved this stuff)
• Legos
• Hotwheels or Matchbox Cars (for boys)
• Stuffed Animals or Jewelry (for girls)
• Play Doh

Older Children Stuffers:

• CD’s or iTunes Gift Cards
• DVD’s
• Card Games
• Calendars
• Alarm Clocks
• Disposable Camera
• Perfume or Cologne

Adult Christmas Stocking Stuffers –

Don’t let them fool ya – Adults love to open their stockings just as much as children!

• Gourmet chocolate
• Teas
• Paperbacks
• Soaps
• Address book or day planner
• Small digital photo frame keychain
• Earrings, necklaces, or bracelets
• Scratch off lottery tickets
• Car air fresheners
• Neck ties
• Watch
• Holiday Lingerie (for those who want to be naughty & nice)

One way to avoid the last minute madness craze in finding the right gift or stuffers is to plan ahead. Many families spend up to $50 when shopping for Christmas stocking stuffers – follow the tips to be prepared for next year:

• Buy a few extra items after each payday to avoid a sudden budget crunch.
• Look for sales on children’s toys after Easter. Many of the same items parents buy for Easter baskets will work for stockings.
• Pick up crayons, markers, and other art supplies for kids during the back-to-school sales in August & September.
• Checkout sites such as Amazon to find great deals on magazines subscriptions for all ages.

He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Many stories and legends have been handed down through the years about Saint Nicholas’ life and deeds. They help us to gain a better understanding of his extraordinary life and why he is so beloved and revered throughout the world.

One story, in particular, recounts the history of Christmas stockings – a poor man with three daughters had no dowry to offer to prospective husbands. Without a dowry the man’s daughters were destined to remain unmarried.

One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing, they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the father’s plight, stopped his house while everyone was sleeping. He peeked in the window and saw the daughters’ stockings hanging by the fire.

Saint Nicholas took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them carefully, one by one, into the stockings. The next morning when the daughters awoke, they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married.

Thus the history of Christmas stockings begins as children hung out their everyday socks awaiting gifts from Santa Claus.

A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that children hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. In some Christmas stories, the contents of the Christmas stocking are the only toys the child receives at Christmas from Santa Claus. Other presents are wrapped up in wrapping paper and placed under the Christmas tree. Tradition in Western culture dictates that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece of coal.

Eventually, special Christmas stockings were created. Stores today carry a variety of stockings and it’s also become a favorite homemade craft creation. By tradition, the stocking is hung on the fireplace mantel, but, since many contemporary homes do not have fireplaces, stockings may be hung in almost any location.