Click HERE to go straight to the ideas and skip my heartwarming personal story of home made gifts and the lives they have touched

As I mentioned in another post, times are tough this year.  Every year at about this time, my wife and I have the “We’re not going overboard with Christmas this time” conversation.  We think back to previous Christmas seasons where the house is a total wreck with wrapping paper, bows, needles from the tree.  The kids are usually totally engrossed with some $2.00 stocking stuffer and aren’t paying any attention to the $300.00 Wii or whatever it happens to be.

Keeping things under control this year is going to be a lot easier.  The other day on the radio I heard a retailer start out their commercial by saying something about how “This season, things are going to be different.”  You know its going to be rough when even the retailers are advertising by acknowledging that we’re in tough economic times.

It got me to thinking about the things we’ve done in the past when times get tough.  Home made gifts are probably going to be on a lot of folks lists this year, whether they know it or not!

I remember a photo collage that I made once for my mom.  I spent a couple hours going through old photo boxes and folders on my computer looking for pictures of the family.  I finally picked out about a dozen or so and put them in a photo frame I got from Target for about $10.00.  There’s no doubt it was one of the most meaningful gifts she had gotten in a long time.  It’s too bad that we need these difficult times to push us into doing what we probably ought to be doing anyway.

Soooo .. I’ve put this list of great ideas for ways you can make a real meaningful statement in the gifts you give this year.  By putting together some genuine thoughtfulness and a couple dollars, you can make this Christmas one of the most meaningful and timeless holiday seasons on record yet.  So without further adoo, here are some great ideas for things you can make this holiday season that will show those you care about that you really put some effort and personal thought into their home made gift this year:

HomeMade Rag Quilt:

You can do it with stuff you have laying around the house. One great idea I had was to make one out of the old baby clothes our kids had grown out of and give that to our parents. You know how much grandparents love their grandkids! Can you imagine giving your parents a handmade rag quilt made of the sweet old baby clothes their precious grandkids have out grown? I think my mother would have to be hospitalized!

If you’re thinking you don’t know how to make a rag quilt, you’re wrong. As it turns out anyone can do it. Here is a link to an eBook that will show you exactly how to cut and sew the rag quilt.

HomeMade Candles

Candles are one of the most soothing and pleasent things around.  There’s not much that is as nice as lighting a candle and enjoying it fill up your home or office with your favorite scent.  This step-by-step guide will show you everything you need to know to make beautiful candles just like the really expensive ones you see in the stores, and of course since you’re making them yourself, you’ll get it done at a fraction of the cost.  There are even a bunch of people earning a nice part-time income making candles!

Homemade Pet Treats

Now this is a cool deal for the pet lovers in your family.  This is a great way to make home made pet treats that you can give as gifts!  How cool.  Evidently this guy has put together a recipe for dog treats that is totally save and healthy for your friends and family pets.  I think a gift basket of healthy treats!  This guy has special recipies for young dogs, old dogs, and gourmet biscuit recipes.  Bark Bark!  Click Here!

Homemade Gift Boxes

Now this is really cool and interesting.  This is a little different because it’s more about how to make a homemade gift box rather than the gift it’s self.  Basically they give you a bunch of templates that you can print, cut and fold into realy cute and personal home made gift boxes.  It’s really neat and you should check it out!

Homemade Bath And Body

This goes right along with the home made candles.  Maybe you could put together a “de-stresser” pack for that frassled friend of yours.  Make some soothing bath salts or body oils and a candle to burn.  The possibilities are endless!  This looks like a really professional site and the products look a lot like the high-end mall type “Bath and Body” stores.  There is a note that says this particular eBook won’t be available after December 15th.  I guess they’re moving to a video format.  Anyway, this really looks like it’s worth checking out.

Times are tough this season, there’s not doubt about it. You know every year around this time, my wife and I have a conversation where we say “We’re just not doing Christmas this year like we did last year.” We always have way too much stuff. To be honest, sometimes when it’s over, I look around at the house with toys strewn around, giant black trash bags full of wrapping paper. My wife trying to collect re-usable bows and ribbons. The kids playing with the least expensive stocking stuffer and the most expensive gift overlooked.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. Starting at about Thanksgiving and going through to the end of the year we have more fun,family and food than I’ve had for the entire year so far. The house is full of life and love and family. It’s really great. But dagummit there’s just so much stuff. Too much stuff. Having all that junk cluttering up our houses and our lives, makes it darn near impossible to enjoy the truly meaningful and thoughtful gifts.

Things have been pretty tough for my family and I this past couple years. We were in the real estate market and doing well for a while. Then of course the bubble burst and we were left holding the bag on a number of empty houses. Last year we didn’t have much money to spend on Christmas so we really had to dig deep and think of ways we could have a meaningful Christmas without breaking the bank. I spent a couple days digging through my computer and found about 12 pictures of my family. I edited them, printed them on my computer, cut them out and put them in a $10 collage picture frame we bought at Target. When I gave it to my mom, she knew how much that gift was going to mean to her before she even opened it. Once she did open it she couldn’t help but cry, even though I knew she didn’t really want to.

My point is that you don’t have to spend money to have a Christmas you and your family will remember forever. The meaning of your gifts and the thought you put into them is far more important than how much you spent. Gifts that you can’t return are almost guaranteed to be the ones that no one would ever want to.

Another really great idea is to make a rag quilt. You can do it with stuff you have laying around the house. One great idea I had was to make one out of the old baby clothes our kids had grown out of and give that to our parents. You know how much grandparents love their grandkids! Can you imagine giving your parents a handmade rag quilt made of the sweet old baby clothes their precious grandkids have out grown? I think my mother would have to be hospitalized!

If you’re thinking you don’t know how to make a rag quilt, you’re wrong. As it turns out anyone can do it. Here is a link to an eBook that will show you exactly how to cut and sew the rag quilt.

• You can make your rag quilt in ONE weekend
• You already have what you need laying around the house. The key to making your rag quilt a huge success is to keep it personal. The more personal the more meaningful.
• This eBook is jam packed and GUARANTEED to be just what you need to make your project a success, or your money back. No questions asked. And besides, for only $17.00 just think of how many lives you can touch making personal gifts
• Who knows, maybe after you make one or two of these, it could turn into a real business for you. I bet that after one or two people see what you’ve created, they’ll want one for themselves too.