Is your Christmas list starting to look like a telephone book? It's time to consider making your own gifts. Here are several easy ideas for wonderful homemade Christmas gifts.
* Winter Warm-Up Baskets with Homemade Marshmallows and Hot Chocolate
You can purchase hand-crafted marshmallows in a gourmet store like Williams Sonoma, for $15-$18 or simply make your own. The Shopping Mom's Guide to Homemade Baby Gifts.
Place 4-6 marshmallows into a clear plastic bag and tie with a decorative ribbon. Put the marshmallows in decorative fortune cookie boxes (found at your local craft store) or put them in a decorative basket with gourmet hot chocolate and holiday mugs.
Voila! You have gorgeous homemade Christmas gifts that look like they came from an expensive gourmet shop.
* Homemade Picture Frame
Buy an inexpensive plastic picture frame from your local craft store. Gather or buy plastic Barbie doll accessories, beads, jigsaw puzzle pieces, scrapbooking embellishments and other doo-dads that represent the interests of the recipient.
For example, for the gourmet cook, you could use plastic doll cookie sheets and rolling pins. And get some cookbook and baking-themed scrapbooking or card-making accessories from the craft store.
Using hot glue or glue dots, glue the items around the border of the frame.
Then put a special poem or message in the frame. Now you've got a show-stopping homemade Christmas gift without the extravagant price tag.
* Soup in a Jar
Get several clear mason jars and fill them with this layered soup recipe:
Minestrone Soup in a Jar
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup green split peas
1/4 cup barley
1/3 cup boullion powder
2 TBSP parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
1/4 cup small pasta (macaroni, alphabet pasta or orzo)
Layer the ingredients in the order given (lentils on the bottom). Put a decorative ribbon around the jar.
Attach this card with directions for making the soup:
Combine soup mix and 8-10 cups of water plus 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in a large pot. Add 1 cup diced carrots and 1/2 cup celery. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for an hour or until vegetables are tender.
For more easy homemade Christmas gift ideas, see The Shopping Mom's Guide to Baby Gifts .
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