christmas presents: handmade or shop bought...

[mimififi]

Hi there, I am trying to do my christmas shopping but due to an incompetent mortgage company, and various other things which have cropped up this year, I am experiencing a kind of cash flo crisis.

I am quite creative and am capable of making lots of things, but as I make things all the time, I am having trouble thinking of new and original ideas of things to make and give.

so, I need ideas of things to give people from 0-100 years of age (theres all sorts in my fam) and they can be shop bought or hand made, but they have to be cost effective.

Any suggestions?

cheers
mimi

[B00]

Mimifif, you really are my heroine, lol. Xmas gifts in August? I'm seriously impressed.
Found this site if its any use to you, good luck :-)

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/giftgiving/a/ 120400a.htm

[missyR]

christmas shopping......already? well get down to your local craft fairs for the older people in your family and poundland normally have some little kiddy things
R xxx

[mimififi]

hI BOO. Not a herione at all, just if I don't start now, it'll never get done!!!!!

Thanks for the link, I' ll def check it out. cheers.
mimi

[Lore]

Hiya mimi, have to say I'm impresed too! :)

how about story sacks for the little ones?

[mimififi]

oooh, story sacks, I remember reading about them a while ago. |that is a fantastic idea, thank you. I think I shall definately do that for all my nieces/nephews etc.

MANY THANKS!

[CLOWN TICKLE]

glad to see someone else has started, have you thought of hand designing a voucher to spend some time doing something an eolderly relative wants?

[mimififi]

I have tried that in the past, but then after christmas, they never redeem the voucher and you end up feeling like a cheapskate....have you had a good experience with this type of gift, if so, how did it work for you? It is an excellent idea, I wish that I could make it work better.

[ermintrude35]

...one year I was completley brassic, so I made homemade xmas cards, used brown paper for wrapping paper and potato printed it with a holly n berry design, I used raffia as ribbon and a real sprig of holly.... it looked very rustic and expencive!!.... I made most of my friends , family and boss a selection of homemade sweets, such as fudge, treacle toffe, peppermint creams, chocolate truffles, and marzipan shaped fruits... start saving some suitable boxes for these now, you can cover them with your homemade paper....just search google for some recipies....everyone was mega impressed......

[mimififi]

ermintrude, that sounds like a good idea too. Any idea how long they keep for or if they are freezable?

many thanks for that. I may be going rustic theme this year too...

[ermintrude35]

...the marzipan fruits, fudge , toffee and peppermint creams (half dipped in choc looks nice) you can make about 2 weeks before xmas... keep in airtight containers, truffles have a shorter shelf life as they contain cream and arn't really cooked , little clusters of nuts covered in choc keep well also , ditto dried fruits dipped in choc.... I wouldn't chance freezing any really...

[mimififi]

ok, that sounds cool. |Thanks Ernintrude, it's muchly appreciated.

love
mimi

[claireyfairy]

Just be aware of how much you are spending on materials. You could always let the family know that you are skint this year. I'm sure that they would rather not receive a gift than leav you short. I haven't been able to get my family christmas gifts for the past two years and they have been fine about it (although I do feel bad!)