To finish up (er, wrap up this series)…here are some fun ways to wrap up your gifts:

Snowman Gift Sack

Use scraps of fabric, buttons and bells to make this cute snowman gift sack!  Directions and patterns here.

Christmas Crayon Wrap

The boys and I had fun one evening shredding old crayons to make this project.  Just one piece of advice though.  Don’t let your three year old put the remaining red and green crayons into his pocket without you knowing it after you’re finished using them.  You may end up with an entire load of laundry, including socks, long underwear and undershirts that look just like that wrapping paper.  Bet you’re wondering how come I know that, huh?   And no.  I will not model my new Christmas Blotch long underwear for you.

Learn the steps for making this Christmas Crayon Wrapping Paper here.

Christmas Bagelope

Turn a simple envelope into a little Christmas bag…a Bag-elope!!  Find the directions here.

Thanks for joining me for this gift making series! 

Here are a few more gift ideas and fun things to make!  If you missed the other posts in this series, check them out here.

Applesauce Bread

I delivered a big loaf of applesauce bread to some friends the other day.  Their response?  “This bread tastes JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS!”  Ah, you’ve gotta love delivering a nice loaf of Christmas to someone!

Kettle Corn

¼ cup oil
¼ cup sugar
½ cup popcorn kernels
 
Heat oil, add sugar and popcorn.  Shake the pot back and forth till the popping slows.  Carefully dump kettle corn in a large bowl and sprinkle w/a little salt.

Pretzel Wreaths

I got this idea from my very clever (beautiful, intelligent, talented, sweet….) sister-in-law, Michele.  These are very easy to make and oh-so-cute!  See instructions here.

Merry Christmas and a HOPPY New Year Card!

Is he the cutest?  (well, as cute as a frog can be anyway)  These cards are simple to make and fun to give!  Here’s the pattern and the instructions.

In a couple of days, I’ll share a few fun ways to wrap up your gifts!  Thanks for all the ideas you’ve been sharing in the comments too!  Is there no end to all the fun ideas?!
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Visit Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for me Wednesday ideas.

As you can probably guess…giving gifts of food are my favorite gifts to give.  (Say that five times fast.)

Everyone likes to eat…and food gifts are very likely to be used and loved.  (Unlike a big fish on a plaque that has a sensor in it and sings when someone walks by.)  (My apologies to those of you who have a fondness for Billy the Big Mouth Bass.) 

Here are some of my favorite ideas for gifts of food:

Calico Bean Soup Jar

Layer in jar:
1/2 cup dried lima beans
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1/3 cup dried kidney beans
1/4 cup dried minced onion 
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup dried lima beans
1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1/4 cup dried kidney beans
 
Attach a note with the following directions for making soup:

To make soup: Bring Bean Soup Mix and 8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 1 hour.
Return pot to heat, 2 carrots, chopped, 2 stalks celery, chopped and  2 pounds ham hocks  or beef soup bones.  Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours, until beans are tender, skimming fat as necessary.
Remove ham hocks or soup bones from soup. Remove meat from bone, chop and return to soup. Heat through and serve.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar or rapadura
½ cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla

In medium saucepan, stir together cream, sugar, cocoa and butter.  Cook on medium heat until butter is melted and ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. 

Pie of the Month Club

Someone emailed or commented about this idea back when I was putting together the For the Love of Pie Ebook.  I CAN NOT find the email or comment to give credit to whom credit is due.  (If YOU were the SMART person who mentioned this idea, please claim it in the comments.) 

Anyway, using recipes from the For the Love of Pie FREE ebook or your other favorite pie recipes…you can give a loved one a certificate for a “Pie of the Month Club” or some clever title you come up with.  Then, you get to make the recipient a pie every month for a year.  Who wouldn’t LOVE that?

What are some of your favorite food gifts to give?  (Or receive!?)

Learn more Frugal Friday ideas here.

That’s the latest Christmas carol we’ve been singing at our house. 

The boys and I have been going a little crazy with our Christmas cookie cutters and oh boy have we had fun.  Who says cookie cutters are limited to COOKIES?!  My friend Holly (who loves cookie cutters as much as I love jars) even decorated her entire Christmas tree with cookie cutters one year!!   What a great idea!

Here are a few of the things we’ve come up with to increase the level of Christmas Festivity around here.

Christmas Sourdough Biscuits

Christmas Graham Crackers

Christmas Pizzas

Christmas Donuts

The boys also suggested that Christmas Quesadillas and Christmas Grilled Cheese Sandwiches would be good.  Sounds good to me!!  It’s always fun to eat Santa’s head.  (Yikes, I’ve been hanging around with silly little boys for too long…)

What other ideas have you thought of for using cookie cutters?!
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Read more Works for me Wednesday posts here!

Today I’m excited to show you ideas OTHERS have come up with!!  I love all of these great gift ideas!!  If you missed part one of this series you’ll find it here.

Donna posted here about making Simmering Jars.  I bet these smell great!  What a fun gift idea!  I love that you can reuse the contents of this jar over and over!

Each jar contains approximately:

1/2 a lemon, cut in slices
1/2 a lime, cut in slices
1/2 an orange, cut in slices
1 t whole cloves
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks (you may need to break them for smaller jars)
1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary (or other of choice or home-grown! …or to keep it more frugal, sprinkle in some dry herbs)

Then cover with water and if you like, make a label with instructions to simmer, add more water, and return to jar and refrigerate until next use!  The amounts could vary based on jar size.

My friend Summer has a new blog and she’s got several really cool gift ideas!

Here’s an idea Summer shares for making scarves.

These velvet belts Summer is making are super cute.

And THESE SUEDE PILLOWS?  Summer, no pressure or anything…but those would look great in my living room in say…earth tones.  I think they are SO cool.  You know where I live.  Just drop one off anytime and put it under my tree.  :)  (Right now Summer is rolling her eyes at me and saying, “Make your OWN pillow, girl!”)

In case you’ve been curious, here are some of the simple gifts the boys and I have been making for cousins and grandparents.  (If your name happens to be Aunt Kari or Grandma Coppinger…you are NOT allowed to click here to see these gifts!!  Not even a peek.) 

I’ll continue to share more ideas in this Inexpensive Gifts to Make and Give Series.  Here’s what’s in the works right now…

Gifts of Food
Treats for Teachers, Coworkers and Classmates
Wrapping it All Up

If you have ideas to share in any of those categories (or others), please email or leave a comment! 

Between all these ideas to share and all the cookie recipes and other Christmas ideas…I’m not sure there’s enough time before Christmas!!  How many days before Christmas anyway?!
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More Frugal Fridays here.

The boys and I are having SO much fun making Christmas gifts this year!  I told you about the quilt I’m making for my nephew…and I mentioned that the boys are learning to sew (although I can’t tell you what they’re making because a couple of aunts and a Grandma are reading this right now  ).

I love how excited the boys are to be making their gifts this year!  They keep saying, “Can we make one for ______ too!?”  Yay, they’re learning the joy of GIVING!!

As we come up with ideas, I’ll try to share them with you.  There are SO many gifts you can make that don’t cost much money.  (Does it sound like I’m being cheap?  ‘Cause I’m not trying to be cheap…just trying to not spend much money while I focus on teaching my kids to lovingly give…and about what’s really important during Christmas time.)

Here are a few kid gift ideas to start off this series:

Homemade Bubble Bath

This was a great hit when I made this for Elias.  It costs…pennies to make. 

Learn how to make Homemade Bubble Bath here.

I Spy Bottles

GREAT for a road trip!

Find directions to make these here.

Thank You Card Packs

I just created these “Thank You Cards” to put in my kids’ stockings…and thought you might like to have them too.  They aren’t fancy, just simple…but I’m hoping my kids (and yours) will have fun with them.  There are six different cards (just cut along the line and fold the card over).  Print them in black and white if you think your kids will enjoy coloring them.

Download cards here.

Download cards here.

Download cards here.

For my littler guys, I’ll also print this on the back to make their writing easier (and so that the people they are written to will actually be able to read them).

Download Thank You Card Helper here.

Stay tuned for more fun inexpensive gift ideas…and of course for some fun holiday treat recipes!  Also, if you have any great ideas to share or have blogged about it on your site, tell us about it in the comments or email me (laura @ heavenly homemakers dot com)!  Share the love!
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Read more frugal ideas on Money Saving Mom.