Most of my friends are still pinching pennies this holiday season, although like me, they are citing some positives related to being forced to cut back.   One positive is accepting a simpler, more frugal lifestyle versus trying to outdo your neighbor—which is usually a good thing when it comes to gift giving.

        If you really want to shorten Santa’s shopping list, think about making gifts this year.  Homemade gifts can be less expensive, and if you do it right, you can save some time, travel, and shopping stress.  But planning is the key.

        Now, many of you may be thinking that by “homemade gifts” I’m talking about things like cocoa mix in canning jars or that very odd-shaped scarf Aunt Erma gave you last Christmas.  Not at all.  There are some really great, easy, and cheap gifts you can make that will delight most people on your holiday list.  Just keep in mind the golden rule of all gift giving—be thoughtful and personal. If your recipient can see that you put time and effort into your gift for them, and were thinking about them and what they’d like, your gift is likely to be appreciated.

        Since I was interested in making gifts myself this year, I decided to use social media to get some ideas.   I begged the question on Facebook and Twitter and was pleasantly surprised by the cool ideas I received from friends and family.  Here are the top five:

Merry Music Holiday CD.   I received a holiday-themed CD full of music a couple of years ago and I’d have to agree that it was one of my favorite all-time gifts.  The one I got was a collection of big-band era holiday songs.  Forever, I can now fill my house with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Benny Goodman when I want to get in the holiday spirit.  All you need to do for this gift is create a playlist of holiday songs you think your recipients would like, then burn the songs to as many CDs as you need for gifts. In order to comply with music copyright laws, you can buy most holiday music from iTunes for 99 cents per song. iTunes allows you to create five copies of a song for private use only.

        To package your CD, pick up some inexpensive CD cases at the nearest office supply store and some printer paper to create the “cover” for your gift.  I found an overwhelming number of CD case insert templates online, but saw many I liked at office.microsoft.com.  Type in “cd case insert” and a number of great options will pop up.  On the case insert, include the song  list and a personal message, such as “Rock out this year with the Worrells!  Happy Holidays!”  If you really want to personalize the CD, you can create playlists for each individual.   Wrap it all in a festive bow and you have most likely created a gift that will brighten anyone’s holiday season.

Greens Are for Christmas Baskets.   If you have people on your list who like to garden, this is a great gift.  Fill several plastic bags with a variety of seeds, including unusual lettuces, onions, edible flowers, etc.  I think I’ll do a theme basket this year filled with everything for an All-American salad—a couple of lettuce varieties, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, and beets.  I checked with several seed companies online and they are all still offering garden seeds for sale.  I found burpee.com sells seeds year-round and has a unique selection as well.

Santa Loves BBQ. For a more “manly” gift, one of my old high school guy friends suggested a gift that I thought was both useful and something most people would appreciate.  Each year, he gathers up his favorite barbecue recipes that he has tested out over the summer and packages them with sauces, barbecue tools, and a fun apron.  His wife cans barbecue sauce, so she makes enough for holiday gifts several months in advance.  If you can sew, aprons are fairly simple to construct.  I found a fabulous book on Amazon called The Apron Book Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort, by EllynAnne Geisel. It makes apron making look fun!  I might have to make one for myself. 

Little Balls of Goodness. Who turns down a chocolate truffle?  I’ve always wanted to make truffles, but thought they’d be hard.  But a friend of mine opened my eyes and pointed out how quick and easy these creamy delights are to make. 

        Here is a recipe I found online and tried out with yummy results. Follow these four simple steps:

1)     In a medium to large saucepan, combine 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk. On medium to high heat, bring the mixture to a boil.

2)     Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla extract.  Pour the mixture into a glass bowl (any shallow bowl will do). Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let chill for about 2 hours. 

3)     Line two cookie sheets with wax paper.  Shape the mixture into small balls, about the size of a nice rounded spoonful. Place the truffles onto the baking sheets, and chill again for about 30 minutes. 

4)     This next step is your choice; the coatings can be anything you prefer.  In bowls, I melted white and dark chocolate and dipped the chilled balls into the melted chocolate and let them set. You could also roll the balls in powdered sugar, chopped nuts, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, or holiday sprinkles. 

Every Day Is a Holiday. There is nothing more frustrating to me than having to run out and get a last-minute birthday card.  So, when one friend told me she uses her scrapbooking skills to make different occasion cards and bundles them together as a holiday gift, I thought that was wonderful. Themes could include Birthday, Christmas, Thinking of You, and Just Because.  She makes four of each, for a total of 16 cards.   I love handmade cards, so I’m not even sure I’d be willing to part with them.  If you are not a scrapbooking expert, there are several local scrapbooking shops throughout the Treasure Valley that offer classes and individual help. 

        These are just a few of my favorite things.  Hey, isn’t that a Christmas song that would be perfect on my CD?

Stephanie Worrell is a Treasure Valley wife and mother who loves getting homemade gifts for Christmas, especially from her two kids. She is a freelance writer, speaker and award-winning communications consultant who can be found at www.oshouldknow.com.