Cream Cheese Mints are a quick & easy food gift. With only 4 ingredients, these babies are easy to make and are the perfect 'after dinner mint' (According to Betty Crocker).
DIY: Pocket Hand Warmers
These homemade pocket hand warmers are simple to make and you probably have all of the supplies you need just hanging around the house.
Quick Jam Recipe
Quick jams are fast and easy, requiring less time and fewer ingredients than the preserves most people put up over the summer. They also won't last as long, but that's okay—they're so good, people will eat them up pretty quickly.
Easy Old Fashioned Popcorn Ball Recipe
Here's a way to turn simple (inexpensive) ingredients that you may already have in your pantry into a fun food gift.
DIY 3 Ingredient Lip Balm
I found this recipe over at The Seasoned Mom. It seems fairly simple, especially if you already have these three ingredients.
Coolest [FREE] Christmas Printables
Here are a few paper crafts and [Free] printables to download and decorate with this holiday season.
Free Printable 2018 Calendars
Design Geek Advent Calendar
Here's a fun idea for those of you who love advent and typography. This isn't a completely free project, but if you have the extra time, money, and energy it could be a lot of fun to make.
Crocheted Washcloth Patterns
I've noticed that this is quite a trend lately. In the wake of eco and up cycled goods, lots of people are looking for the greener, friendlier options for their regular household items. Dish cloths, amazingly, are high on the list. They replace those grubby sponges and are equally good at scrubbing and wiping up messes. The best part? You can throw them in the washing machine when they get dirty. (Goodbye sponge!)
The Gift of Mixtapes
Today the term "mixtape" is more a tongue-in-cheek homage to those awkward days of sitting in front of the tape deck (for those who even remember what that is), pressing the record, pause, and stop buttons.
If you're still a fan, there are a few sites out there that offer free music (usually in exchange for your email). Why not surf the Web of music and download a few songs to make your own mixtape?
Lemon Meringue Drops
I found this recipe over at Good Housekeeping. With minimal ingredients, it looks like a promising (and simple-to-make) confection.
Zero Dollar Christmas
This year, like a lot of people, we have a tight budget. Honestly, we have a tight budget regardless of the holidays, so when you add in holiday gift-giving, things get stressed.
Simple Homemade Scone Recipe
If you're tired of baking and giving cookies as gifts, why not consider making scones instead? They're as easy and inexpensive as cookies and create a bit of a variety from the other food gifts.
Upcycled Coffee Bag Tote
Silly Sock Creature Tutorial
Free Printable Christmas Coupon Book
Super Easy Granola
Start With What You Have
Everything is difficult when you're faced with a budget, but the holidays are a special kind of difficult—filled with good cheer and expectations of Christmas miracles.
It's this time of year, as we religiously watch our bank balances and cash-on-hand, that we're forced to make the hard choices, do I buy the drone with the spy camera or do I pay my rent (+utilities, +groceries, etc.). Do I donate my loose change to the red bucket or do I buy myself a sorely needed cup of coffee?
Okay, so maybe you talk yourself out of the spy drone, because basic necessities do have a tendency to win out (eventually). And I make no judgments about choosing coffee over the Salvation Army (but, truth be told, I like most coffee establishments' equal opportunity employment policies over those of the SA).
And then there's every parents' salvation—The Dollar Store. Where you can find all manner of cheap, colorful plastic baubles that will last just long enough to appease the kiddos before they end up in the landfill of life.
The flip-side of that coin is the "homemade Christmas." Which seems like a practical idea until you realize how much work is involved and how much money you end up spending anyway because that cute idea you saw for a knitted / sewn / baked / grown / built / whatever gift costs more than that drone in materials.
It's like that gardener who decided he was going to save money by growing his own food. By the time he built the raised beds, amended the soil, bought the seeds and all the supplies, and paid for the watering bill—he'd spent $1,000 and was rewarded with one tomato.
Yeah, we're not gonna' do that.
Instead, we're going to place some parameters on the process.
It's this time of year, as we religiously watch our bank balances and cash-on-hand, that we're forced to make the hard choices, do I buy the drone with the spy camera or do I pay my rent (+utilities, +groceries, etc.). Do I donate my loose change to the red bucket or do I buy myself a sorely needed cup of coffee?
Do I donate my loose change to the red bucket or do I buy myself a sorely needed cup of coffee?
Okay, so maybe you talk yourself out of the spy drone, because basic necessities do have a tendency to win out (eventually). And I make no judgments about choosing coffee over the Salvation Army (but, truth be told, I like most coffee establishments' equal opportunity employment policies over those of the SA).
And then there's every parents' salvation—The Dollar Store. Where you can find all manner of cheap, colorful plastic baubles that will last just long enough to appease the kiddos before they end up in the landfill of life.
The flip-side of that coin is the "homemade Christmas." Which seems like a practical idea until you realize how much work is involved and how much money you end up spending anyway because that cute idea you saw for a knitted / sewn / baked / grown / built / whatever gift costs more than that drone in materials.
It's like that gardener who decided he was going to save money by growing his own food. By the time he built the raised beds, amended the soil, bought the seeds and all the supplies, and paid for the watering bill—he'd spent $1,000 and was rewarded with one tomato.
Yeah, we're not gonna' do that.
Instead, we're going to place some parameters on the process.
The rules are fairly simple:
1. Use What You Have
This applies to not just the supplies you have on hand, but your knowledge and skill set as well. You're a smart cookie. You have "skillz." You know how to do stuff and things and other stuff... and even if you don't, you have the ability to learn. It's what makes you so fabulous.
We also call this "Shopping at Home." Re-gifting can fit into this category as well. (Just be careful you're not re-gifting something back to the person from whence it originated, 'cuz—awkward.)
All you have is a newspaper? Great! We're going to make a newspaper-themed Christmas. (You'd be amazed at the stuff you can make with paper).
All you have is a newspaper? Great! We're going to make a newspaper-themed Christmas. (You'd be amazed at the stuff you can make with paper).
2. Get Creative
For a lot of people, me included, this can be hard. It's hard to look at the ingredients or materials you have on hand and envision an end product. That's why we have recipes and patterns and instruction manuals. It's also why we have Google and Pinterest searches. You don't have to rely solely on your own creative machinations. Other people have thought up creative stuff and posted it to the inter webs. You just need to find it.
3. Make Even the Smallest Thing an Event
It's super easy to buy stuff then just throw it in a stocking. But with a little extra paper, tape, and string (it doesn't have to be fancy), you can wrap that tube of chapstick. Not only does unwrapping a present make it feel more special, but it also takes longer to unwrap a gift (vs. just pulling it out of the stocking). The longer we spend with the unveiling of a gift, the more special it feels.
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