A few inexpensive Christmas Gifts Ideas

Afternoon Sweet Friends,

Well, it is pouring rain in Florida,  and we sure can use this

rain, as it has been very dry for awhile now. Dismal looking,

warm, but looks like a Winter day out there.

Hope you are well and not too cold,  since I know some

of you are experiencing very cold temps and even snow.

Hope you are enjoying the snow at least!!

Playing in it some are ya??  Hope you have had time!!

If not, makes some time...................

Would love to see your snow angels.................lol

I know that some of you are in the same position we were

in last year,  and for those who are new to my blog,  hubby

had been without a job since May of 2010, not complaining,

just saying,  I know how it is...............and I know some of you

have had a cut in your hours as well,  which equates to less

income of course.  Anyway just thought you might like to

see a few Christmas ideas that we did last year.

These can be great times for getting back to making your gifts.

and food gifts are usually always welcome.  At least ,  they

are for this girl and her hubby.  I really had a lot of fun doing

these to tell you the truth.

(Only things missing from pic are the focaccia bread and the gift bag)

This idea started with me seeing a 3 pk box of tortellini

at Sam's,  and I thought hey, I could give this to each of

our kids with a jar of homemade Marinara sauce, cause

both of my kids were not married yet and were working

full time,  and who doesn't like something super easy

to make after a long day!

Then I happened to go into the dollar store and found

these cute lil  bowls, I thought they would make perfect

 dipping bowls  for olive oil and spices, and thought

 we could either make our own bread in the breadmaker 

or get some wonderful focaccia bread from Sam's to go

 with it,  which is what we wound up doing.

Then I  remembered I had a few cruet bottles from dressing

from Olive Garden,  and then I happened to use some

Barilla sauce, so saved the jar,  and then I had these small

candle jars,  so I just cleaned and sterilized them all really

well,  and put my own olive oil in the cruet,  and some 

dipping spices we already had in the lil jars,  and made

labels for them.  Used a coffee filter to put over the top of

 the Barilla sauce jar, and some raffia,  and put it all in a

nice gift bag,  and it was a gift I wouldn't mind receiving

myself,  and I think they enjoyed it too.  I remember my

son in love to be, said wow, that looks like something

you would get at the store,  he meant the packaging.

But loved he thought that.....................

and Dee could really appreciate all the time I put

into it,  as her room mate is real crafty and had

been making lots of gifts,  so she could see how

time consuming it was,  which helped her to

appreciate it all the more.

Which makes a Mom's heart happy after you

have done all that labor of love! lol

 

You can click on any pic to make it larger, if you want a closer look.

I decide to make a gingerbread pancake

mix,  but you could make a pancake,

cookie or cookie bar mix or anything

else your lil heart desires,  then you

put it in a ziplock bag, then in a paper

bag,  and put a label on it with ribbon.

Here is a closer look at the label.

I made my labels with printmaster and then

printed them on cardstock.

You have to punch holes in the paper bags,  you fold over the top

 of the bag, then use a whole punch, to make 2 holes thru the

double layer of bag,  the thread your ribbon through it.

  I rotated this pic but don't know how it got like this!   lol  sorry!

Then last but not least there is the old standby..........

Banana nutbread or any kind of nut bread,

Wrap in foil with a bow, and throw it in a gift

bag with a nice Christmas cup or just any  pretty 

cup, and add some coffee,  they have those 

small 2 oz. or less coffees at the grocery store.

  Walmart  and Publix has the small Millstone

 brand coffee's in regular and decaf, and you can

 get flavored ones, as well,  If you are looking for

 decaf I highly recommend "Caramel Truffle"

or "Hazelnut", very nice addition.

One other idea...........................

no picture to go with it,  but if you get money 

points on your discover or visa,  you can

 always cash them in for restaurant gift cards.

We save them up..........just for that reason!

anyway, hope you might have gotten some

inspiration or ideas that might help you.

If you have any questions please be sure

to leave a comment,  so I can, hopefully, give

 you an answer.

Thanks for stopping in......................

love hearing from you,  and hope you are

having a fun time with all your preparations.

Hugs and Merry Christmas Blessings,

Nellie