{"id":530,"date":"2009-12-14T14:23:23","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/?p=530"},"modified":"2009-12-14T14:23:23","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:23:23","slug":"homemade-holiday-gift-ideas","status":"archive","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/frugal-articles\/homemade-holiday-gift-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-559\" title=\"knit\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.befrugal.com:444\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/knit.jpg\" alt=\"knit\" width=\"266\" height=\"354\" \/>One of the most expensive parts of the holiday season is the gifts.<\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, we want to give the people we care about something special. However that doesn't mean we should empty our checking account or overcharge our credit card in order to express our love for friends and family.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ways to give a inexpensive gift that still carries a lot of meaning is to make it yourself, especially if you have more extra time than money. Here are a few holiday gifts that can be made with items from around the house, or from a quick trip to the craft store:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Edible baked goods\/food items<\/strong><br \/>\nEveryone loves a tasty treat. One good thing about giving consumables as presents is that once they have been enjoyed, there's nothing left to clutter anyone's home.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Chocolate truffles\" href=\"http:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/recipes\/alton-brown\/chocolate-truffles-recipe\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Chocolate truffles<\/a> can be very expensive when store bought. At home, you can make a large batch using quality ingredients and save tons. Be sure to gift them away quickly while they are still fresh.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Gingerbread houses\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ginatrapani\/sets\/1567964\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gingerbread houses<\/a> are festive, fun and easy. If you're not confident in your engineering skills, there are kits available that take out all of the guesswork and leave you with a classic design.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Made-from-scratch cookie sets\" href=\"http:\/\/familycrafts.about.com\/cs\/giftsinajar\/a\/122099a.htm\">Made-from-scratch cookie sets<\/a> are a good way to avoid the freshness dangers that come with truffles and other baked goods. This way the recipient can enjoy your homemade treat at their own pace.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Homemade apple jelly\" href=\"http:\/\/www.instructables.com\/id\/Homemade-Apple-Jelly-Makes-a-Great-Gift_1\/\" target=\"_blank\">Homemade apple jelly<\/a> and other canned preserves are a great edible gift that will last as well. Ideally you could use produce that you recently harvested from your garden, or that you have extra of around the house.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Personalized gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Heat bonded patches\" href=\"http:\/\/www.associatedcontent.com\/article\/69359\/no_sew_crafts_for_holiday_gift_giving.html?cat=24\" target=\"_blank\">Heat bonded patches<\/a> can be applied to towels, hats, shirts, bags &amp; more in order to add personalization and character. Just be sure to wash them with cold water, or else they might come off.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Printable calendars\" href=\"http:\/\/familycrafts.about.com\/cs\/calendars\/a\/122900a.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Printable calendars<\/a> are an easy way to share the photos you have collected over the years with your loved ones. If you have a printer, ink &amp; paper, this can be a very cheap gift to make.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Compilation\" href=\"http:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/how-to\/how-to-burn-a-cd-from-itunes\/\">Compilation CDs<\/a> are a great way for the computer whiz in the family to put their skills to work. Raid your family and friends music collection and compile CDs of all of their favorite tracks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Crafts<\/strong><br \/>\nCrafting is a great way to create cheap holiday gifts. Plus, <a title=\"JoAnn Fabric &amp; Craft Stores\" href=\"http:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/coupons\/store\/joann\" target=\"_blank\">JoAnn Fabric &amp; Craft Stores<\/a> has a coupon for 40% off any item during the month of December!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Knitting\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3uw-nUvGrBY\" target=\"_blank\">Knitting<\/a> someone a warm hat, scarf, blanket or even kitchen\/bath cloth is a wonderful way to make an inexpensive gift that is useful at the same time.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Jewelry\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/videos-on_5073_make-own-jewelry.html\" target=\"_blank\">Jewelry<\/a> can be very expensive depending on where you buy it. But with the proper tools and parts you can construct your own pieces for a fraction of the cost.<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Ornaments, buttons and pins\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mormonchic.com\/crafty\/homemade-ornaments.asp\" target=\"_blank\">Ornaments, buttons and pins<\/a> require much less skill while still being personal and hand-crafted. If you don't have experience with jewelry making or knitting, this might be a good place to get your feet wet with crafts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Photo courtesy of <a title=\"Breibeest\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/breibeest\/\" target=\"_blank\">Breibeest<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/frugal-articles\/homemade-holiday-gift-ideas\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" class=\"excerptimage alignleft wp-post-image tfe\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" \/><\/a><p>One of the most expensive parts of the holiday season is the gifts. On the one hand, we want to give the people we care about something special. However that ... <a title=\"Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/frugal-articles\/homemade-holiday-gift-ideas\/\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[132,428,553,849,921,1264],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-archive","format-standard","hentry","category-frugal-articles","tag-baked","tag-crafts","tag-edible","tag-homemade","tag-joann","tag-personalization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.befrugal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}