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In my family, we are obsessed with creating "new and unique" out of "old and boring." We constantly challenge one another to come up with the most interesting articles from things destined for the charity shops. In fact, at our Christmas and birthday celebrations the recycled gifts are always the most coveted and most talked about. The following are a few ideas that can make your everyday things become new again.

1. Jewellery

Like all fashion, all but the most classic pieces go in and out of style. I found myself with a multitude of long gold chains left over from the late 1980's. I wasn't likely to ever wear them again, but it seemed such a shame to leave them stashed in a jewellery box. So I turned them into anklets for my teenage nieces. All it took was one old thirty inch chain, 3 new gold clasps and a trip to the jeweller. The total cost was well under $100 and the girls received gorgeous gifts that they wore all summer long. I was thrilled to see them enjoy something I would never use again.

2. Stuffed Animals

This was my proudest recycling achievement, my "refinest" moment so to speak. I had a plethura of stuffed teddy bears, bunnies, puppies and other plush animals. I had decided the time had come to bid them farewell. Around the same time, the teenager who lives next door was in charge of decorating the gym for a pep rally/dance at school. The theme was green and brown, their school colors. It occurred to me that this may be a way to get rid of the animals and help the kids out. We collected formerly loved stuffed animals from the school population as well as green and brown pieces of clothing. We got a local laundromat to wash everything for free and had the home-ec class at school sew green and brown t-shirts for the animals. The kids decorated the hall with what must have been thousands of animals. It was an enormous success and everyone in the school got to take one home as a souvenir. These plush dolls that were destined for the dump found new homes and helped to create lasting memories and the monetary cost was zero.

3. Baby Clothes

If you have a young daughter you know that she outgrows her clothes before getting a chance to wear them a lot of them, especially things party dresses. As I was cleaning out my two year old daughter's closet it broke my heart to throw or give away these beautiful clothes. I then remembered that the seven year old daughter of a good friend of mine had a birthday coming up. I went to the dollar store and got a nice sized toddler doll. There were quite a few to choose from and I got one about the size of a one-year-old and with the same hair color as my friend's daughter. I put one of the beautiful dresses on the doll, made a matching bow and hot-glued it to a hair comb and placed it in her hair. Shoes were difficult to fit so I hot-glued some sequins on socks to make fancy slippers. I had three more dresses, so I made the matching bows and slippers to go with those as well. I presented the gift in a cardboard box I had covered in a satiny fabric. The little girl loved it and plays with it all the time. It was so easy to do, but all the mothers at the party were in awe.

It's really very simple to make the old new again. Look around your house, in all the nooks and crannies, stretch your creative eye and you will be the hit of your next gift exchange event too.

Learn more about this author, Minnie Chatterfield.
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