by Lorriellah

Created on: September 21, 2011

Christmas presents can be very expensive and during this time of uncertainty in our economic climate it is always on our minds about trying to save money and with Christmas coming it is a good idea to start thinking about how you can cut back at this time of year. Making handmade gifts can be a great way to cut back on costs and also create presents which are full of thought and effort which will make the recipient appreciate them even more. There are many inexpensive handmade gifts that you can make. 

* The gift of food.
Making food items can be a great gift for a loved one. There are a variety of products you could make such as cookies, fudge, jams, shortbread and other items. If you are making something such as cookies perhaps you could cut them into festive shapes like stars so that they are more appropriate for the occasion. If you cook items then there are many recipes online which are easy to follow if you don't have any available already and you can also present them in a way which makes them look very appealing- perhaps make a little box to put the cookies in or decorate a jam jar with glass paints for your jam.

* Photo albums.
Why not create an album or scrap book of the year's events to give to your loved one? This can be as in depth as you would like it to be. Perhaps a page per month or dedicate pages to certain events such as birthdays or holidays. Compiling photographs that tell a story and show how the year passed by can be a fantastic way to document your time as well as showing a loved one that you care and have put a lot of thought and effort in. You can decorate the pages with embellishments and drawings or writing about what the photographs are depicting.

* Recipe Notebooks.
Why not make a recipe notebook for your recipient? You can buy some relevantly designed papers with cupcakes or cookies or other items on and cut them down to size for a note book and tie them together with string. You could add pictures and titles to the pages and leave the rest blank for your friend to add in their own recipes or perhaps you could add in a few recipes of your own. This can be a very useful and practical gift as well as being cheap and relatively easy to make too.

* Gift bags.
As well as the gifts themselves you could also make your own way of presenting these items by making your own gift bags. You can buy some brightly coloured card and papers to make a bag. You can make a design up yourself or follow one online, there are many very straight forward step by step tutorials available for free to view online which will talk you through how to make them and usually all that you need is paper/card, string, scissors and glue. You can add your own pictures and other extras to make them personalised.

There are several ways in which you can make inexpensive homemade gifts which will be seen as being very thoughtful. Homemade gifts can be a great way to get creative and spend some time creating and less time spent in shops buying every day items that are not unique. Making handmade gifts doesn't have to be expensive but it is very rich in thought.  

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