I know, I know . . . I hear the groans over the internet. But seriously, Christmas is only 3 months and 1 day away!
So, on the subject of Christmas and Thrift-worthiness . . . I am giving homemade gifts this year. Money is tight, prices are high, and gas is . . . well . . . unspeakable.
So what am I doing for gifts? I am giving scarves to my female family members and food baskets for family gifts. I am still thinking of what to give the male family members. Each gift will come from us as a family and for most of the gifts, we will all have helped in some way in the creation of the gifts.
The scarves - well, I know how to crochet and basic knit/purl. But my dd is still learning so it was slow going. Until!!! I found this wonderful little "tool" in the craft department of the "store of no name." It is made by ProvoCraft - wonderful company, btw - and is affordable and easy to use. What is it, you ask? Well, it is none other than . . . the KniftyKnitter! There are actually several of these, I happened to pick up the purple one for $7.84 http://www.provocraft.com/products/detail.php?cl=knifty%20knitter&scl=&item=21-0105
but if you go here: http://www.provocraft.com/search/index.php?cl=search&actn=makitso&prd_name=All%20Products&search=nxtbck
You will see the others that are available. I love this tool so much that I have raved about it and shown it off to several people. They have liked it so much, they bought it too. My neighbor purchased the 4-pack loom set and is busy knitting away.
They are so simple and easy to use, my dd picked up the directions and she was off! So we take turns working on the scarves. We use two strands of yarn for added thickness, but you can use one or a heavy yarn. The basic scarf pattern uses a simple figure 8 on the loom. The company even has several pattern books out to make many different types of scarves. These looms can also make hats, tassels, afghans, shawls, throw pillows, and even a stuffed Bear!! I am amazed that they will create that and plan to try it to give to my smallest nieces and nephews. How does the rest of my family help with this project? They help pick out the colors, do an occasional row, and wash dishes in the evening so I can work on the scarves.
So think about the cost for a moment: Depends on the yarn of course, but I buy the Jiffy yarn and use two skeins to make one scarf - so at $1.88 per skein, that equals just under $4 after tax for a beautiful, thick, warm, durable scarf. And I even have some yarn leftover, so I am hoping to make some matching hats to go with the scarf. If it works, then I will give a scarf and hat to them and only spend $4 oop.
Family gifts - I happened upon a wonderful bounty this year - blueberries! A woman had a field full of blueberry bushes and was too ill to pick them. She agreed to let me pick all I wanted as long as I split them with her. FREE!! just lots of time picking. So I turned most of them into jam and syrup, froze some and dehydrated some. I plan to put the jam and syrup into a basket with pancake mix, muffin mix, and hopefully some homemade candies. Any ideas for this basket? I am still in the planning stages on it, but the ideas are floating around.
The Male family members - I am debating on scarves for them too. I know several men who wear them, but others who refuse. lol. So I am a little stuck. I can't give them the food basket, because I prefer it to be a family gift. So what to give to them. Please, feel free to send some ideas my way on this matter.
Are you giving homemade/handmade gifts this year? Tell me about them or blog it and send me the link.
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I did the "breakfast basket" for a friend last year. I didn't make my own syrup or jam, of course, but, I bought the specialty items that you don't normally find on the grocery shelf. I went to the local kitchen shop and bought a wide spatula for flipping pancakes. That makes a great addition to the breakfast items.
I'm also scaling back for Christmas. I have a niece, 3 nephews, and 2 cousins in the family that I swap gifts with. I also have a few female friends. The family members are getting an Office Depot corrugated file box full of useful items; cleaning, HBA, paper, food, and toys for the great-neices. I shop throughout the year and have some dandy items to fill the boxes. There were those gourmet candies that were BOGOF and ECB at CVS several months ago. There's toys I purchased a day or two after Christmas last year. They are all getting down-to-earth, useful items, many of which they cannot afford for themselves.
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