Homemade Gifts are from the Heart

I know Christmas has passed, but I want to mention the homemade gifts I made this year for friends and family. Not only are they frugal they come from the heart. Homemade gifts are great to give and receive. You don't have to wait for Christmas to come around.. you can make some up and give them for birthdays, valentines day, secret friend gifts, welcome a new family to the neighborhood or even welcome a couple with a homemade gift for the birth of a child. There are so many possibilities.

For Christmas I made up several homemade and semi-homemade gifts for my friends. When they all came over for coffee and brunch I told them they each got to go shopping and pick out their gift. That way they could choose a gift that fits their need and desire. I had homemade fudge, bottles of olive oil, soup in a jar mixes, Winter Cocoa Jars, Pedicure sets, Movie Night In bags, and Mugs of Devotions and Decadence.

I found the soup in a jar mixes online. Some were Split Pea Soup, Confetti Bean soup and Cowboy Chili. I printed up the quick recipe and tied it on the jar with raffia. (I had received a Cookie in a Jar mix from a young friend that works for me and does house cleaning and yard work). The cocoa recipe I had for years and made up a few batches. I put them in plastic jars that I got at the dollar store and printed up instructions and tied it on with ribbon. The Pedicure sets had nail files, callus remover tool, nail polish and a mini bottle of sparkling cider in it. The Movie Night In had bags of microwave popcorn, big boxes of movie candy, individual popcorn tubs and mini cans of soda. I was going to add a movie rental gift card to them, but was trying to keep the cost down. The Mug of Devotions and Decadence was a large snowman or Santa mug with packets of gourmet flavored hot chocolates, cappuccino packet, hot apple cider packets, chocolate dipped biscotti and a Bible on CD (from the dollar store).

I also gave homemade gifts to our family. I put in jars of apple and pear butter that I made up in the Fall. I had made Carmel Corn with peanuts and made tags for them and called it "Koch Krunch" using our family's last name. I also put in bags of walnut fudge, the jars of soup mix and Winter Cocoa jars. I added some fragrant tea lights as well. They were frugal and from the heart, all made from love.

Our children received homemade gifts from their grandparents this year. Our pre-teen received a treasure box that was stained, had hinges, a lock and brass corner covers. He can use it as a secret storage box for his journal or treasures. The little ones received handmade wooden cars. All made by their Grandfather.

My Dad is a widow and my Uncle in Law is a bachelor and I found the perfect homemade gifts to give them. I made two big pots of Cowboy Chili and Navy Bean Soup (my Dad's favorites). I put two cups of hearty soup into disposable and microwaveable plastic containers and added a label and date on the top. I gave them each three which they can freeze and eat when ever they want. I put them in a gift bag. You can do this to stew, vegetable beef soup, etc.. What a great gift for a guy that doesn't cook much.

Do you know what is a good gift to give a couple that just brought home their newborn baby? A big tall jar of homemade soup. Wrap it in a receiving blanket, tie it at the top with ribbon and add a rattle for decoration. Remember to make the soup nursing friendly for the mom and baby, like Chicken Corn Chowder or Potato Soup. Stay away from Chili or Taco Soup, or spicy foods that can be discomforting.

A few years ago I received a knitted afghan from my Grandmother. It is absolutely beautiful. She made each of her girls one. She knitted all year long and made sure that we had something made from her to treasure forever.

There are so many other possibilities like knitted dish cloths, aprons, wooden toys, a meal, baked goods and treats, jams and jellies, home canned salsa, home sewn place mats and napkins etc... The ideas are endless. I think that we need to get back to the basics and make gifts from the heart that mean much more.

Do you have any homemade gift ideas that you want to brag about, that either you made or received?

Be Inspired to Make a gift from the heart.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all of you. How did you celebrate the New Year? We don't go out to parties or whoop it up on New Years Eve. We stay home as a family, have snacks, enjoy a special dinner and play games. Last night we had a Bowling tournament on our Wii. It was a lot of fun. I buy the kids a six pack of mini bottles of sparkling cider, and they get to use my fancy champagne glasses (from our wedding), it makes them feel special. We choose to not be out on the streets at night on New Years, knowing that others could be intoxicated and put our family at risk. It just makes more sense to us to stay home, be safe and enjoy our family.

Hope that you all enjoyed your New Years. We wish you many blessings and prosperity in 2009! God Bless.

Homemade Gifts

Last week I celebrated my 39th birthday. I think I'm handling it well. The only major change is that I cut and colored my hair. We'll see if the big 40 next year will be a mid life crisis for me or not. I did appreciate the phone calls, e-mails, b-day cards and knocks on my door with a little something for me, from my dear friends. I feel truly blessed to be loved and thought of so dearly.

I thought I'd brag about this gift from my dear friend April, because it was homemade and would be simple to make and give to others for the holidays. It is homemade Double Chocolate Cocoa. She put it in this really tall ginormous glass that can hold a gallon size Ziploc bag full of cocoa. There are different types of recipes you could use too.

I too have made them as Christmas gifts about five years ago for family and put them in snowman jars. You can put the cocoa in mason jars or in a cute jar or glass like this one that maybe you can find at a thrift store. Add a little ribbon and card with instructions and there you go. Thrifty and delicious. Keep a look out for what I have in store for the ginormous glass my cocoa came in. Can you guess what I'm going to do with it?

Hot Cocoa Recipe

10 cups dry powdered milk

4 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

1 tsp salt

Mix all together and store in an airtight container. Makes about 15 cups of mix or 45 servings. For one serving add 1/3 cup cocoa mix with 3/4 cups of boiling water, stir and enjoy. You may want to add mini marshmallows or a dollop of whip cream on top.

Veterans Day & Shopping

Happy Veteran's Day to those who have and are serving our Country. Thank You for our freedom and your dedicated honor and service. My Dear Hubby was a former Army Veteran and I am proud of him dearly. I wish that I had known him when he was serving (we met shortly after he was honorably discharged). I have a thing for a Man in Uniform. But... that is a story for later or maybe not. Hubba! Hubba!

While out and about today doing errands I went to a local thrift store (Value Village) that was having their 50% off on all items for Veteran's Day. I picked up a cute piano/music station ($2.50) for my littlest sweet cheek who is 10 months old. I also picked up some Old Navy snow pants and snow suits (less than $5) for the kids for our vacation in December to Leavenworth Washington. I also found a ton of really cute princess dresses and other clothes for the lil sweet cheeks. For my pre-teen I got him a brand new pair of Old Navy Camo Cargo Shorts with tags on them, he loved them. I found myself a couple of jackets and tops. I also found a cute book called "In a Pickle or a Jam" with tons of canning recipes. For Dear Hubby, nothing. He is picky and he wasn't with me. Daddy was at home playing with our sweet cheeks while I got to go out for a few hours, BY MYSELF! Isn't he just sweet?

I tried to find something for the house to decorate with, but they really didn't have a thing that looked worth buying or I couldn't live without. Ho hum. But I did enjoy my excursion. Bargain shopping can be so much fun.