All I Want for Christmas

Believe it or not, it will soon be September. I typically get serious about my Christmas plans as soon as the kids get back in school. This is going to be an especially interesting year because it will be the first time I have approached the holidays with more time than money. In the past, I have done most of my shopping from catalogs, usually on my lunch hour. When I had to go to a store, I favored little boutiques where I could get in and out quickly.

Now all that’s changed. On the one hand, my budget is smaller because I am no longer working full time. On the other, I have a lot more time to shop and plan. I’m even thinking about trying my hand at making some gifts. These are some of the types of things I am considering making.

Gifts for Babies and Children

• A play mat for babies and crawlers. Make it with heavy denim on one side and soft flannel on the other. Quilt it by tying it with embroidery floss every 6 inches or so.
• Wood blocks cut from scraps and sanded smooth. Use untreated lumber and don’t paint or stain them so that you won’t have to worry about them being chewed on.
• Record your child’s favorite books. They will love hearing you read to them even when you’re not at home, especially if you remember to “beep” when they need to turn the page.
• Create a board or card game based on your child’s life.
• Give a teen a coupon book good for a certain number of trips to the mall or other places.

Gifts for Adults

If you enjoy cooking, try creating your own signature jelly, jam, sauce, meat rub, seasoning blend, etc. If you’re not into cooking, try making a special type of bath salts or soap. Of course, you could also rely on some of the traditional crafts, such as knitting or crocheting, to create gifts.

Another option is to try to recreate at home something that you might have purchased in the past. For instance, one of the things I’ve looked into is gift of the month clubs. These are nice because your recipient doesn’t get just one gift; she gets several. Imagine how fun it would be to get a membership to one of the monthly flower clubs advertised online. You’d know that you could count on getting fresh flowers at least once a month for a whole year.

If you have enough time to make the commitment, you could even create your own gift of the month club by giving someone a cared promising to send them a meal, beverage, produce, etc., each month for an entire year. This is a wonderfully generous gift, but requires a huge commitment of time and memory. Still, I cannot think of a better way to let those you care about know that you think about them throughout the year.

About the Author

Melissa Cameron is a married writer with two young children. She and her husband Dave have been focusing on improving their personal health through diet changes and exercise and love working out together. Melissa’s research into lifestyle changes have resulted in her trying various popular weight-loss programs like Medifast (coupon code), and Nutrisystem (plan review) as well as planning and constructing her own home gym.