| Remember the days of popcorn and cranberry | | | | Don't forget to write a little holiday message on |
| garland and paper snowflakes on the window? | | | | the inside of the card with your signature. |
| With everyone thinking frugally this holiday season, | | | | Homemade Desserts/Goodies |
| an old-fashioned homemade Christmas is making a | | | | Break out Grandma's old recipes and whip up a |
| comeback. But how do you plan a homemade | | | | batch of gingerbread men. Sugar cookies are fun |
| Christmas that is fun, simple and still beautiful? | | | | because you can use cookie cutter to make |
| Following are a few easy to make ideas for | | | | holiday shapes and then your choose of extras to |
| holiday goodies. | | | | decorate the cookies to your liking. Fudge is |
| Homemade Decorations | | | | always a family favorite and there are almost |
| Making holiday decorations by hand is an activity | | | | endless flavor possibilities. |
| that not only produced unique Christmas creations | | | | Homemade Presents |
| but can also bring the whole family together. | | | | Gifts that are made by hand can be a bit trickier. |
| Stringing cranberries to wrap around the | | | | After all you don't want to look cheap but you |
| Christmas tree is always fun. All you need is | | | | also don't want to spend an arm and leg making a |
| some thick thread or string, a bag of fresh raw | | | | gift with saving money is the goal. As a writer |
| cranberries and a large craft needle for each | | | | one of my favorite handmade gifts is a |
| person. Thread the string and gently stick the | | | | personalized poem or bit of prose printed out on |
| needle through the center of each cranberry. | | | | special fancy paper purchased at an office supply |
| For the windows you can make paper | | | | store and placed in a nice frame bought at the |
| snowflakes. Children as young as three or four | | | | local dollar store for half what it is worth. Another |
| can help create one-of-a-kind designs in plain white | | | | simple gift idea is a gift jar. You can fill a jar with |
| paper. Adults then can cut the designs out and | | | | the dry ingredients to a favorite recipe (the |
| unfold the paper to produce beautiful snowflakes | | | | recipient's favorite, not yours). |
| for the window panes. | | | | Dress up the outside of the jar with a piece of |
| Homemade Cards | | | | fabric over the lid and a pretty ribbon around the |
| Family and close friends will appreciate handmade | | | | rim. Finish it off with a printed card of the recipe |
| cards much more than the generic store-bought | | | | on one side and a holiday design on the other. |
| ones. If you have children, you can have them | | | | Homemade holidays don't have to take a lot of |
| draw or paint pictures on the front. You can also | | | | skill or talent to pull off. All you need is some time, |
| draw or paint to decorate the cards. Or you can | | | | willingness and a good Christmas spirit. |
| stencil a pattern yourself if you lack artistic ability. | | | | |