When the holiday season rolls around, many family budgets can become strained. With a long list of family and friends, finding enough money to go around may be challenging. To help reduce the stress of your next holiday season, try making gifts instead of purchasing them. Consider these fun and economical gift ideas:
• Create gift baskets. For the family member who loves movies, make a “night-in” basket. Get a large bowl for popcorn to use as the container. Add packaged popcorn and a coupon for a free movie rental. Gardening, sports or any other themed baskets also work.
• For parents with young children, provide a homemade coupon good for free baby-sitting. Other ideas include coupons for helping to paint or cleaning.
• Fill a holiday mug with packets of flavored tea, hot cocoa or coffee for those who enjoy warm beverages. Or tie a packet of soup mix to a large wooden spoon. Include a bowl and package of biscuit mix for a complete gift.
• If you are computer savvy, create homemade calendars for family members. These could include highlighted birthday and anniversary dates. Try adding family photos for a personal touch.
• Repurpose old tins, filling them with cookies, muffins or other holiday goodies. A gift like this will be a delight to anybody who has little time for baking.
• Make homemade mixes in a jar. Mixes for soups and cookies are popular gift items that are fairly inexpensive to make. The gift recipient will appreciate the attractive and thoughtful gift and also will value the convenience. You can decorate the jar with fabric and a ribbon. Either photocopy and cut out the provided recipes or hand-print each recipe on a card and attach it to the jar.
Country Chili Mix
1 pound kidney beans
3 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoon dehydrated onions
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
To reduce sodium, substitute garlic powder for some of the garlic salt. Pour the kidney beans into a clean quart-sized jar. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into a clear sandwich bag and place it on top of the beans. Cover the jar tightly with a lid, decorate and attach a copy of the recipe card.
Homemade Cornbread Mix
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup dry milk powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon cornmeal
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Place the mixture in a clean quart-sized jar. Cover the jar tightly with a lid, decorate it and attach a copy of the recipe card.
