SJM
Money is extremely tight with everyone this year and I was trying to come up with a neat idea for a gift to give to the whole family instead of buying for each person individually. It would be for my dad, stepmom, brother age 3, brother, age 15, and stepbrother, 19. Am I just being cheap not buying individual gifts and taking the easy way out? I think everyone will understand that money is tight becasue my husband and I are also helping raise our nephew while my sister is in Kuwait. I just feel that a family gift is impersonal and need great gift ideas! PLEASE HELP!!
Answer
Family gifts are not impersonal...you are thinking of them and that is what really matters! Set a price for your gift....now go to your local Thrift Store and find a nice sized basket...maybe you can also find some Silk Christmas Floral arrangement..tear the arrangement apart, and wire some of the flowers to the basket, (or glue them with Hot Glue...you can also use Floral Picks from a local Variety Store or the Dollar Store...depending on the size of Basket you find, fill it...here are some ideas for it...While you are at the Thrift Store, look for Coffee Mugs and Tins with Christmas Motifs and scenes...these can be filled with Christmas Candy, Jelly Beans, Foil Wrapped Chocolates, or individual packages of Cocoa... or you might add Marshmellows and a can of Whipped cream found in the dairy Dept of your Grocery Store and a large box of Hot Chocolate mix, maybe find a Christmas Movie that you think they all might enjoy...wrap it or place it in the basket.....or buy the Christmas Cokes in the Bottles, and add Popcorn and Butter with the Movie....or MCDonalds Gift Cards..use a little imagination, and put the gift together.....If the basket will hold the tin, make and decorate some Sugar Cookies... and place them in the tin and if you want to....take over a gallon of Milk! Nothing is better than Milk with Cookies! You can wrap the Basket or Tin in Celephane Wrap, (to do this, Cut 4 very long pieces of Celephane, enough to go completely around your basket or Tin, or Coke or whatever......Criss-cross them in the shape of a X, draw up the ends, and tie with Curling Ribbon, and add lots of Curl ,a Card and tie at top of package.) Other ideas, make a Cheese Ball, and do Crackers and Wine, or make some Cider or Wassail and take it over...You know your family, and you know what they like...I'm sure you can think of something that will turn out to be personal and not too expensive! They will understand that you are on a budget..do not let the Commercialism of the season play on your heart. And you might want to buy a little something special for the 3 year old, Tootsie Toy Cars are not very expensive or a color book and crayons, a 3 year old is not hard nor expensive to buy for, and so you might make a small exception there if you want to...the others won't take offence at this....Good Luck, and God Bless! Hope I've helped!
Here is my favorite recipe for Sugar Cookies, I have made them since I was 10 years old and continue to make them every year (I am 56 now) They have always been popular wherever I take them...I like this recipe, because it makes about 6 dozen cookies, and you do not have to refridgerate the dough before rolling them out. However you can refidgerate the dough if you want to wait. Your nephew might want to help you and send some to his mother in Kuwait...if you do this, Freeze them before mailing and they will get there fresher....
I mix these cookies by hand, not a mixer!
Sugar Cookies
Sift together the following ingredients:
3 c. Flour, 1 tsp. baking Powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/4 c. Sugar.
Cut in 1 c. of Shortening with Fork or Pastry cutter. (You can use partial Butter or Margarine if desired)
Add 3 Unbeaten Eggs and 1 tsp. Vanilla...mix well.
Roll out onto lightly floured Board, about 1/4" thick and cut with Christmas Design cookie Cutters. Bake in Moderate Oven preheated to 375 degrees, for about 8 minutes.. Cool and frost or decorate.
(You can roll a little thicker or thinner, depending on how you like the cookie, but must experiment with cooking time if you do this)
Frosting
1 c Sifted Powdered Sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp Vanilla or other flavoring, (I always use Vanilla) 1 1/2 TBsp. Cream or Milk. Mix well... color frosting if desired with Food Coloring-Frosting will be thin....Frost your cookies and use sprinkles, decorator Sugars and decorettes, or decorate after Frosting sets. Have a table covered with Waxed Paper to let the Frosting set on the cookies, then deorate with decorator icing. Then let Frosting set again. Place in Air Tight Tins or Tupperware and Refridgerate, or Freeze until distribution.(Sometimes I go the extra mile, and decorate, but most of the time it is just the frosting and decoator Sugars & sprinkles...the cookies are always a big hit, and I also do them on Valentines Day!
Humorous Story: I was a Room Mother for 6 years, and always took these Cookies for School Parties...when the kids got older they had to take Home-Ec, and at Christmas time their teacher had them make sugar cookies and then eat them at their party..most of the kids had been in one or more of the classes of which I had been Room Mother......when they had their party, they all piped up that their cookies were terrible, and that the teacher should get my recipe! (My son flunked that assignment, and the teacher never asked for my recipe!)
Family gifts are not impersonal...you are thinking of them and that is what really matters! Set a price for your gift....now go to your local Thrift Store and find a nice sized basket...maybe you can also find some Silk Christmas Floral arrangement..tear the arrangement apart, and wire some of the flowers to the basket, (or glue them with Hot Glue...you can also use Floral Picks from a local Variety Store or the Dollar Store...depending on the size of Basket you find, fill it...here are some ideas for it...While you are at the Thrift Store, look for Coffee Mugs and Tins with Christmas Motifs and scenes...these can be filled with Christmas Candy, Jelly Beans, Foil Wrapped Chocolates, or individual packages of Cocoa... or you might add Marshmellows and a can of Whipped cream found in the dairy Dept of your Grocery Store and a large box of Hot Chocolate mix, maybe find a Christmas Movie that you think they all might enjoy...wrap it or place it in the basket.....or buy the Christmas Cokes in the Bottles, and add Popcorn and Butter with the Movie....or MCDonalds Gift Cards..use a little imagination, and put the gift together.....If the basket will hold the tin, make and decorate some Sugar Cookies... and place them in the tin and if you want to....take over a gallon of Milk! Nothing is better than Milk with Cookies! You can wrap the Basket or Tin in Celephane Wrap, (to do this, Cut 4 very long pieces of Celephane, enough to go completely around your basket or Tin, or Coke or whatever......Criss-cross them in the shape of a X, draw up the ends, and tie with Curling Ribbon, and add lots of Curl ,a Card and tie at top of package.) Other ideas, make a Cheese Ball, and do Crackers and Wine, or make some Cider or Wassail and take it over...You know your family, and you know what they like...I'm sure you can think of something that will turn out to be personal and not too expensive! They will understand that you are on a budget..do not let the Commercialism of the season play on your heart. And you might want to buy a little something special for the 3 year old, Tootsie Toy Cars are not very expensive or a color book and crayons, a 3 year old is not hard nor expensive to buy for, and so you might make a small exception there if you want to...the others won't take offence at this....Good Luck, and God Bless! Hope I've helped!
Here is my favorite recipe for Sugar Cookies, I have made them since I was 10 years old and continue to make them every year (I am 56 now) They have always been popular wherever I take them...I like this recipe, because it makes about 6 dozen cookies, and you do not have to refridgerate the dough before rolling them out. However you can refidgerate the dough if you want to wait. Your nephew might want to help you and send some to his mother in Kuwait...if you do this, Freeze them before mailing and they will get there fresher....
I mix these cookies by hand, not a mixer!
Sugar Cookies
Sift together the following ingredients:
3 c. Flour, 1 tsp. baking Powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/4 c. Sugar.
Cut in 1 c. of Shortening with Fork or Pastry cutter. (You can use partial Butter or Margarine if desired)
Add 3 Unbeaten Eggs and 1 tsp. Vanilla...mix well.
Roll out onto lightly floured Board, about 1/4" thick and cut with Christmas Design cookie Cutters. Bake in Moderate Oven preheated to 375 degrees, for about 8 minutes.. Cool and frost or decorate.
(You can roll a little thicker or thinner, depending on how you like the cookie, but must experiment with cooking time if you do this)
Frosting
1 c Sifted Powdered Sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp Vanilla or other flavoring, (I always use Vanilla) 1 1/2 TBsp. Cream or Milk. Mix well... color frosting if desired with Food Coloring-Frosting will be thin....Frost your cookies and use sprinkles, decorator Sugars and decorettes, or decorate after Frosting sets. Have a table covered with Waxed Paper to let the Frosting set on the cookies, then deorate with decorator icing. Then let Frosting set again. Place in Air Tight Tins or Tupperware and Refridgerate, or Freeze until distribution.(Sometimes I go the extra mile, and decorate, but most of the time it is just the frosting and decoator Sugars & sprinkles...the cookies are always a big hit, and I also do them on Valentines Day!
Humorous Story: I was a Room Mother for 6 years, and always took these Cookies for School Parties...when the kids got older they had to take Home-Ec, and at Christmas time their teacher had them make sugar cookies and then eat them at their party..most of the kids had been in one or more of the classes of which I had been Room Mother......when they had their party, they all piped up that their cookies were terrible, and that the teacher should get my recipe! (My son flunked that assignment, and the teacher never asked for my recipe!)
Secret Santa gift ideas?
Dreamer
Hi.
Me and my 5 close friends have decided to do a secret santa, and we also decided that we would make the present, so far I can't think of anything good enough, do you have any ideas ? Something creative and different.
Thanks.
shes really girly.
Answer
Homemade gift ideas:
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/homemadegifts.htm
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/index.shtml
http://fun.familyeducation.com/crafts/gifts/45405.html
http://notmadeofmoney.com/blog/2006/11/50-homemade-gift-ideas-from-around-the-web.html
http://www.the-best-homemade-gift-ideas.com/
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Homemade-Gifts/Detail.aspx
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade_Gifts/
http://www.homemade-gift-basket-ideas.com/homemade-gifts.html
Homemade gift ideas:
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/homemadegifts.htm
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/index.shtml
http://fun.familyeducation.com/crafts/gifts/45405.html
http://notmadeofmoney.com/blog/2006/11/50-homemade-gift-ideas-from-around-the-web.html
http://www.the-best-homemade-gift-ideas.com/
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Homemade-Gifts/Detail.aspx
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade_Gifts/
http://www.homemade-gift-basket-ideas.com/homemade-gifts.html
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
