Ellie,

I LOVE that idea. I have 4 young sisters (ages 22-17) and they would love that!

I already finished my Christmas stuff for them, but they all have birthdays at the beginning of the year, so I may borrow your idea for their birthday gifts :) Thanks Ellie :D

scrabble,
I LOVE your avatar and the chickadee! I didn't know that that was your hand with the chickadee- how did you get it to come to you like that? We have lots of them where I live and they aren't as scared of you as other birds are but never come that close.

Baking is one way - I attempted fruit cakes again this year. If they turn out as good as last years, then they will make great little gifts. Otherwise, I have started putting my photography into frames - this was an awesome gift for my BF's birthday which he really liked. Pretty cheap - just enlarge a picture and buy a frame (and there are always deals on frames) It is amazing what a matt or two can do to a picture.

redjp,

I'm glad you like my avatar. It took me quite a few shots of just tail feathers, a blur of black and white, or no bird at all before I caught some with the chickadee sitting on my hand! I had to balance my 35 mm camera with a zoom lens in my other hand ... :rolleyes:

The photo was taken at my parents' home and they live by a lake where there is a lot of wildlife. They have trained the chickadees to come to their hands for peanuts. Sometimes 2 will swoop down at once .... oh, and if you don't have your hand out for them, they just might even land on your shoulder to get your attention! I'm going to visit them with my kids for Christmas so I'm looking forward to seeing those little birds again.

some really great ideas on this thread!
:Thanx:


I do gift baskets filled with home made goodies along with the crafts, jewelry and other creative things I enjoy doing......

I personally also love being given gifts that people have made themselves, whether edibles, wearables or decoratives, fun stuff etc

A friend of mine from church makes the most beautiful Christmas ornaments and blesses all of us with a new one each year:)

Homemade scarves with polar fleece

http://www.canadianliving.com/canadi...=1920&idSM=306
http://familycrafts.about.com/gi/dyn.../pom-jan04.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_14292_make-polar-fleece.html

there is many ways to make them and really quite easy and quick too

http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/jargi...ansoupmix.html

Gifts in a Jar
Holiday Bean Soup Mix

1 pound dried black beans
1 pound dried red beans
1 pound dried kidney beans
1 pound dried navy beans
1 pound dried great northern beans
1 pound dried baby lima beans
1 pound dried large lima beans
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 pound dried green split peas
1 pound dried yellow split peas
1 pound dried black eyed peas
1 pound dried green lentils
1 pound dried brown lentils

Combine beans in a very large bowl. Pour two cups of bean mix into pretty 16 ounce wide mouth jars. Instead of mixing the beans together, you can layer the beans. Very pretty. Just use about 1/8 cup of each bean until you fill the jar.

Attach this to the Jar:

Holiday Bean Soup Mix

Bean Mix from jar
1 smoked ham hock
2 cans, 14.5 oz each stewed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
6 cups water
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin seed

Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain beans and place in a stockpot. Add ham hock, tomatoes, onion, garlic, bay leaf and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, cover and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve warm. Makes 11 cups of soup.

homemade gifts and crafts-
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/index.shtml
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/gif.../a/120400a.htm
http://home.ivillage.com/decorating/...,,4tjt,00.html

Boy howdy!!! I love that product. But then I love Pampered Chef.

It is so hard to open up a lot of popup tab cans for me. In fact, the cat food I buy can't be a certain brand because they are so difficult for me to open.

Nice thread all, and thanks for all the ideas. My christmas shopping was done but for 1 present and I got that this weekend. Now all I have to do is wrap them. If I can find them underneath the tremendous messy place I call home.

there are special plastic
 

openers now for those pesky tabs...

I have some free ones from FancyFeast (from a cat show).
But I have seen them in large grocery stores hanging in the "notions"
area. It is a huge bummer when they crack off or don't work.
I use microwave soups sometimes at work, and when I open those babies,
they flash back the liquid onto my UNIFORM....mega messy....

There is just no easy way.

I also prefer homemade things. But in a pinch I buy packages of quality
fudge for the people who come to our home...climb the stairs to deliver things.
The UPS guy (who has been here over 20 yrs) loves the fudge! I never forget the service folks... they are with us all year and deserve a treat. Keep it small because they have RULES about this (accepting gifts)... a small candy thing can be secreted easily or consumed on route..and they won't be caught.