Christmas is Coming!

Some Easy Gift Ideas:

Candy Jar, filled with candy.

Shot Glasses and his / her favorite bottle.

Glass vase filled with flowers!

Cookie Jar, filled with baked goods!

Bank, Start their savings.

Longenbarger Basket with Goodies!

Replacement China for Mom's broken pieces.

Don't remind me, I need to get through Thanksgiving first, my sister is coming home for Thanksgiving. I love Christmas too.

I meant to ADD in my first post a request for others to post easy gifts. We all can use suggestions!

I want a seed starting mat and a wireless rain guage (in case anyone was wondering what to get me LOL LOL)

That is for sure. Just invite a friend to dinner would be a lovely gift. At least one that appeals to me.

Aaaack - my jack-o-lanterns is still lighted on the porch & you're talking Xmas??? Uncurl me from my fetal position in about a month.

Since I happen to have yards - make that miles- of jute rope and wooden beads from years ago projects, I'm going to make plant hangers for some of my friends. All I probably need to buy is a few rings for the top. I also plan to make some vine wreaths with handmade decorations on them that will fit the recievers taste and decor. Those should cost next to nothing, too, since I have several types of vines growing (read taking over) here. I hope to get more tree ornaments made as well.

Right now, I'm taking a break because, (insert loud drumroll here) I just finished printing my Chritmas cards!!!!!!!!! And its only Nov first!

( I wonder what *very important* thing I have forgotten to do to be this far ahead. I'm the one that tries to sneak 60 or 70 cards into the mailbox on Dec 22, then run for cover before Robin, the mail carrier, gets there)

I asked my best friend what I can knit or crochet her for Christmas... Her reply: A new car. :) very funny.... :)

Sarah

I'm just gearing up in anticipation of xmas. I've already started to make chili pepper ristras (homegrown, of course) and I make pinecone wreaths that are always in demand by relatives and coworkers every year. The good thing is...I can get pine cones for free!

These always seem popular with people on my list:

Bottles of wine from a local winery
The cocktail shakers with the amounts and instructions for popular drinks printed on them
handcrafted windchimes or hangy-thingies for the garden

the men on my list all like gadgets:
electronic gadgets
hunting gadgets
grilling acessories
tools

I am making mosaic bird baths for 3 friends, plant tags made from round stones, and gazing balls, made for bowling balls.

My MIL is 87, still lives by herself. We usually get her a gift card from a supermarket.
Another thing she appreciates is boxes of scrap material. She always has a quilt going, so uses lots of pieces. They can easily be found at household auctions or garage sales.
Just a couple ideas for someone that has everything & needs nothing. (At least that's what they try to tell you.)
Bernie

Okay at the risk of sounding stupid what is a Longenbarger basket and what makes it different from any other basket.

Some company that sells baskets like Tupperware. At parties. They are well overpriced. Not much of a resale market.
Bernie

jess- tell me how you make your pinecone wreaths. I have a ton of cones in the yard.

Ugh - Longaberger Baskets - what a racket. I have a cousin who was (& may still be) involved with that. After a while I was almost making the sign of the cross every time she'd get in touch with me. The last thing I need is a $50+ basket, along with a plastic liner (extra$$), a cloth liner (extra $$), & Lord knows whatever other accessories Longaberger considers necessary to the basket-collecting experience. The person who started this company must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Gosh, I thought maybe I was stepping on toes with my first post, Brezzy, thanks for the second to my post!
Bernie

The pinecone wreaths are really easy. I'll make my DH bring the digital camera home from work and I'll take a picture of some finished ones. And if anyone's interested, when I start a new one I could do a step by step pictorial.

Pinecones dipped in colored wax and put in a nice basket for someone with a fireplace. Great firestarters.

You have to dip pinecone several times to get a really pretty look.



Edited for typo.

This message was edited Nov 2, 2005 9:24 AM

Wax poured into candy molds to make ornaments.

I make gift baskets every year for friends, vets, hay/feed people, farrier, etc.

I just go to WalMart or Pier 1, etc., & buy large inexpensive (like under $10) baskets & then go to town with whatever theme I'm using that year.

Coffee Basket: Coffee Bean grinder (around $20), a few bags of coffee beans, a mug or two, packages of gourmet cookies, etc.

Pasta Basket: A couple of jars of gourmet pasta sauces, different pastas, some biscotti, a jar of pesto perhaps, bottle of wine - anything Italian.

Cheese Basket: Several different gourmet cheeses, a couple of boxes of gourmet crackers, cheese knife, bottle of wine.

All baskets are decorated with candy canes, Queen Anne's Lace flower heads spraypainted gold, evergreen branches, & rose hips from multiflora roses.

I'm halfway done making my Christmas cards. I rubberstamp mine. I make a gift pack of greeting cards as a gift or side gift. Last year I crochet scarves. Another year I made photo montages and also photos decopage on stained wood plaques for the wall. I've also made small photo albums using Japanese Stamp Binding. Every year is different or a variation of something done a prior year - depends on the craft bug that bit....

Breezy and Bernie, thanks. I did a search and OMG. Guess I am in the wrong tax bracket or something. I aint ever seen a purpose for a basket that would require it to cost 150.00. Just WOW. Saw one, retired, what ever difference that makes in its use, but they wanted 450.00 for it. Why????

Christmas present for my parents friends that I am still in contact with I am making strip shawls with pockets and embroidering a little picture or their name on the pockets for the women, and for the men I have made chair blankets done the same way.

I picked up some wire and some beads and will be making some wine glass markers and using those for the decorations on a wrapped bottle of wine.

I usually make all my christmas cards, that is how I get away with not sending one to every person. (that reads I dont send to the SIL's) I just say DH gets cranky with the expense so I had to stop before I was finished with the list. This year I am using balsa wood and painting snowmen and trees on the front.

For oldest DD and DS, I have purchased bath towels, hand towels and washclothes and I am going to embroider some design on them and on DD I will add some lace to the ends. I am also getting each of them a toaster oven. Those can be used in dorm rooms after I kick them out of my house.

Ilovejesus99, any perticular kind of wax? This interests me. Never heard of this. The fact that a fireplace in Vegas is rediculous could have some reasoning to it. But I would love to have a bit more info on this. Lots of friends out of state have fireplaces.

Great thread Darius.

CARAT,

I just use any kind of wax. Parafin would even work but would cost more I am sure. They sell slabs of wax in hobby stores. They sell fragrance and color.

When I first did this I melted some tapered candles I had around. They turned out very pretty. Although they were pink as some of the candles were red.

I like the quart canning jars with the different ingredients in them. We were given 15 bean soup one year. She gave a baggy on the side with the spices.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

Oh great thread!!!
Would love to see step by step pinecone wreath!!!!

Me, too!

Me, three......

Okay...I'll do it on Friday evening after work. Should I continue in this thread...or maybe start a new one in Crafts or Decorating?

Start a new one, so it will be easier to find.

But please send us (me) a link.

Out of town on business until Friday, but when I post the thread on Friday evening I'll post a link to it here and Dmail it to anyone interested. This will be so much fun!

Last year I made cookies in a jar, soup in a jar, (found recipes on line, as gifts, just the dry ingredients and instructions, for my non-cooking grands....I used those Clementine boxes to hold them, and put gingham fabric under the jar seals to pretty them up. I dont think I've tossed a jar in eons, they always come in handy for this sort of thing. Some years I've given home made jam, but those are special and hard to part with. When DGS was in the navy and hated the food, I sent him a huge package of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and lots of cookies. I think he used some of it as barter for other kinds of food that his shipmates got from home.

Meezer, when I was in the Army I would barter my moms beef jerky for chocolate. Guess my addiction is an old one...

Me four, jessmerritt, I would to see and learn how to make pinecone wreaths. I tried one but it looked so hokey.

I want to see your wreath also, I usuakky have more pine cones than projects

Sandy ^8^

Another good gift idea that's easy on the pocket - rolls of duct tape. I use the bright yellow to mark my tools. I'm bad about putting tools aside and losing them. A band of that yellow around the handles makes them easy to find in the weeds.

That's an excellent idea..I lost a small hand shovel last fall and didn't find it until the middle of this summer!!! Wound up it was in my compost pile. I must have used it shovel some of the good stuff...

Oh yes, I am forever loosing and misplacing my tools. I will have to try that. Hope you all have a good night.

Casey

I wish for better days ahead. "What's mine is yours if it doesn't remind me of anything"

Okay, I've post the step-by-step "How to make a pinecone wreath" in crafts and decorating. Here's the link:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/555300/

Thanks so much Jess, I have printed it out and will hopefully start this weekend.

Casey