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Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts:

Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful.

Favorite Recipe Cookbook: For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc.

Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders, which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays.

Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my food gift baskets. If you'd like to do something fancy, here are 22 free patterns.

Placemats: A bit bigger than mug rugs, placemats are a welcome gift for anyone with a wood dining table. Here are 60+ free patterns.

Stocking: You can buy an inexpensive Christmas stocking at a dollar store, or make one yourself, and fill it with candy, cookies, fruit, or whatever you can fit inside.

Tablecloth: You'll need to discreetly measure your recipient's dining table, but making a table cloth is pretty simple: hem all four sides of a durable fabric a few inches larger on all sides than the table top, and you're done. I used curtain fabric remnants for mine.

Themed Basket: If you have some leftover baskets, or can find some at your craft or dollar store, make your own themed gift basket. Some ideas: Movie Night (popcorn, a DVD, some sodas and a box of movie theater candy); Cozy Afternoon (a good book, pretty mug, hot chocolate mix, marshmallows and a small package of cookies); and Dear Diary (a blank journal, pretty pen, decorative tape, stickers, mixed media supplies.)

Tree Skirt: If you have time, make a skirt for someone's Christmas tree. There are plenty of tutorials online, even a few that are no-sew. It's also something people rarely give to others, so it will probably be a nice surprise.

Wreath: There are so many ways to make wreaths I won't even try to list them, but they're a fairly easy craft project. Here are 70+ ideas to inspire you.

Banner image credit: Harshahars from Pixabay

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