- Great stocking stuffers include: coloring books, a sippy cup (for my 2 year old), stickers, trading cards, deodorant (definite stocking stuffer for a 7 year old who's all grown up), magazine subscriptions, microwave popcorn, and comic book.
- Ribbon n Button Bracelets= use spare ribbon, buttons, and embroidery thread to make several button bracelets for the special little lady on your list. Use a longer piece of ribbon, stitch each end to opposite sides of an elastic pony tail holder and WHA LA, a matching headband.
- Making Letter Wall Hangings or tree ornaments using the initials of the recipients name out of cardboard and fabric from clothes in the goodwill pile (the nearest thrift shop is over an hour away while the nearest consignment store is 2 hours away. It keeps it out of the trash and gets it out of my way at the same time!)
- Get your PAINT on! My dh scored a huge blue drum from his work and we've sawed it in half to make toy storage. I'm painting spider webbing on one half for my older son while a scene of Bikini Bottom will go on the other half for my youngest.
- Custom Soap-Melt bits of used soap or hotel soap bars around a small loofa or plastic toy for a fun bath gift. (I'll probably add some food coloring to make it more kid appealing to use in my kids stocking).
- Melt all the crayon bits in a muffin tin (or other mold:ice trays maybe) to go with the coloring books. This works especially well for the littlest ones.
- Use a old cross stitch hoop to make a dream catcher>wrap with fabric, glue some girly flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, buttons, and loop an oversized dress up necklace to finish the look OR boy it up with cars trucks and a chain or leather strips wrapped around it.
- I want to make a denim purse using a cast away ribbon belt, embroidery thread, colored fabric remnants, & the top part of my son's wranglers he's outgrown but will probably not have time but I can always use that as a birthday gift ;)
- Make some of those uber cute and stylish fingerless gloves using an outgrown sweater (Jenn's Tip: it's easier if you use a washable fabric pen and trace around your hand to know where to cut for your thumb)-if you knit, you may prefer this pattern
- No Sew Scarves=I've got parts of 4 fleece blankets I used last year to make the kids stockings. I can make at 3 no sew scarves with that! Cut the fleece to the length and width appropriate (kids would be shorter while adults would be longer), cut ends to create fringe. You can also cut an approximately 3" slit near one end of the fabric so when wrapped around the neck one end can tuck into the hole for a secure neck warmer.
- Got a beat up cookie sheet-Sand and paint it to go with some magnetic letters or paint with chalkboard paint for a mini chalkboard.
- If your handy with knitting needles and yarn, check out some free patterns sure to fit just about everyone on your list!
- Make some gummy fruit snacks, include the recipe, ingredients and a candy mold for a gift basket OR just package some in nice holiday bag and put in a stocking. (Jenn's Tip: Add a package of unsweetened Koolaid, or similar drink mix, to make is a "sour" version. Frugal Tip: You can also make a mold using cornstarch. Fill a casserole dish about half way (about 1 inch thick) full of cornstarch. Use a gummy bear, impaled from the flat back side with a tooth pick or skewer (not all the way through) to make an impression
in the cornstarch, making sure to not go all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Repeat, making impressions about one inch apart. Fill as you would a silicon mold. Let set for about 24 hours, then cover with more cornstarch to draw out more moisture. Let them stay in the cornstarch to the desired chewiness.) - Print recipes and organize them in a nicely decorated binder for an inexpensive cookbook. You could also print recipes on index cards and decoupage a plastic index card organizer for a lovely recipe box. (Homemade Decoupage Glue Recipe: Mix 3 parts white glue (ex. Elmer's School Glue) with 1 part water till well blended. Store in airtight container at room temperature. Apply using foam paint brush.) Time saver tip: Many sites offer pdf downloads of complete recipe books. Either print the entire book or copy and paste for you own custom book. I'm using a 148 page ebook from artofmanliness for my husband's friend who loves to cook!
As my son said last week 'Happy Christmas' and Merry Holidays to all of you out there and I'll be back with you after Christmas. May you all have peace, joy, and love throughout the days and years to come!
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