Christmas Gift Idea

This year, my husbands family gave gifts at Thanksgiving time as part of Christmas.  We were not there for Thanksgiving but I sent my gifts in the mail to be there for my kids cousins.  We draw names each year.  The gift is supposed to be inexpensive, homemade or consumable.  I didn’t have much time to put them together.  We drew names the night before I needed to mail them off.  I decided that it might be fun to make the cousins an ornament.   This is what I came up with: 

front                                                                                                                back

This cost me nothing.  I had everything on hand.

I used pages from an old book, and cut them in to strips.  I then folded them accordion style.  I glued two of those together on each end to form a circle.  I used my glue gun for this whole project.

Then a circle cut from scrapbook paper went in the middle on each side.  I added a little bling with some glue and glitter.

Then I printed out a name for the front, and a message for the back.  I cut them into a fun flag shape.

I glued some ribbon on the back to hang it from the tree.

This little project took me about 1/2 hour.

I placed the ornaments in some tin boxes I found at the dollar store with a nice Dove candy bar. 

I think that gift fits all three categories; inexpensive, homemade, and consumable.

I love how they turn out so much, that I am making more for my tree.

My kids receive an ornament from us each year.  It is a tradition that we have in our family.  That way when they leave home they will have their own box of ornaments to start their own Christmas tree.

This year, I am going to make these ornaments for them.  It will save me a little money, and I love how they look. 

I also think homemade means so much more the store bought.

I plan to put their name on one side, and “Our last Arkansas Christmas 2011” on the other side of the ornament.  I think it will be a good reminder of where we were Christmas 2011.

I might even make a few more as gifts. I am thinking close friends, visiting teaching, neighbors, teachers…

I better get to work.