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PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.

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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.

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Old 11-13-2011, 08:49 PM   #1
kingfamily1129
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Homemade Christmas present ideas

Hey everyone!! I have a question? I'm thinking of making some homemade Christmas gifts this year because 1) they are cheaper, and 2) I have tons of free time now and I like to make things

The problem is that I don't have a sewing machine and I'm not too handy with free-hand sewing, so I need some ideas that DO NOT involve sewing.

Any ideas?? I would appreciate ANY and ALL ideas T.I.A!
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Old 11-13-2011, 08:58 PM   #2
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How about some homemade cookies? Or if there are young children coupons for free babysitting.
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Old 11-13-2011, 10:05 PM   #3
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FELT....no sewing but crafty just the same.
You can make advent calendars by glueing felt pieces together and adding decorations from $2 shop. Handmade with love!
What about making chocolates with some cheap moulds (re-usable next year) from $2 shop? Decorate with coloured icing tubes. Time consuming but definately well received.
Card making, pre-made scrapbook pages, homemade soaps or bath salts, your own jams or chutneys with cute homemade labels too...Gosh I have so many ideas but it's been ages since I made stuff as gifts - Thanks for your question - I'm off to start!
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Old 11-13-2011, 10:13 PM   #4
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I've got a few ideas for you: one year we made personalized small Teddy Bears for each relative--we bought small add ons like fishing rods and oven mitts for each family member and hot glued the items on. Another year we did a similar thing with small Christmas trees.
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:22 AM   #5
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The Family Fun website has a bunch of homemade gift ideas.
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Old 11-14-2011, 07:57 AM   #6
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Fudge and candies....put into decorated canning jars with the recipe attached as the gift tag. Ornaments, the "Mickey heads", of course, but this year I'm also, making "glitter balls".
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:04 AM   #7
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We made bread wreaths one tight year.
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:08 AM   #8
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I did the glitterballs for the gals in my office using the Coke ornament bottles. They came out awesome.
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:16 AM   #9
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I always make cookies for the neighbors, the people at work and my hairstylist. I usually make seven to ten different kinds. I have also done jewelry-beaded earings and bracelets. Very easy to learn. Handmade ornaments are something I would like to do this year.
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Old 11-14-2011, 09:39 AM   #10
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I am a sucker for baked goods. The Pioneer Woman website has a great cinnamon roll recipe that is absolutely to die for.

Other then baking I always do bath salts and paint little crafty things like nutcrackers
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Old 11-14-2011, 11:19 AM   #11
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There are books you can get to make "cookies in a jar", "soup in a jar" etc. My DD did cider mulling spices in individual packets from a drinks in a jar one and her co-workers really liked them.

I have seen fleece blankets made by knotting two pieces together, which is cute and warm.

I am knitting hats this winter.

I also have always done plates/tins of cookies and have gotten good feedback and requests for them every year.

Flaff has a really good and easy recipe for fudge. I add thinks like peppermint to the top to "Christmas it up"
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Old 11-14-2011, 11:49 AM   #12
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We make Christmas ornaments. Here a site for the way to make them. They are really easy to do. Our DD who is 4 now was able to make them last year with us.
Christmas Dough Ornament Craft - Dough Christmas Ornaments - Kaboose.com
If you want other ideas for the saltdough just google "saltdough"
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:13 PM   #13
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Years ago I went though all the slide photos (over 100 carouselts of them and my mom had photo disks made of the photos I picked out). I have had them all these years... printed out a few but never did much with them (except add them to an online photo storage site). In 2009 I decided to make prints, enlarge them and frame them. I found two wonderful photos of my sister and I when we were just little girls and enlarge them to 11 x 13 and framed them. For my dad I found a sweet photo of him holding me when i was maybe 3 or 4 and matted and framed that one as well. For my mom I found two photos... one of my sister and one of me on the beach in Maine (to go in her "beached themed" den) and got those framed and matted as well. I did all the work myself. Micheals always has good deals on frames and matts are inexpensive to have cut and made to fit the frame (or you could buy pre-cut mats).

Last year I made a scrapbook with photos of growing up in Vermont. She loved it.
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:12 PM   #14
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For many years, we made christmas ornaments for people and would give homemade cookies to go with them.

I made placements one year for one of my sisters when she had young kids. I hand sewed them together. She loved them. But I see you don't want to sew.

How about something with pictures? Can you make your own homemade calendar? I wonder if there are free templates out there on the internet.

I make jewelry. For each of the women in the family one year I made a necklace and bracelet set. I made earrings for those with pierced ears too. It wasn't expensive since I got the beads, findings and stringing wire on sale.

I made fleece blankets for all the kids one year. There was no sewing involved, just cutting and knotting.
I was visiting one of my sisters last summer and her son still had his in his room and my sister said he still cuddles up with it. He was 5 when I made it and is 13 now! I got all the fleece on sale at half off so maybe you could find some too.

When I was growing up, I learned how to crotchet. One year I made everyone a small rug for the floor in front of their beds (we lived in MN and had wood floors that were cold in the winter) and my Aunt who was in a wheelchair, a lap blanket.

I kind of miss homemade Christmases.
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:26 PM   #15
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It's not really homemade, but it's fairly cheap. You could upload pics to a site like Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc and have calendars made for people. Google coupon codes and you can get really good deals on the calendars.
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