Personalized, Simple, Home-Made Christmas-Gift Ideas

I hope the Christmas season has opened up in lovely, peaceful and merry chords for You. When the angel appeared to the shepherds over 2000 years ago, joyfully announcing the good news of our Savior's birth, he proclaimed, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord! Then suddenly there appeared with the angel an army of the troops of heaven (a heavenly knighthood), praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest [heaven], and on earth peace among all men with whom He is well pleased [men of goodwill, of His favor]." (Gospel of Luke 2:10b,11,13)

Here we find out that the first Christmas was birthed with great joy and peace... which, unfortunately, during the past decades has turned into a season of overspending, struggling, and melancholy for many. Perhaps it is time to return to great joy and peace!

I love to buy and make gifts for my loved ones and friends. I try to figure out what would bring joy to each receiver. I take great pleasure in inserting a piece of my own heart into each gift to make it more special and personal. Our family is quite large as I have 2 sisters and a brother and they each have their own family. My sister's husband has a birthday in the end of November and his daughter and my eldest nephew have their birthdays both in the beginning of December, which means that I begin my gift hunt prior to the Christmas season.

I had figured out what to give to my beautiful niece Sydnee for her 8th birthday. If You have heard about Sandra Kuck, You know that she is well known for her beautiful collectible angel books. She has created a whole series of books for little girls. I picked a book the theme of which suited with the necklace I was going to send her and ordered it over the internet. Several days later, beginning to look through my previous orders from the book seller, I noticed that a year ago I had bought the exact same book for my little niece.

Goodness! That was my first mishap... and also the last one... or so I hoped!

As my sister lives in the States, I decided to order some movies for her family for Christmas. They are a close knit family and enjoy doing things together. So, I picked the movies and ordered them... being so proud of myself for finding such a good gift! I felt like patting myself on the back. Unfortunately my delight did not last long. Suddenly I began to question, did I order the DVDs or VHSs - the seller carried both versions?! I opened my Invoice and to my great horror, found that I had just ordered the VHS versions of the movies. I did cancel my orders immediately... only to find out a short while ago that both movies have been shipped!

Oh, no! I couldn't believe I did it again!

Right, what is the moral of my story - keep the peace. Become and stay organized!

There are some things we can do in order to make this hectic season more peaceful and definitely more fun and joyful for ourselves:

1. Compile a list of people for whom You desire to give a gift.

2. Write down the names of Your family members and close friends, including suitable gift ideas for each person.

3. Compose another list of friends and people whom You wish to bless with a keepsake... to make them smile :-)

4. When You have found a suitable gift for someone, make a mark on Your list.

5. Very important point - do not walk around a mall aimlessly buying things simply because they are on sale! You will receive quite a shock later on, when You do Your math, finding out the exact amount You spent on needless stuff. Shop-keepers know that people, when they see cheap things, think, although I did not intend to make a gift for this person nor that one, as those items are so marked down, I am going to purchase them for those people. You will end up spending more than You intended! Buy only with a purpose.

6. Write down certain goals for each day in order to peacefully prepare for Christmas. What a great relief to draw a line over a well done job in the end of each day! Besides, this is one of the habits we should all pick up and use daily. It has been scientifically proven that people who write down their goals fulfill 90% of them... while people who embrace their goals only in their minds manage to fulfill the mere 10% of their dreams.

7. Presents with a personal touch and wholly home-made gifts are most special. How about creating Your own home-made cards, candy, candles, Christmas decorations, jams or salad dressings. Gift preparations can be made into family fun with every member pitching in. Here are some home-made gift ideas that I found from blogs:

Brad suggested giving the gift of time or skill. Brad has given music lessons. He has colleagues who have given bike tune-ups and wine advice. What skills do you have? Can you help somebody set up a blog? Plant a garden? Learn to change the oil in their car?

Personal gift certificates also make great gifts. In essence, these are gifts of time. Give new parents a gift certificate for a night of baby-sitting so that they can enjoy a night on the town. Are you good with computers? Give your brother-in-law a gift certificate for free computer repairs.

"One Christmas when I was a poor college student, I leafed through children’s books at the library, looking for pages and pictures that reminded me of various friends. I photocopied these pages, colored them by hand, and then framed them with construction paper. I added a little note to each friend on the back of her piece. I spent maybe $10 total for all my gifts, though it took hours of my time. That was perfect: In college, I had plenty of time, but very little money, and making these things felt like an act of love. But giving somebody a CD I bought from Amazon? Not so much."

Lady Bonita suggests making personalized calendars: “You can buy calendar blanks or use a template from a program; add pictures of things or people meaningful to the recipient; add in important dates (birthdays and anniversaries of family & friends); and maybe a special note or quote every once in a while. For parents/students you can add in the school schedule; for homeowners you can add in a home maintenance schedule; etc. for sports fans, on & on. To make them extra special I sometimes add little treats - a couple dollars taped to a summer date for an ice-cream treat; a coupon for free babysitting on a weekend; video & popcorn night, etc.”

Or, you might create a spice sampler. Bulk spices can make an affordable and appreciated gift for anyone who loves to cook, or who is moving into a new kitchen. Don’t know which ones to choose? Find some tempting recipes that call for exotic spices, then include the recipes with the spices. Or, get creative and make a custom spice blend for a meat rub, marinade mix, salad dressing kit, dip, or seasoning

One lady made felt-backed tile trivets. You can find lots of beautiful tile designs at the home-improvement store. Sometimes the end of a lot can be had at a deep discount. Using a hot-glue gun, add a layer of felt to the back of a 6×6″ (or larger) tile, and you have a useful trivet for bringing a hot dish to the table.

One husband shares a splendid idea: "For several years, my wife and I gave each other love coupons. Sounds sappy, I know. But it was nice to be able to come home at the end of the day and redeem a coupon for a dinner out, or for a back rub, or for an evening watching a favorite movie."

It’s difficult to go wrong with themed gift baskets. Did you can your own pasta sauce over the summer? Use a colander for a basket, add some garlic bulbs, gourmet noodles, and a wooden spoon — a little taste of Italy. Or consider a breakfast basket. Or a breakfast basket (syrup and pancake mix), a movie basket (popcorn, candy, and a movie rental coupon), or a gardening basket (a trowel, a gardening hat, and some packets of seeds).

I have to admit that one of the ideas was most heart warming: a man decided to give gifts to his friends by supporting several different charities. He placed a print-out of a money transfer inside each Christmas card, letting his friends and family know which charity each of them helped to support.

I loved this gift idea! This man grasped the true meaning of Christmas - giving from the heart to those who cannot return the gift. God also gave His best for us - "His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Christmas indeed is a time of giving - charitable giving - helping and blessing those who cannot render the same to us. It might sound one sided, but believe me, it is not. We can never give without blessings returning to us. I love what Luke says, "Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you." (6:38)

Proverbs 11:24-25 reminds us, "There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered."

I believe that during this time of economic crises, helping those in need is the recipe of getting our own needs and desires fulfilled. On top of this our own joy will increase. Scientists agree with this point of view, saying that giving to others, helping those in need, helps especially those who tend to fall into depression during this time of a year. Through helping others we will be healing ourselves. It indeed is more blessed to give... and greater gifts will be showered upon us.

My friend Thomas Ehle sent me a petition to help his chosen charity. Those of You who have not yet picked the projects to support, this one might be the one that You can bless this Christmas time. Thomas writes:

I have started a fundraising campaign for "Operation Smile (OS). OS is a United Nations approved charity organization that conducts free of charge operations on babies and children with cleft lips and other facial deformities in underdeveloped and poverty-stricken countries. These babies and children would never otherwise get to be able to smile a beautiful smile.

The operations are conducted by qualified medical volunteers. An operation to fix a cleft lip costs as little as 240.00 USD. Imagine that! For only 240.00 USD you can make a difference. You can make sure that a child will not spend the rest of its life with a terrible facial deformity but give back a beautiful smile. http://support.operationsmile.org/goto/milliondollarsmile

My fundraising target is 100.000 USD. This amount will bring back joy and happiness to over 400 children and their families.

You do not need to spend a lot of money. Please help any way you can. Make a big donation. Make a small donation.

We all can do our large or small part... but never the less our part to make this Christmas more special for someone in need.

May You all have a wonderful, peaceful and joyful Christmas season,

Eve

Spirit-Mind-Body Health, Fitness & Beauty God's Way

http://www.TheSpringOfLife.net