ANSWER TO THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY: A Nisse is a little gnome-like creature. Read more about it here.
At Christmas, these elf-like creatures help Kris Kringle but in Norwegian folklore one actually became Santa Claus. God Jul is Merry Christmas.
AND NOW FOR EARTH-FRIENDLY FRIDAY:
Lights, Camera…Christmas!
Okay, I want to set a green holiday scene but this is the one time of the year I splurge a little – at least when it comes to lights. I can’t help it. I love the holidays – always have. The rest of the year I am so watt-wise. But don’t worry, there are other ways we can go green without looking like we’ve turned into the Grinch who Stole Christmas.
Here are a few tips that I’ve been using for years.
1) Collect flower seeds all summer and then dry them in the basement or another cool dry place, package them in pretty envelopes, and make hand-printed labels to give the Seeds of Friendship.
2) I use old fabrics and cut them down and sew them into dishtowels, then I wrap my gifts in this recycled fabric. It’s easy to add ribbons and/or other embellishments to make them picture perfect.
3) Mix up your favorite cookie dough or hot spiced drink and then package it in a clean, glass container to give to a hurried mom. You can add a nice cookie sheet or mug to make the present even more practical. It’s easy to have home-baked cookies when the batters already mixed up and waiting in the refrigerator. Or, how about a nice cup of spiced cocoa? Just add some peppermint shavings to create a peppermint cocoa mix.
4) I also save scrap fabrics and sew them into beautiful Christmas scarves. If you don’t have scrap material sitting around, buy a yard or two of pretty fabric and you can sew plenty of projects for co-workers, friends or family.
5) If you can’t sew, you can buy a nice fleece material and merely cut the edges to make it into a pretty scarf.
6) There are also plenty of free-patterns on-line. Print out an easy knitting project, buy a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn to give to a young lady on your list. Knitting is cool again, so is crocheting. These are inexpensive presents that will stretch your budget and keep packaging to a minimum. Plus the result will be something useful, like a scarf, sweater, or hat.
Posts
9 comments:
Oh, I wish I would make the time to do homemade gifts. Having the talent would help too.
I did make cookie-mix-in-a-jar one year and everyone liked that. Then about a year later, the stores started carrying pre-made ones. It kind of took the fun out of it.
Rena: You're a trend setter!
And, oh, it's so easy to sew and knit. I'll do a post soon that has a couple of easy projects.
Plus a homemade (old family) recipe - can't be beat. I have an old Danish cookie recipe I'll post next week.
It's called Brune Kager. It is an almond flat crunchy cookie - very unusual.
I love your homemade gift ideas. And fabric-wrapped gifts look so pretty. My fabric scrap basket is getting too full...time to do something creative with it.
En lille nisse rejste..... the first word of a old Danish Christmas tune.
When I make crafts, my friends think they are gag gifts.
Good ideas though.
Oh! I should have known that answer! In fifth grade I did an actual report on gnomes!
Kim, could you post a picture of one of your dish towels? I love that idea!
Amy: I will - maybe Wednesday. I took some pics of the scarves and have been meaning to get that posted too.
I'm going to do my best to make homemade gifts this year...I'm starting this coming weekend...just in case they don't turn out...I still have time to buy something...grin...
Post a Comment