Christmas is coming… well kind of soon at least; and I am one of those people… wanting to get hands on their gifts at least a generation before it has to be given.
This Christmas is a bit special though, for this Christmas we will still be in the midst of a pandemic.
Just a week ago, Denmark tightened their grasp in North Jutland. This means most of us (luckily, I was not affected, but my whole family were), cannot just go out and get gifts. It is necessary to either buy them online, or make them yourself.
This also means lots of people are either losing their jobs, or at best only going for some time without income (to some extend). I know a lot of places has it much worse, with some “simply” loosing their job and all their incomes.
Therefore, this Christmas (or almost Christmas) we are looking at some Christmas gifts we can give or make for (mostly) free, just in case we got no money left over, or simple want to save some.
Some of these “recipes” do need you to have bought something in advance; but thinking most people would already have this at home, I do still count these ideas as free.
You can also join me and my craftiness (lol) on my YouTube Channel.
- Wrapping paper
Even though this is not a real gift, wrapping a gift up is also a part of Christmas. Wrapping paper is not really expensive (it is certainly not in Denmark), but if we are trying to save either our money (or the planet) wrapping with stuff you already got might be better.
Old cloths, fabric or newspaper can easily be used instead of thrown away.
The card can simply be made of paper, cut out or drawn by yourself.
- Homemade Gift Card
This one we usually either give or get every year in my family.
We normally just print out a piece of paper with the gift card and some pictures of what you can use it for.
Some years it’s a massage, cleaning of the car, promising to make dinner or other small tasks.
For my and Morten’s moving in present this year, we got a gift card for 5 times of food and experiences with family. Those 5 times looked like this: 1. Food at parents’ place. 2. Trip to forest, food at parent’s place. 3. Food at parents place 4. Grabs food and eats at your place. 5. Food at parents’ place.
- Homemade Board game
Do you have some cardboard or maybe just some paper and pencils, you can make your own board game. If your creative skills are good, you might even enjoy making it too.
Snakes and Ladders is a great game you can make. It does not have to be snakes or ladders either, but the set up of the game is pretty easy and can be made in many ways. It could be a fairytale land with princes and princesses, animals in the zoo or food products. The playing pieces can be knickknacks, stones or whatever you feel fits. The dice you can choose to provide, or maybe the ones getting the gift already has one.
Other board game ideas could be cluedo, monopoly or memory match. - Food or drink mixes
A popular gift I often see on social media is pre measured recipes for especially hot drinks or baked goods.
Hot chocolate on a stick (with lots of sprinkles or other extra ingredients), pancake mix, chocolate chip cookies or Potpourri (to make their home really smell like Christmas).
The base of this idea is to take the dry ingredients and stack nicely in a jar, or package them nicely. Remember to put on a tag with the recipe or to-dos so they know what to do.
- Framed pictures
If you got a printer at home this might be easy peasy. Find a picture frame (we always got some in the cellar that I forget to use) and simply print out a fitting picture. If you like, you can even write on a personal message either on the picture or in a message.
- Homemade food
Are you great at making jam, pickling onions or do you maybe make the best fudge ever? Well that gift can be greatly appreciated. It won’t cost much if not nothing at all, and is often pretty easy.
- Weather rock
This one is very easy but very funny. A weather rock is simply as it sounds; a rock that tells the weather. Instead of me trying to explain, let me show you what comes up when you ask the internet.
- Paper/Origami bookmarks
These I have done quite some times, and one of my favorites is a heart bookmark made from an old book. Even if you do not want to fold the paper to get the effect, you can still just make a triangle for the corner and draw or paint on that. - Message jar.
This is kind of similar to my memory jar that I have at home. You simply fill a jar with notes that you either roll or fold up. You can make a message for every day for a year, every week, month or special occasion. What the messages say are up to you, it can be love notes, notes of memories you and the gift taker has had or things that you find amazing about the receiver.
- Home knitted, crocheted or sewn items
Be it a scarf, potholders or mittens; getting a personalized gift can be great. I still remember getting these wrist warmers from my Aunt when I turned 20. I loved them and I still do.
Christmas is not about giving or getting the biggest, best or most beautifully wrapped thing as a present. It is about sharing time with the people you love, showing them how much you care.
And though a nice expensive gift can be great, it is not obligatory and definitely not a direct interpretation of how much you love someone.
I hope these ideas were helpful to some of you, and if you got other ideas, leave them in the comments; I would love to hear!
I hope you all have a happy life, one day at a time
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