Misty's Top 10 heartfelt, low cost, holiday gift ideas~

With so many Holidays right around the corner, you are probably wondering how to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Here are my top 10 Heart Felt, Low Cost, Hand Made or Recycled Gift Ideas for 2011.  Enjoy!

1. Create a handwritten list of all the things you love and appreciate about a person. Be creative. The list can include things like: I love the way you fold the towels, or I love the way you make yourself available when I call. For kids you might include how you appreciate how passionately they care about animals, or how you love the way they do their chores without being asked. 

2. Make a personalized collage. Take some old magazines and cut out words, phrases, and images that represent the essence of a person you love. Glue them on to paper in the shape of a heart, and frame your one of a kind collage, now a beautiful piece of artwork to be cherished for a lifetime.

This next one is great for young kids:

3. If you are a parent, you probably have lots of nubby crayons around the house that need a new purpose. Transforming them is simple. Take the paper off the nubs and

separate the crayons into color categories. Chop the crayons into small pieces and place them in a shallow layer in the bottom of a muffin pan or cookie mold tin. Put them in a 150 degree oven for about 45 minutes, and tada! New crayons in fun shapes that kids will love! Put them in a recycled cookie tin and include a few coloring sheets printed from the internet.

These two are big hits with the teen and preteen set.

4. Remember those old LPs in the closet that haven't been played in years? Time for their reincarnation as bowls and trays. Place a metal mixing bowl face up in a 125 degree oven and set a record on top. Make sure the bowl is a bit smaller than the record so that it can fall evenly into the bowl as it warms. In a few minutes it will mold into a functional piece of art! When your creations have cooled, leave them be, or paint them for added flair. 

5. Make a "Secret Hollow" book by perusing a thrift store for a large hardback. Glue the first several pages together, then leave a space, and glue the rest of the pages together. When dry, use an exacto knife to hollow out a secret compartment inside the book!

Number 6 is my favorite gift for new families. Create Gift Certificates, hand made or on the computer for a task or tasks you are willing to complete. Some ideas are : a night of babysitting, cooking a favorite meal, washing the car, etc.

Number 7 is a favorite among grandparents . Purchase plain t shirts in appropriate sizes and have the grand kids put their hand prints on it with multicolored paint. Easy, inexpensive, and fun!

The last three are really sweet and appropriate for  individuals or the whole family. 

8. Remember playing "Memory" as a child? Ask members of your family to contribute 2 small sized identical photos. Cut cardstock into same size squares and glue onto wrapping paper that has a small, complex pattern (this is so you can't tell one card from another without seeing the picture on the other side.) Glue the pictures of Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins on the plain side. Cut out the cards. You now have a "Family Memory Game" that can be added to with each new family member, and played for years to come!

9.Create a vision board. Photoshop an image of Aunt Sue into a stock photo of the Swedish Countryside where she has always dreamed of visiting, or create an image of your teenaged son in his dream car. The possibilities are endless for this one! Print the images and glue them onto poster board with room to add more as new visions are awakened. This is a wonderful way to say: I support you in manifesting your fondest heart's desires!

10. Create a 365 day "Jar of Memories". Collaborate with the whole family on this one. Write on small slips of paper a heartfelt memory shared with a family member or friend. Collect 365 and put them in a mason jar with a ribbon wrapped round. For the next year, the recipient can open the jar, and take out a cherished memory to read every day!

Homemade gifts are inexpensive, fun to make, and truly come from the heart, while having little or no impact on the planet. I hope you and your family enjoy them!