Christmas Handicrafts

A few Christmases ago, The Frugal Hostess was flat broke.  She and FruHubs had spent a ton of money on their wedding [and, yes, their parents paid for everything, so how they accomplished that level of post-wedding poverty remains mysterious but may or may not be related to a year-long spending spree on things "for the wedding/honeymoon/to celebrate our engagement/because we're celebrating/etc."] and were living in a part of town they couldn't really afford.  Meanwhile, TFH had recently begun drinking an Al Gore-flavored Kool-Aid that made her want to decrease her consumption [conveniently, this coincided with a time when she would be consuming on behalf of others rather than herself].  So, she decided to make each and every one of the Christmas gifts that she and FruHubs would be giving to anyone.

Have you ever Googled "homemade Christmas gift" or "Christmas crafts"?  If you haven't, The Frugal Hostess will spare you.  Almost every result is either something made of macaroni like a small child would create (and then be too embarrassed to give you) or something so ridiculously complicated that you spend more money on the equipment that you would purchasing the non-homemade version of the same thing.  Hmmph.  Pipette, Martha?  Really???

Some parts of this DIY XMAS plan were easy.  TFH had gotten into paper crafts and had, before poverty struck, purchased a ton of supplies for making her own greeting cards and gift tags.  She bought a bunch of cheap wrapping supplies at after-Christmas sales the year before, and she had started her Regifting Closet.  So, you know, she wasn't totally screwed.

However.

However, there was a lot of this that was exceedingly hard and annoying.  So this year, as her Christmas gift to you, The Frugal Hostess plans to give you detailed instructions for make-it-yourself presents that are A.) not made of macaroni, and B.) don't require a huge amount of special equipment.  Merry Christmas!!!*

To get you started, here are some past posts that include great DIY presents.  TFH has a long list of things she'll be making on your behalf, but if you have an idea you'd like her to try, leave it in the comments or email it to frugalhostess [at] gmail [dot] com.

Homemade Grenadine
Limoncello and Other Cordials - PLEASE NOTE: these take six to eight weeks, so start now if you're doing them for Christmas!
Dog Biscuits

*On the whole Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays debate, TFH comes down firmly on the side of say what you celebrate.  If you celebrate Kwanzaa, tell people, "Happy Kwanzaa."  If you celebrate Hanukkah, wish someone, "Happy Hanukkah."  And, obviously, if you celebrate Christmas, say, "Merry Christmas."  If you don't have a tradition, or if your tradition is one without nomenclature like Festivus or Solstice or Commercialus, and yet you still (maybe oddly) feel the need to throw out a seasonal wish, say, "Happy Holidays."  Just because you don't celebrate Hanukkah doesn't mean you should get offended at someone wishing you a happy one.  Duh.  Don't be an asshole.

photo by Kevin Dooley and Hans van de Bruggen

The Frugal Hostess wishes you the happiest of Happy Kwanzaas. Please send a card, or a comment of you're so inclined. You can also join the Frugalistas on Facebook for exclusive content, follow on Twitter @frugalhostess, or subscribe so that you always know when a new post appears.