Super-Speedy Book Reviews

Wherein The Frugal Hostess attempts to redeem herself with the various publishing houses that have sent her review copies of books by finally actually reviewing them. 

(All links in this post are affiliate links, which means that TFH gets a tiny commission if you buy them using these links.  She also gets a commission if you use a link from this site to buy anything on Amazon, so if you're a big Amazon shopper and want to send some cash to FruHo, do that.  FYI, this is not a lucrative source of income; TFH has made, like, $.68 since she joined the Amazon affiliates program a year ago.  But you can help change that.  Ahem.)

Super-Speedy Book Review #1: Gifts Cooks Love

This book has an awkward title, beautiful photography, and at least one really cute idea that FruHo will be stealing.  It's full of homemade food gift ideas that vary in difficulty.  It really would make a great gift for a cook, although TFH must say that it reminds her a great deal of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon.  The cute idea?  Make up little breakfast treat baskets for hostess gifts.  Fill them with coffee, muffins, homemade jam, etc.  Cute, right?

Super-Speedy Book Review #2: Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It: The DIY Guide to the Good Life by Billee Sharp

This book is so full of great ideas for saving money and living frugally that you could read it 12 times and still not absorb it all.  Luckily, it's a tiny size, so it won't take up too much space on your shelf.  This is a great thing to buy yourself if you've decided to live a greener lifestyle or just want to save money.  The tone is friendly and not at all sanctimonious, so you don't feel like slapping the author (which is so often the case with these kinds of books).  Right on, book!

Super-Speedy Book Review #3: The Frugal Foodie Cookbook by Lara Starr with Lynette Shirk

This is another cute little book that doesn't take up a lot of space.  It has recipes for making use of all your food so that you waste nothing.  There are lots of ideas for lunches to avoid eating out, and the piece de resistance is "Exponential Chicken," which is five nights worth of extremely varied menus made from one chicken poached on Sunday.  TFH loves the idea of that, although FruHubs would never, ever, ever be able to get behind that idea.  He freaks out about planning one day in advance, much less an entire week.  This would be a great gift for a recent college grad or newly-weds.

Super-Speedy Book Review #4: Mess by Keri Smith

FruHubs got TFH another of Smith's books (Wreck This Journal) a few years ago for Christmas.  It was cool: a journal with instructions on each page for taking unexpected action, like to rip the page out and tear it into tiny pieces.  FruHo never did a lot with the journal, though; it felt sort of awkward and silly.  This is another similar journal, but the instructions are better in this one (I-TFH-HO).  It also includes quotes and ideas for further research.  This is a great book for an artist or someone who needs to shake off some uptight-ness.

Super-Speedy Book Review #5: Salty Sweets by Christie Matheson 

O-TFH's-G, this is an awesome cookbook!  It is filled with recipes for things that combine - you guessed it - salt and sweet in interesting ways.  Some of most unusual are "Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Crostini," "Lavender Fleur de Sel Shortbread," and "Fig and Ricotta Pizza."  The Frugal Hostess made the recipe for dark chocolate coconut bars, and it was amazing!  If you or your loved ones are into salty sweets, definitely add this book to your shopping list.

The Frugal Hostess insists that you come hang out on Facebook. What? Like you don't already spend three hours there a day.

Guest Post: Hold the Wrapping Paper!

The Frugal Hostess loves to wrap gifts.  Honestly!  It's the way she made her mother-in-law love her - by wrapping all her Christmas gifts.  Here are some great ideas for alternatives to paper wrapping from Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer of www.NaturallySavvy.com.

Box it up
Hat boxes, fabric-wrapped storage boxes and photo boxes are great for "wrapping" gifts for any occasion, but are great options for winter holidays. They can be used for storage later on and they stand up to a few flurries better than paper. Add some fabric ribbon tied in a bow and you have a lovely package.

Basket case
Pile a bunch of small items into a banana leaf or wicker basket, and finish off with fabric ribbon secured with an ornament or a broach picked up from a second-hand store.

Textile
Wrap gifts in fabric remnants. You can pick up remnants at most fabric stores, often at 50 to 66 percent off the regular price. Fold the fabric around the gift and secure with raffia or a fabric ribbon, or sew a simple sac to hold anything from an iPod to a bottle of wine.

The Old World
Use out-of-date maps to wrap gifts you're giving to travel lovers. It's a great way to reuse a paper item before it hits the recycling bin. Secure with raffia or butcher's twine.

Jar head
Use a glass container or large mason jar for giving homemade treats. If you're sharing your favorite recipe, layer the dry ingredients in the jar, and attach the recipe to the jar with a ribbon.

If you truly can't resist the urge to tear away at a paper-wrapped gift, look for recycled wrapping paper. (Just say no to foils and sparkles.) And be sure to use every last scrap!

The Frugal Hostess insists that you come hang out on Facebook. What? Like you don't already spend three hours there a day.

DIY XMAS: Spa Salt

The Frugal Hostess is a big fan of bathing.  Just kidding.  But she does bathe.  Just kidding.  Who cares.  Let's just skip the formalities and get straight to the easiest gift to make ever: bath salts.  This is also super cheap, like about $2 for two to three gifts.  Just kidding.  But it's cheap.

OK, here we go.

Ingredients
Latching Mason jars (purchase for $1-$2 at the thrift store - not easy to locate at other stores)
Epsom salts (buy in the pharmacy section of your grocery store - $2.50 for about seven cups)
Food coloring (already had some,  no idea how much it costs)
Essential oils and/or extracts that smell good (orange, peppermint, almond, vanilla)
Carrier oil (which is supposed to be sweet almond or sesame oil, but can also be canola oil, which is much more frugal)

Directions
1.  Mix two cups of Epsom salts with 1/3 cup of oil.
2.  Add a few drops of oil or extract and a few drops of food coloring.  Stir until completely mixed.
3.  Spoon into jars.

Right?  Could this be better?  And by better FruHo means cheaper.  While The Frugal Hostess is making these for Christmas, they would make excellent birthday or Mother's Day gifts, or fun party favors for a baby or bridal shower.

A note on food coloring: So, you know how you've had the same four crusty bottles of food coloring next to your shaker of multi-colored sprinkles on the top shelf since your first apartment after college?  Well, TFH has some exciting news.  Umm, there are all kinds of new colors.  Neons ones.  Super exciting.  Get thee to the grocery store, post haste.

The Frugal Hostess hopes you bathe a lot. Like at least every other day.  Please comment. 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.

DIY XMAS: Candy

SPOILER ALERT: If you are expecting a Christmas gift from The Frugal Hostess, this might be it.  So, look away!

OK, seriously, you're still reading.  The Frugal Hostess could not be more broke, and this is really what you're getting.

Don't say she didn't warn you.

Remember a few weeks ago when The Frugal Hostess made truffles?  Here's the recipe, and here are some pictures.

This is sweetened condensed milk with chopped up maraschino cherries.  Once you add the chocolate and ball these up, they get rolled in Dutch process cocoa.  This is the easiest version of chocolate-covered cherries you can make, and they are delicious.

This is sweetened condensed milk with chopped up jalapeno peppers in it, and it is the base of a truffle that is a work in progress.  Theoretically, you sift cocoa and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper together, then roll the truffles in that and top with a piece of candied jalapeno (cut into strips, cover with brown sugar and butter, bake for 30-45 minutes).  However, that does not taste good.  Or peppery.  Just tasted like dusty chocolate.  Any suggestions?

And this is sweetened condensed milk with ground coffee beans.  Add the chocolate, roll into balls, coat with white chocolate, and top with chocolate-covered coffee beans.

See?  Chocolate.  Yum-o-riffic.

The Frugal Hostess loves candy. Please comment. 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.

DIY XMAS: Stack of Books

In honor of faithful reader, Karen, today's DIY XMAS is for the book-lover on your list.  The Frugal Hostess herself is a voracious reader, and she would absolutely love a gift like this.

Cheap and easy, as you've come to expect from FruHo, is the name of the game when giving a Stack of Books.  Here are the steps:

1.  Identify four or five interests of your intended giftee.  For TFH, this would be: entertaining, old-fashioned preserving, etiquette, 1960s left political movements, art - well, she could go on and on, but you get the idea.  If your recipient isn't forthcoming about her interests, you might list some key characteristics like national origin or heritage, hometown or home state, or profession.  You'll need to have at least a few options for each person,because you can't count on finding everything you need in one store.

2.  Go to the thrift store or used book store and pick out volumes that relate to the interest(s) you've identified.  In The Frugal Hostess's opinion, it's better to buy four books about gardening than one each about gardening, cooking, yarn, and pet rocks.  There's just something more appealing about a stack of different takes on one subject.

3.  Be sure that the books you choose are quite obviously old, rather than appearing to be your own cast-offs.  While this may seem counter-intuitive, the point of this gift is that you selected several old books on a subject the recipient likes, rather than that you had a stack of books lying around and felt like you could pass them along.  Make sense?

4.  Wrap them individually but tie a ribbon around the whole package.  That would be fun to open.

5.  Bonus options: 
- Add a card that says something like, "I know you love to knit, so I found a bunch of interesting old knitting books for you to look at." 
- Decorate the package with something that hints at the contents, like a pair of knitting needles or something.  That would be cool.  Although perhaps a bit dangerous if they're sharp.  But, as an adult, The Frugal Hostess is certain you will make the right decision.
- Create a bookmark to go with the theme of the books.  Just make sure it's not too dorky.  Bookmarks walk a fine line.

Voila - cheap and easy, just like we like it!

The Frugal Hostess has read everything. Would you like to challenge her to a speed-reading contest?  If so, please comment. 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.

DIY XMAS: Cinnamon Rolls

OK, sorry, The Frugal Hostess has yet to post a single episode of the DIY XMAS series.  Oops.  She's been working on it, don't you worry, but she realized that two of her three total readers are family members and thus potential DIY XMAS gift recipients who, you know, might not like to know how cheap their gift was prefer a surprise.  So, TFH had to do a bit of shuffling.  But, she's supposedly got it together now, so let the D-ing IY commence!

Well, except for, in just this one case, FruHo is DI-ing it a la The Pioneer Woman and Paula Deen.  (And, seriously, if you read this blog and don't read The Pioneer Woman, you have your priorities completely jacked up and need to have your internet connection taken away.)  With some major minor changes, as per usual.

These cinnamon rolls are a great holiday gift for neighbors and co-workers.  It's also a good idea to make these if you'll have a lot of holiday company, as they are impressive (play up the "from scratch" angle) and make the house smell good.  And, you know how TFH feels about cinnamon, so these must be good if she will choke them down.

While The Frugal Hostess is ordinarily quite firmly opposed to disposable, well, anything other than toilet paper, delivering or freezing these in disposable aluminum pie pans is a good way to accomplish using them for a gift, unless you have been buying up pie pans at the thrift store for a few months.  New pie pans = $6 or so, whereas a package of three aluminum pans is about $1.50.  Again, this is only for anyone experiencing the drier end of a cash flow problem; if you have enough to budget about $10 per person, make the pie pan the real gift and the cinnamon rolls a bonus.

Here are directions for making 12-15 rolls adapted from Paula Deen; The Pioneer Woman has a big batch recipe if you want to make a great deal at once.

Ingredients

Dough
1/4 oz pkg yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk (you know, just under boiled.  TFH always adds a splash more to account for the milk that sticks to the pan.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3.5 - 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling
1/2 cup melted butter (use the extra for the pan)
3/4 granulated sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
Optional raisins and/or pecans


Icing
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons of hot water

Directions - Make dough and let rise for 60-90 minutes. 

1.  Dissolve yeast in warm water.  TFH usually adds a pinch of sugar and whisks this lightly, as it supposedly "feeds" the yeast and makes it more excited or something.  Who knows if this is actually necessary.
2.  In a large bowl, mix milk, butter, salt, and egg.  Add two cups of flour and mix, then add yeast mixture.  Add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough is easy to handle (although it will still be sort of sticky).  TFH found 3.5 cups, plus another perhaps eighth of a cup, of flour were plenty.
3.  Kneed for five minutes or so on a floured surface, then place in a greased bowl and cover to let rise, at least one hour.  Cooking spray is fine for greasing the bowl, and you can just rinse out the ingredients bowl and use it again rather than dirtying up a new bowl.

Make the rolls, and let them rise again.  Unlike the South.

4.  When dough has doubled in size, punch it down like that dough has thoroughly pissed you off.
5.  Roll out on floured surface to about 15" by 9".  Easier said than done, of course, but your best bet may be rolling it too big and folding over the excess, since it won't affect the appearance of the final product.
6.  Melt filling butter and brush all over the rolled out dough, followed by the sugar and cinnamon (mix together first).  Add any optional ingredients.
7.  This is the exciting part!  Roll the filled dough longways (from the 15" side), and then pinch the crease to the roll to seal it.  GIANT LOG OF CINNAMON ROLLS!!!  Cut the log into slices (12-15, with 14 being the ideal amount for two aluminum pie pans).

8.  After you butter the pan(s) and sprinkle sugar all over the place (fine to use leftover sugar and cinnamon mixture, BTW), arrange the rolls closetogether and let rise for another 45 minutes.
9.  Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Make the icing while the rolls are baking.  Please note, ingredients listed produce about twice as much icing as you actually need.  You could use the excess on cookies or some gross foods you may have received.


10.  Mix melted icing butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together.  Then add hot water a little bit at a time until you like the thickness of the icing.
11.  Spread icing on rolls after letting them sit for ten minutes.

Long-Term Planning

The Frugal Hostess suggests that you make and bake off rolls for gifts before freezing, rather than refrigerating or freezing the raw dough.  This dough gets a little tough when it sits, so you are better off to freeze the baked rolls and then ice them when you're ready.  TFH promises, because her mama told her so, that baked goods do really well in the freezer, so quit worrying (lookin' at you, FruHubs).

The Frugal Hostess loves Christmas! That is all.

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.

Paper Fetish

Like many a lady, The Frugal Hostess admits to a certain fetish for paper. Stationery and art supplies knock her socks off, and she knows the difference between an A2 and an A4 envelope. Please don’t show her any embellished file folders or odd-shaped paper clips, or she’ll be forced to purchase them. In fact, TFH is one of the few people on earth who enjoys wrapping Christmas presents. All of this paper is expensive, though, and not just financially. The production of paper causes air pollution, solid waste, water and energy consumption, and all manner of unnecessary trouble. Check here and here and here and here for details. So what is a frugal fetishist to do? Well, in the case of The Frugal Hostess, she has decided to try to make some compromises that allow her to indulge her paper fantasies while positively impacting the environmental realities. First, here are the easy ones.
1. Change from regular to recycled toilet paper. If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees. Keep in mind that all brands are most decidedly not created equal, and TFH does not want you to suffer. She recommends Seventh Generation, which is softer than most and 100% recycled (80% post-consumer).
2. Limit yourself to one or two rolls of recycled paper towels per month (yes, you heard correctly). Take all of your stained bath towels and cut them into rags. Do the same with old tee-shirts. And buy a stack of matching dish towels that are attractive enough to hang in plain site but cheap enough that staining them will not break your heart. Get out the cloth napkins you have, and/or buy some that meet the above attractive but cheap qualifications. Then, when you spill something, wipe it up with a washable rag. When you eat dinner (or lunch, or breakfast), wipe your mouth with a cloth napkin. Clean your furniture with tee-shirt rags. You get it. You might need paper towels for a few things, like soaking up bacon grease or killing a roach, but most things that you use paper towels for are better accomplished using their washable siblings.
3. Switch sides. Of your printer paper, that is. Use a box or tray to collect paper that’s blank on one side. Cut some into quarters that you staple together to make notepads, and use the rest for scratch sheets and coloring canvasses.
Now, slightly harder: One of the more difficult projects The Frugal Hostess undertook last Christmas was to use only recycled wrapping supplies for her gifts (that may be why she talks about that so much on this blog, now that she thinks about it). In addition to reusing gift bags and tissue, TFH collected brown paper grocery bags on days when she forgot her cloth ones (they still have them, many with convenient handles). When the time came to wrap gifts, she carefully unglued the seams of the paper bags to make the biggest pieces possible, then cut them to size for her gifts. Using a snowflake stamp and some silver ink, TFH dotted each gift with a random dusting of snowflakes, and she tied them each with a piece of shiny, real ribbon. These were pretty cute, and they accomplished the no new wrapping paper goal.
However, this year, TFH has started collecting the bags early, and she’s planning to try out some more complicated techniques. She’s thought about sponge painting – not the faux finish kind popular in the 1990s. TFH plans to dilute paint with water, dip a sponge in it, and make wide stripes of color on the bags. If she does this far enough in advance, the paper will have plenty of time to dry. She’s also thought about using punches to cut out shapes, which she will back with recycled tissue paper. This should give the gift some texture and visual interest.
What other things could The Frugal Hostess do to brown paper bags to make them more exciting as gift wrap? Leave your ideas in the comments, and look for a post about this project in the next few weeks.

photo by Lara604

Make It Yourself Monday on Tuesday: Booze Treats

The Frugal Hostess had a busy weekend, so busy that she forgot to post this yesterday! So, please enjoy a special Tuesday edition of Make It Yourself Monday.
Fair Reader, you may remember that The Frugal Hostess mentioned making vanilla and vinegar for holiday gifts. This, along with comments from reader Liza's, set TFH off on a bender of booze-making. Here are some of the things she made:
1. Vanilla: Nothing could be easier. Buy the cheapest vodka you can find. Pour some out into a jar. Shove in a bunch of vanilla beans. [Vanilla beans are expensive, but this is the cheapest place to get them - only $20 per pound!] Use a funnel to fill the bottle up with as much as you can of the vodka you poured out. Stick in basement or back of closet for a few months (four to six). Decant into little bottles, make cool labels, and give as gifts. This is really the best vanilla you will ever taste.
2. Vinegar: Save all of the dregs of your bottles of red wine. TFH understands that you usually drink all of your wine and doesn't blame you. However, you might try pouring half a cup into a jar for a few weeks (days? You wino!). When you have a good amount, cover the top with a coffee filter, paper towel, or piece of cheesecloth and hide in basement or dark closet. After six months, you will have vinegar. Please note that you won't want to add more wine after you've started, as it will prolong the amount of time it takes to vinegar-ize. Just keep saving the wine in a different container, and start a new vinegar when you have enough. A jar or crock with a spout is good for making vinegar, since you can use the spout to pour off what you need. Also, The Frugal Mother recommends filtering one's vinegar through a coffee filter, but The Frugal Hostess is just rebellious enough to have ignored that advice. This is another thing that is cool to bottle and give as gifts.
3. Limoncello and other infused boozes: Also super easy. TFH followed a recipe for the limoncello and then modified it to make other stuff. It will be ready in about six more weeks, so stay tuned for an update. Essentially, you put your flavoring agent (lemon zest, leftover limes food-processed to death, and dried apricots are currently brewing) into a jar of cheap, nasty vodka. Let these sit for two weeks, shaking daily. After that, make simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar boiled into a syrup), and add to vodka that has been drained of flavoring agent. You can also add flavors to the simple syrup, such as lemon juice for the limoncello. Time will tell if this turns out to taste good!
4. Ginger beer: Beer is a stupid name for this, in The Frugal Hostess's humble opinion. It is non-alcoholic and has no bubbles. In fact, it tastes sort of like poison until you mix it up, at which point is turns delicious. But TFH gets ahead of herself. Peel a bunch of fresh ginger. This is supposedly an easy thing to grow, but TFH hasn't tried yet, so she bought about two pounds of it. Once peeled, cut into uniform pieces (you know, just so they'll fit in the Cuisinart; don't kill yourself over it). Put in food processor with one cup of water and process like crazy. Then, and this is the messy/annoying part, scoop the pulp into a mesh sieve positioned over a bowl. Using a plastic scraper or spoon, press down on the pulp to push out all the juice, which is - strangely enough - bright yellow! It smells so good, too. You should do this two or three more times (process with cup of water, squeeze out juice). You'll get a lot more juice than you expect, so have a large container for it. (TFH filled a handle-sized vodka bottle and a large jar.) Add one cup of fresh lime juice and three cups of sugar, then shake it up. You're done! However, it will be very strong, so here is TFH's recommendation for consuming. Fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Pour in a quarter cup of ginger beer, and add two ounces of dark rum. Stir, then fill the rest of the glass with soda water. Garnish with a lime. Enjoy!

Ginger beer recipe modified from "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" by Karen Solomon.
Photos by The Frugal Hostess.

Tuesday To-Dos

The Frugal Hostess, as she's mentioned, is a planner. And, since she's cheap, it makes sense to do a lot of advanced planning if she wants to make things herself or look for supplies at garage sales. Here are some of her to-dos for the next week:

1. Start vanilla and vinegar for Christmas gifts. They each take about six months of sitting in the basement. These are super cheap and easy gifts to make, and they are actually useful, unlike some of the CPC that people give as "gesture gifts." TFH will look for cool bottles to put them in at her regular thrift stores.

2. Think about Halloween decorations. Look through craft supplies to see what Halloween items are there. Flip through old magazines for ideas.

3. Pick a date to host a Midnight Supper party. This will most likely be in late September so that dinner can take place outside. Maybe look at a full moon night?

photo by Joe Lanman