Very Last Minute Home Made Gift Ideas For Christmas

It is amazing to me that we are so close to Christmas. Is December the fastest month of the year or what? Like blinking my eyes....we are putting up our Christmas tree and taking it back down again. Sigh.

So for these last few days before Santa officially arrives on scene, I gathered some last minute home made gift ideas and crafts for those of us needing some last minute ideas!

Salt Dough Christmas Decorations/Gifts These make awesome last minute homemade Christmas gifts for grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, babysitters, and teachers!

All that is needed:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water

Directions:
1. Mix salt and flour. (Adding in some cinnamon will make great ginger bread men and bears!) Also, add some food coloring to make colorful dough!
2. Add in half the water, then gradually add the remaining water.
3. Knead until the dough is smooth, this can take up to 10 minutes.
4. For flat dough ornaments roll out the dough on baking paper
5. Use cookie cutters to make stars, angels, Christmas tree shapes, etc. Poke a hole with straw or a toothpick for hanging your decorations later!
6. braid three strands of dough to make wreaths (use water as a "glue" when braiding and forming dough)


Bake in oven @325 dergrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Time may vary depending on how thick the dough is, your oven, etc, so just keep an eye on them.

Then decorate away! Use paints, beads, markers, crayons, whatever your creative minds come up with!

Make Some Easy and Cheap Christmas Treats

Melt some chocolate and make some yummy inexpensive Holiday gifts from your kitchen!

Dip pretzels, dried apricots, marshmallows, strawberries and assorted cookies for delicious treats you can give in baskets or Christmas tins. Dip spoons to make a "chocolate spoon" for stirring coffee and hot chocolate with. (see below for a recipe for a cute Chocolate spoon recipe and gift idea!)

Chocolate Dipped Spoons in a Mug Gift Idea

Melt chocolate. For variety, melt some white chocolate as well. You can use metal spoons or plastic spoons for this recipe. Just dip the spoon in the chocolate, making sure to caot evenly. Let dry, then dip in the chocolate again for a thicker coating. You can coat with sprinkles, m&m pieces, crushed candy for an extra touch. Then let dry. Wrap each spoon in cellophane and tie with a red or green ribbon.
To make a cute gift, do a collection of plastic spoons with a variety of white, dark chocolate coatings, and add liqueur or extract like kahlua, mint, or coffee to the chocolate. Place all spoons, individually wrapped in cellophane, in a new mug.

Should You Use That Artificial Christmas Tree This Christmas?

Yes, I know we have not even gotten past Halloween yet, but Christmas is on your mind anyway, am I right? If you are one of the lucky ones that can stay focused on one holiday at a time, I am jealous but may I remind you, gently, that you will be thinking of tinsel and gifts soon?

So in the spirit of everything Christmas, have you thought about the Christmas Tree you will put up this year? My parents always had a real tree for us kids, and my hubbs and I always have gotten a real Christmas Tree every year too. My daughter would never have it any other way. But I have thought many times of getting an artificial tree for reasons like less mess, instant set-up ( some trees even come with lights already attached?!), no drying out and loose needles falling about, and we could put it up earlier and leave it up longer, if we wanted to. But like I said, my daughter would never ever let an artificial tree enter our house...so we stayed with the real thing each year so far.

But now with all the latest news about the health hazards associated with the plastic PVC, which has been called the most toxic plastic, I am so happy my daughter kept us on the real Christmas Tree program. So this year before you decide on what kind of Christmas Tree you'll put up, remember that older artificial Christmas Trees are most likely made with PVC plastic.

At Healthychild.org, an article discusses the potential dangers associated with PVC and artificial Christmas Trees. PVC contains significant amounts of lead as a stabilizer. Foundation E.A.R.T.H. has discovered that, as plastic artificial Christmas trees trees age, they release lead dust, which can collect on tree branches and even on the floor beneath the tree. Most of the plastic trees come from China and may exceed U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommendations for lead levels in consumer products. We all know how toxic Lead is, and that it has the potential of producing long-term behavioral and brain damage, even at low doses.

If you do use an artificial tree, don't let your children touch or handle a plastic tree or crawl underneath it. Don't keep presents underneath it either, as they will collect any lead dust that falls. And think about buying a fresh tree this year—it's a renewable resource that can be recycled!

More tips on keeping children lead-free can be found at Healthychild.org.