How to Plan a Homemade Christmas

Remember the days of popcorn and cranberry garland and paper snowflakes on the window? With everyone thinking frugally this holiday season, an old-fashioned homemade Christmas is making a comeback. But how do you plan a homemade Christmas that is fun, simple and still beautiful? Following are a few easy to make ideas for holiday goodies.

Homemade Decorations

Making holiday decorations by hand is an activity that not only produced unique Christmas creations but can also bring the whole family together. Stringing cranberries to wrap around the Christmas tree is always fun. All you need is some thick thread or string, a bag of fresh raw cranberries and a large craft needle for each person. Thread the string and gently stick the needle through the center of each cranberry.

For the windows you can make paper snowflakes. Children as young as three or four can help create one-of-a-kind designs in plain white paper. Adults then can cut the designs out and unfold the paper to produce beautiful snowflakes for the window panes.

Homemade Cards

Family and close friends will appreciate handmade cards much more than the generic store-bought ones. If you have children, you can have them draw or paint pictures on the front. You can also draw or paint to decorate the cards. Or you can stencil a pattern yourself if you lack artistic ability. Don't forget to write a little holiday message on the inside of the card with your signature.

Homemade Desserts/Goodies

Break out Grandma's old recipes and whip up a batch of gingerbread men. Sugar cookies are fun because you can use cookie cutter to make holiday shapes and then your choose of extras to decorate the cookies to your liking. Fudge is always a family favorite and there are almost endless flavor possibilities.

Homemade Presents

Gifts that are made by hand can be a bit trickier. After all you don't want to look cheap but you also don't want to spend an arm and leg making a gift with saving money is the goal. As a writer one of my favorite handmade gifts is a personalized poem or bit of prose printed out on special fancy paper purchased at an office supply store and placed in a nice frame bought at the local dollar store for half what it is worth. Another simple gift idea is a gift jar. You can fill a jar with the dry ingredients to a favorite recipe (the recipient's favorite, not yours).

Dress up the outside of the jar with a piece of fabric over the lid and a pretty ribbon around the rim. Finish it off with a printed card of the recipe on one side and a holiday design on the other.

Homemade holidays don't have to take a lot of skill or talent to pull off. All you need is some time, willingness and a good Christmas spirit.