Homemade Gifts...

Princess was sick last night (more fun for us with lots of vomiting), and so she had the morning at home today.

We spent the morning putting together her special gifts for her kindy teachers and friends.
I had run out of time to think what to get, so made use of what I had in the cupboard, but I think these gifts bundles look pretty special?

They contain: Christmas Mince pies and bites, some Cadbury favourites, Hershey Kisses and candy canes. We made love hearts and stars out of glittery pipecleaners to jazz them up, and wrapped the whole lot in cellophane with a big bow.

When Princess had her "broken leg" I had ordered some beads from AJMs. They are so reasonable and the package came so quickly, I totally recommend this website. The acrylic beads were about .01c each! They also have that great stretching wire for threading; so guess what we made? Bracelets for all her friends.


I packaged them in these cute gauze bags I had left over from the Fairy party. Hmmm, I am feeling very crafty and pleased with myself!

It's very fortunate that I got in early with organising the extended family's gifts this year, with all that has happened. I went for a pretty-much home-made approach for the grandparents... (Grandma if you're tempted to read this, back away slowly!!)

One of our great finds were DIY Photo Blocks, $13 for a set of 3 available on TradeMe (the service from this seller was very prompt, I recommend this guy). I photographed some of the kids' most vibrant artwork (with the setting on macro) and then got prints done on matt photographic paper. With the photo blocks being 4x4 square, it was easy to peel the adhesive, apply the print then trim around the edges for a perfect fit. They are available in black or white. I was so pleased with the finished result. Each Grandmother got a set of 3.

Another staple for the Christmas Parcels was a family 12-month calendar from DigitalMax. A few years ago I tried doing my own, and by the time I had bought ink cartridges, special heavy paper, and spiral binding the cost was about $20 each, with a lot of hard work and frustration.

The DigitalMax ones are fantastic - the best I have got from anywhere. They are on a lovely thick A4 card, with nice wire spiral-binding. You can choose themes and backgrounds; you can add text and highlight special dates with photos and text. They cost $24.95 each but duplicates are 20% off. The best thing about these gifts is you can do it without having to leave home!

I also made a few people PhotoBooks; the small ones are great value at $19.95 for 7x5 size, also with 20% off for duplicates.

DigitalMax sent an email round - you can still order in time for Christmas until midnight tonight and pickup from a store you designate for free, by entering this code at the "checkout": PICKUPD8. So if you're still at a loss for what to send Grandma....? get uploading, I guess!

P.S. I've been wanting to post a link to Rebecca's "Last Christmas I Gave You..." post, and here seems like a good place for it! Love ya Becs!