More do it yourself

Some more do it yourself Christmas gifts from http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Christmas-Gifts

Make chocolate-covered spoons.

Go to your local dollar store or discount supermarket and stock up on plastic spoons. Melt chocolate in the microwave on 50% power for one minute(if you have a fixed setting, do it for 30 sec.. Stir, and continue melting in 10-second increments at 50% power until smooth. Dip spoons until generously covered with chocolate. Lay them on waxed paper lined cookie sheet to cool down. If you want to get fancy, roll in crushed peppermint candies or drizzle them with melted white chocolate.

Make a peppermint candle.

Buy a large plain white unscented pillar candle and peppermint candies (round or stick). Unwrap the candies. Using a hot glue gun or glue dots (found at craft stores), glue candies all around the sides of the candle. It will look like candles sold for $15 and more in catalogs and fancy stores.

More Ideas for Inexpensive Gifts

While exploring the idea of inexpensive gifts to give this year I came across many instructions on how to do some things yourself. I'll be posting on them over the coming weeks and here is the first.

How about a lovely gift of home made soaps? You can pick your fragrances and shapes and arrange them in a nice basket or box. The instructions aren't too bad either:

Materials:
Bars of natural fragrance or color free soap
Essential oils of your choice (Lavender, rose and jasmine work well)
Food coloring
Oats
Vitamin E Oil (Optional)
Almond Oil

Instructions:

1) Grate soap in a blender or food processor.

2) Boil a pot of water and put a glass bowl over the pot, (like a double boiler.)

3) Add some almond oil into the bowl

.4) Add the soap into the bowl.

5) Take the water from the pot and add it into the bowl until soap changes into paste.

6) Add oils, color, and vitamin E as desired.7) Let cool in molds of your choice. You can use anything for a mold - ice cube trays, cookie cutters or your own hand. (To make hand soap, flatten soap paste to approximately 1/4 inch. Trace your hand on to the surface of the paste and mold accordingly. Finish by writing "hand soap.")

8) Air out on wax paper for a day or two.

Experiment! Make different shapes of soap or don't mix the color all the way in. Oats are great for exfoliating. Lavender pieces and rose petals can sometimes mold or rot if you don't air the soap out properly, so be careful. Your utensils should not be used for food afterwards but if you need to, wash very thoroughly.