Twenty Homemade Presents

For Children
There are lots of things you can make at home
that children will appreciate. They are unlikely
to appreciate exclusively homemade gifts, but
they can make up the bulk of the gift giving for
the season. Here are some of the ideas we
liked the best:
1. A scrapbook filled with pictures of the
child with space for them to write their
own stories or history below.
2. An invention box filled with nuts and
bolts, gears, old computer parts, wood,
nails, wheels, wire, batteries and
anything else that may be interesting to
a budding inventor.
3. A dress up box filled with clothes from
relatives or yard sales.
4. Old costume jewelry. Girls especially
like this when handed down from an
older relative or friend.
5. A collection of second-hand tools. Boys
of all ages will like this gift.
6. A homemade workbench. Another
favorite for boys. The design can be
quite simple, as long as it is sturdy
Volume 2 Number 10
enough to pound and saw on.
7. An apron for the kitchen or workshop.
8. A box of homemade cookies and
candies.
9. Sock Puppets.
10. A large floor pillow for watching TV or
lying around listening to music or audio
CD’s.
11. Wooden blocks or dominos.
12. Make a recording of their favorite book
or story.
For Adults:
There are lots of other homemade things that
adults appreciate. Here are a few ideas:
1. A gift certificate to a Thrift Shop (not
homemade but very Scroogie)
2. Homemade Jams and Jellies
3. Homemade chutneys and relishes
4. A price book (what you should pay
for what and where), so they never
overspend again.
5. Designer (quilt-like) placemats from old
fabric scraps.
6. Make a clove studded orange air
freshener. Poke holes in an orange and
push in cloves. Let dry for 2 weeks and
then place in a small drawstring bag.
Can be used in a closet or drawer.
7. Buy magazines from an antique store
dated to year and month of the person
you are buying for. This makes for
fascinating reading.
8. Make a video on the life of the person
you are giving to. This could be from
the point of view of friends and relatives
with narration and old photographs
included. Get creative with period music
as well.

Scrooge