With the economy on the low side this Christmas it can be a bit daunting to face the gift giving part of the Holidays. One thing that is always available, though, is your availability to make the gifts yourself instead of spending lots of money on items for the whole family. Of course, you'll have to shell out some money for the items needed to make the gifts, but it will be minimal compared to what you'd spend on ready made gifts.

One gift idea is a no brainer.... bake some cookies! Sugar cookies, for example, are very easy to make and most people like them. The main ingredients are just flour, sugar, eggs and butter, you probably have most of these at home already. Look for sugar cookie recipes on the internet, you'll be sure to find a bunch. You can use a Christmas shape cookie cutter, or even just roll the dough yourself to make a candy cane shape. Decorate the cookies with chocolate and/or green and red sprinkles. The most important part here is the presentation; put them in a pretty box with tissue paper, for instance, or in a tall crinkly cellophane bag and fasten it with lots of colorful ribbons. If you can find little Christmas bells attach one to the ribbon to complete the look.

A second idea is to make a picture frame. Depending on your talents, either draw something that you think could be appealing to the gift receiver or make something up on the computer; an abstract art piece using a drawing or photo program for example. If you are not that artistically inclined, then you can just pick a nice photograph of you and the person, one of their kids, a good friend, a nice landscape.... you get the idea. Once you have your art piece or photograph picked out, you can pesonalize it with a message nicely written on a corner, sign and date it. Get a nice, but inexpensive frame (wood frames always work) and frame it up! Finish it by wrapping it in some nice festive Christmas paper and attach a big bow in the middle.

If you are good at knitting and have time, make a sweater or two. Knit it in a style that will appeal to the person you are making it for and they will surely appreciate it's uniqueness. You can even make a tag to attach to it; something saying 'Made in USA at Mom's' or something of the like, and decorate it with cute stickers. Then of course, wrap it up in nice Christmas paper; use a box, if possible, and finish with a big bow or ribbons.

Another fun gift you can make is to decorate a coffee mug. Get a regular ceramic coffee mug at the supermarket, nothing fancy, just a basic mug and paint it with cute designs. You can get paint at many craft and supply stores, make sure it will work on a ceramic surface. Be as creative as you want and have fun! A nice way to present the mug when finished is by filling it up with cookies (the sugar cookies we baked earlier, would be a nice touch), candies or chocolate and wrap it in some nice color paper or colored cellophane with ribbons on top.

You can also make a set of coasters. The internet is full of ideas on how to make coasters; look one up that suits you, or use my following idea. Get some used thin metal jar lids as in those used for jam, olives, pickles etc... paint them in different colors and line the bottom with some cloth (glue the cloth onto the bottom). Braid some yarn or cord together (you can pick the colors to your liking) and glue the braid around the edge of the lid. That's it, you have a coster! Make a set of 4 or 6 (or whatever number you desire) and wrap them up in some pretty paper with bows and you are set!

These are just a few ideas for some homemade inexpensive gifts, which are also useful. Have fun creating and remember, it's the art of giving (and in this case, making) and not buying, that makes a Christmas special. Your friends and family will appreciate the effort you put into creating something for them that they can cherish for many years to come. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!