How to Make a Free Holiday Gift That Will Mean a Lot

Are you short on cash this holiday season? Or do you just want to give a gift that's a little more personal? Try these holiday gift certificates, which are free to download and, in effect, give the gift of you.

And it's so simple! Here's how it works:

1. Choose one of the four designs attached below. They are available as PDFs if you want to use them as-is; or as Microsoft Word documents, if you'd like to alter them.

Print the one you like (whether one of the original designs or your modified version) on nice paper. To create an old-time feel, you can get parchment-look paper. There also are plenty of other nice papers you can choose from that will dress up your finished certificate.

2. Think of something you can give to a loved one that would mean a lot to that person, then write that on the gift certificate. Here are some examples:

• Offer to babysit for a certain number of hours
• Cook a complete dinner, from soup to nuts
• Drive the kids to school for a week
• Offer to house-sit for a friend who travels a lot
• Walk the dogs for a week

Be creative! You probably know what your friends and family need and want. Just imagine how happy the recipients will be when they that see you understand that and are willing to give of yourself to help them.

3. Use a large decorative envelope to protect and present your certificate, or put the certificate into a flat box and wrap it, for an even more elegant effect.

PDFs

• Colorful ornaments Christmas certificate
• Menorah Chanukah certificate
• Old-fashioned Santa Christmas certificate
• Candy cane Christmas certificate

Note: You need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to open the PDFs. To download it, go to this page.

Word documents

• Colorful ornaments Christmas certificate
• Menorah Chanukah certificate
• Old-fashioned Santa Christmas certificate
• Candy cane Christmas certificate

Want a different look for your certificate? Here's some free clip art. If you'd like to alter the clip art on any of the certificates, download the Word document you like and visit the link above to search for more clip art.