Handmade Holiday Cards

I need ideas for holidays gifts for my family that aren't too expensive. (College student on a budget.) HELP!?

I'm visiting some of my relatives for the holidays. The ideas I had in mind were: 1. For my aunt and uncle and my cousins who live in that house- give them a gift basket that can be used for their home. (i.e. the kinds that come with holiday food or whatever.) 2. Give another one to my other cousin + his roommate. Since they're also young and on budgets. 3. Give everyone my handmade holiday cards (I'm an art student and they have been a huge success in the past) along with treat bags or candy canes, etc. Please keep in mind that I come from a huge family. These are the ones that I know for sure I'll be seeing. But on that side of the family, I'm 1 of 20 cousins + their spouses and kids + my aunts and uncles + great aunt and uncles, etc... I know it seems early to think about, but I need to plan ahead for money's sake. Also, if these are ok ideas- does anyone know if Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage, or Sunflower market sell vegan friendly holiday food gift baskets? I'd like to get them something that is environmental friendly/ cruelty free. (Just an FYI, we don't have a trader joe's where I live.)

Public Comments

1. I think your ideas are great :) I'm not sure about the places you asked about because where I live, we've never heard of them. Here's a link to an online vegan gift shop. http://www.vegangiftshop.com/holiday_gifts.html Have great holidays!
2. Gift baskets can be very expensive. When my daughter was in college she faced the same dilemma. When she was little we always made a special project for the holidays. Today, at 28 years she loves those memories best. Gifts we made that were very inexpensive: (lucky for you you're an art student). We would go to outlet craft stores to buy materials. Jars with lids: fill with pot pouree and a small string of lights. Buy small doilies made of pretty lace for the cover. Weave in ribbon around the edges. These are great for bathrooms when you have guests. Everyone loved those. Buy nice small glass containers and get creative with paint, fill with candy. You can personalize them by person. Another favorite. Small bare christmas trees. Make ornaments from old cards, small berries, string of lights. We would take fabric and make our tree skirts and trim with ribbon. You can buy small packages of tree trimmings that can make several trees. You can get very creative with trees. Take colorful socks and make into stuffed toys. Just make sure, if you make these for small children, be aware of choking hazards with buttons. One inexpensive gift basket: go to a dollar store: basket for $3.00 put in holiday gift towel, a few pretty bars of soap. Finish with a hand made card and ribbon.
3. I think those are great ideas, but as someone else said, gift baskets can be costly. What about putting together gift baskets on your own? Just get some baskets and then head to the grocery store and buy items yourself to make them up. Would probably save you a ton.
4. Personalized gifts for kids are cool...this site sells personalized CDs and books. http://www.kidswritethesite.com