My local library has a monthly book sale. All the books you can fit into a bag for $5. If I pack well, I can get about 30 paperbacks in a bag. I buy a bag for my friend, she buys a bag for me. And , since we like the same type of books, then we swap bags when we are done. So we get around 60 books to read between us. Then we donate them back to the library.
A set of homemade cloth napkins was one of the nicest gifts I have ever received--frugal or not. They are perfect to place in my lunch bag for work. That same friend also gifted me a holiday themed set. Those napkins are the item I most look forward to bringing out each year when I decorate for the holidays.
Hi Jane, in the winter of 1984 I was a carpenter working outside in the bitter cold. My wife knitted me a thick scarf with was toasty and the envy of the crew. I'd say it is my most precious gift ever. Durable? Im still wearing it today 40 years later
Years ago a friend gave me a flannel rice bag. I don't know what it is called other places. It about half a yard of material sewn into 4 inch squares, each holding a1/4 cup of dry rice. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. No more or the rice will burn holes in the fabric. Wonderful for sore muscles or joints or for warming your bed. I made them for Christmas gifts about 20 years ago and have made them thru the years and I am doing so again this year. I pick up flannel at yard sales, thrift stores and estate sales.
I came home from working nights on Christmas morning & raced up the stairs to my tiny suite on the 3rd floor of a 2/12 story walkup, hoping to fall into bed to catch a few hours of sleep. I almost tripped over a plate of homemade shortbread cookies the people living in the suite below me had placed on the top step. I barely knew these people to see them. It still gives me such a warm feeling to know they thought about me coming home from a night shift at the hospital.
My grandmother was always very frugal, as was her oldest son, my uncle. Her favorite gifts were always from him. A roll of postage stamps (because they wrote back and forth), bird seed, and a new bird house to hang on one of her many trees.
I always moaned that my office was cold and my wonderful friend knitted me a shawl/scarf with two armholes to go over my shoulders. Probably THE most useful gift I’ve ever received 🤗
I like knitting socks for people. Some years I manage more than others, but everyone likes hand knitted socks. A 100g ball of sock wool isn't expensive and there's always enough for three socks! So you can get an extra pair out of the leftovers of two pairs, and the opportunity to get creative with stripes and/or blocks of colour. One of my oldest friends here is a working mum with a French husband who misses British Christmas treats but doesn't have much time to make them. If I make a Christmas cake I usually make a spare one for her, then give it to her with a pack of fondant icing and some decorative bits so she can put it together with the kids.
One of my favorite gifts growing up was a "dress length" of fabric, with thread. My mum, myself, and one of my grandmothers all sewed, and a dress length meant picking out one's own pattern and being able to turn that fabric into something truly special! Another special gift was when my mum had a print made of a portrait her uncle had taken of my grandmother when my grandmother was 18, so in 1903. I had always admired that portrait & she knew how much I wanted a copy of it. She had it framed, and over 50 years later I still have it in a place of honor in my home.
This is not exactly frugal, but it is the kindest gift I ever received. After our daughter passed away. someone (to this day I don’t know who it was) left a box of homemade cookies and Christmas candies on our doorstep. I’ll never forget it.😊
I am in retirement now but about the only gifts I really remember are the ones people made me. From the desk my Dad built to the bags my Aunty made. To the cakes and jam from a cousin to mince pies from my Granny. From dolls clothes from my other Granny to the Christmas decorations from my Mum. Every one a treasure.
I remember my grandmother taking slips from her African violets and starting them to give away as gifts. When she died the African violet, she had received as a wedding gift was still growing in her window sill. She was a wonderful seamstress (she even made her own lined, winter wool coats) and she did beautiful embroidery and crochet work. She was also a gardener and canned her produce. She often gave handmade gifts. I still have a set of tea towels and a set of pillow cases she embroidered for me. As a new bride in 1932, she knew how to be frugal.
I never gave a selfmade gift with Xmas but I knitted like crazy for the birth of my first grandson . And now I always give something to wear, something to read , something to do craft and something to play . I have a budget every year and look out for things on promotion or sales during the year.
My favorite gifts from anyone are food gifts. For years we couldn't afford buying gifts, but we made many things from our garden and I sewed a lot of gifts. They were mostly appreciated. But I would love to see this come back.
My 85 year old neighbor makes me a kitchen scrubber every year out of netting. They last all year, usually much longer, are really indestructible and get used almost daily. I love them!
Every year I have to make spanikapitas for my son and his family…it’s all he really wants. He says it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Lots of love goes into making them for him.🎄🧑🏻🎄
Oh, Jane, I wish my family believed what you say! When asked this year, I said anything consumable - really! What used to be normal grocery purchases have become luxuries - whole wheat flour (or any flour that isn’t standard white all-purpose), olive oil, even regular cooking oil has almost doubled in price, real vanilla extract (not imitation), ethnic spices (or sauces), any tea or coffee, chocolate in any form. I would love to get canning lids! Or JARS😍. Nice French hand soap ❤️ Since I don’t subscribe to streaming tv, I would love a Netflix (or other streaming) gift card. Usually I give food items I’ve prepared, but unforeseen circumstances mean that I have none to share this year, so I have fearfully resorted to what I’m calling a “rainy day care package” consisting of a book that I think they will like (purchased second hand), a pair of warm wool socks, something to eat or drink, and a small trinket that I think will amuse them. It is very scary to give things that I would love to get, knowing that others don’t necessarily share my values.
We do a lot of switching around . A friend brought me a bag of pine cones from her yard. II gave a friends daughter a coat from my home. We are always switching around things from our homes. To me it's giving gifts with meaning.
I love receiving anything home Made or hand Made. Also, small treats like movie tickets or museum tickets. I like giving magazine subscriptions, anything for cooking (mittens, nice breakfast cloths, ladels…). Years ago I gave a “cookie in a jar” I made and all of my friends loved it so much! Anything like that (mix for cookies, mix for hot chocolate, mix for risotto…) I love receiving and giving: it makes life easier! My most creative was probably back in high School: I gave a friend a diary (of the following year) including quotes that I loved and I wrote myself on every single page. It needs time though!
When my father in law got older we gave him a year's subscription to national geographic. Even though his mobility was badly compromised he had something to look forward to every month.
My friend nurtured an hydrangea cutting that she came across whilst out walking her dog. She kept it covered indoors for the winter and gave it to me in late Spring. It's been planted in my back garden for a few months now, having flowered in the summer. I'm just hoping that it continues to grow and flower again next year. 🙏🎄
Haha, Mary loves reading the comments 😂😍This year I gifted my home canning products to my family, making things I knew they loved (like Rotkohl for my German mother). I also sent parcels earlier this fall to friends in faraway places as an out of season “I love you”. I’m thrilled to be receiving 100 canning lids from my mother. Love frugal and thoughtful giving and receiving. In fact, even my non-frugal friends love a handmade gift. It’s become so rare that people appreciate it. Thank you, Jane, Mike, Mary and Dolly❤
I like to get treats such as Battenberg cake, marzipan, hot chocolate, etc. Last year we got a set of infused olive oil, and one year we got coloured gourmet pasta. These were really appreciated. One year my artistic daughter created a red lantern with a winter scene in it with a red pickup truck and a Christmas tree in the bed of it, hauling a vintage camper. Being from Canada, as a family we made many good memories camping in the wilderness with our pickup truck, so her gift was special to us.
As usual great tips and advice. I am throughly enjoying your daily Christmas vlogs. I love the idea of freezer bags and saplings from peoples gardens! Again thank you ever so much Jane and Mike 🙏🙏🙏🎄🎄🎄
I have knitted 2ply shetland scarves for my friends this year. I know they are going to love them. It took very little wool and just my time. Love your vlogmus👍🏴
A few years ago I was given a whole box of assorted lidded tubs, so various shapes and sizes. I have also received a set of three cake tins in different sizes as people who know me know I like to bake all sorts of cakes, cookies, bars. I have had garden gloves and also a heated propagator, which I love. I have a friend who works in a cafe at a garden centre and one year she came over with lots of little seedlings in a lined wooden box. The seedlings were planted out and I still use the box each year for new sowings.
My godmother loves mincemeat (pie filling- no meat), I had plenty of green tomatoes this year, so I made her a few jars, using great Grandma's recipe. (Her grandmother).
Lol I just told my daughters last week that I wanted flats for my canning jars and medical herb seeds for my herbal garden. I live in USA. Merry Christmas!
Last year my sons chipped in together to buy me a stove as mine was almost 20 years old and the burners had been replaced several times, it would turn on spontaneously so became a safety issue so I had to turn it off in the adage at the breaker box when I was finished with it. I also received baggie holders for when I wanted to bag soups or hot items so I wouldn’t get burned. Another friend gave me 2 thrifted cookbooks and a best selling novel from the thrift store. I had a friend who gave me her late grandmothers aprons.
My late mother was a master of practicality, practicing it to an almost painful degree and expected her daughter (me) to demonstrate the same virtue, to the nines. Towards the end of her life, when she had little interest in food and her body was not always under her control, I would send her regular shipments of meal replacement drinks, adult diapers, and such things. Not an elegant gift, but she was delighted. "I don't need cut flowers, Vic. I need Depends." I think my chagrin at sending such a gift was just a bit of icing on the cake for her...
My first choice of gift would be a plan to spend time with a loved one in the new year. I am at the age where I don't need a single solitary thing, except for perhaps some home-bakes cookies!
For friends who feed the birds, a bag of birdseed is appreciated. Also, for friends who like to take baths, homemade bath salts is a nice gift. Take epsom salts and add a few drops of food coloring, and a few drops of lavender oil and stir. Put into glass jars and tie a ribbon around it.
I would love it if someone gave me a freezer meals or a frozen container of homemade soup to keep for one of those days I just don’t feel like cooking. I did this for my parents one year and I think they really enjoyed it. They had five different suppers ready to thaw and cook without having to think about it. I also realize that there are SO many treats around the holidays that I dint like to add to the abundance. But I do make special cookie dough, freeze it in individual balls and give someone a bag of cookie balls that they can thaw and bake later in the year when they are wanting a little treat. Again, my parents used to bake 4 at a time throughout the year, although they also got frozen cookie balls for their birthdays, too.
I've given out hand made certificates that I called Sweet treats for a Year Club. It stated that on the first friday of each month they would recieve a homemade baked treat from me for a year. Everyone loved that one!! Also given infused vinegars and olive oils that I made and homemade vanilla.
Number 1 is always time for me. When someone spends their time with me, that is what I like most. Number 2: homemade food or drinks or food or drinks I don´t buy for myself, but like a lot (like eggnog from a certain farmer in our neighbourhood, or a bottle of more expensive wine, Berger chocolates... etc.)
The last few year I have given plantpots filled with flower bulbs (mostly bought in the sale). Some friends give the pot back to be planted up again. I like giving jam that I've made. Bunting and handbags other years. I've given allotment friends a pile of horse manure once, they loved it!
As a keen gardener I would have loved the gift of the horse manure! But I have to admit I had a giggle when I read it.😅 Well done for knowing your friend so well. 😊
I love getting pickles or salsa. I've given 1) homemade jams & marmalade 2) chokecherry syrup, (it was suppose to be jelly but chokecherries can be challenging with their pectin or lack of it 3) spaghetti squash, (with recipe), from the summer garden, (they keep well in dark, dry, cool environments) 4) homemade wine (that was actually pretty good because we bulk aged it for a year). 5) Hand sketched cards & goofy poems written personally for people 😜😉
This year I sewed aprons with fabric I purchased at 40 percent off and then machine embroidered them to personalize it for each person. Cost was definitely less than purchasing them from a store
I love home made presents 🎁 I am too nervous to give home made presents though as during bake sales at work the home made cakes were left as colleagues discussed whether other peoples kitchens would be clean enough 😢
I've made piccalli and chutney to gift to friends and upcycled old jars. I've also infused some gin with gift I was gifted but didn't really like. Also picked some sloes and made slow gin. Make lovely gifts for people
Great vido and thoughtful ideas ! I always cook with Herbs of Provence (laurel, thyme, rosemary, etc...). My friends who live in this region offer me a big bouquet of all these plants from their garden every year and a bottle of olive oil from their village. For me it is a real treasure! I offer them each year a beautiful books from my personal library.
I gift my friends and family jars of homemade jams, jellies, hot mustard, soups and salsa. I do this in warmer months, usually when the produce us freshly canned and not for a holiday. They in turn gift me back the empty reusuable canning jars and new lids and fillers.
I loved the year I gave my oldest daughter 3 books from the used book store. I got to introduce her to 'Margaret of Ashbury'. Judith Murkel Riley is the author, in case you would like to meet her yourself. 😁
Gift cards, for grocery store, a car wash or Amazon. I love fresh cut flowers once a year for my birthday. I am happy with what I have and do not want gifts. A card or text message is enough for birthday or Christmas.
85th birthday gift made by two granddaughters, of a home made quilt for grandfather, with quilt sqares with initials of grand children , surrounding a centered large oval of an embroidered padded scene from an oval photograph of his ancestral home and farm, and around the oval having the embroidered full names of his parents, owners of the ancestral home, and date, and around the oval also, the full names of grandfather and our grandmother and their six children.
My local library has a monthly book sale. All the books you can fit into a bag for $5. If I pack well, I can get about 30 paperbacks in a bag. I buy a bag for my friend, she buys a bag for me. And , since we like the same type of books, then we swap bags when we are done. So we get around 60 books to read between us. Then we donate them back to the library.
A set of homemade cloth napkins was one of the nicest gifts I have ever received--frugal or not. They are perfect to place in my lunch bag for work. That same friend also gifted me a holiday themed set. Those napkins are the item I most look forward to bringing out each year when I decorate for the holidays.
Hi Jane, in the winter of 1984 I was a carpenter working outside in the bitter cold. My wife knitted me a thick scarf with was toasty and the envy of the crew. I'd say it is my most precious gift ever. Durable? Im still wearing it today 40 years later
Years ago a friend gave me a flannel rice bag. I don't know what it is called other places. It about half a yard of material sewn into 4 inch squares, each holding a1/4 cup of dry rice. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. No more or the rice will burn holes in the fabric. Wonderful for sore muscles or joints or for warming your bed. I made them for Christmas gifts about 20 years ago and have made them thru the years and I am doing so again this year. I pick up flannel at yard sales, thrift stores and estate sales.
I came home from working nights on Christmas morning & raced up the stairs to my tiny suite on the 3rd floor of a 2/12 story walkup, hoping to fall into bed to catch a few hours of sleep. I almost tripped over a plate of homemade shortbread cookies the people living in the suite below me had placed on the top step. I barely knew these people to see them. It still gives me such a warm feeling to know they thought about me coming home from a night shift at the hospital.
Such kindness
My grandmother was always very frugal, as was her oldest son, my uncle. Her favorite gifts were always from him. A roll of postage stamps (because they wrote back and forth), bird seed, and a new bird house to hang on one of her many trees.
Those are beautiful gifts
I always moaned that my office was cold and my wonderful friend knitted me a shawl/scarf with two armholes to go over my shoulders. Probably THE most useful gift I’ve ever received 🤗
Oh wow!
I like knitting socks for people. Some years I manage more than others, but everyone likes hand knitted socks. A 100g ball of sock wool isn't expensive and there's always enough for three socks! So you can get an extra pair out of the leftovers of two pairs, and the opportunity to get creative with stripes and/or blocks of colour.
One of my oldest friends here is a working mum with a French husband who misses British Christmas treats but doesn't have much time to make them. If I make a Christmas cake I usually make a spare one for her, then give it to her with a pack of fondant icing and some decorative bits so she can put it together with the kids.
@@BrittanyLucy that's so kind
One of my favorite gifts growing up was a "dress length" of fabric, with thread. My mum, myself, and one of my grandmothers all sewed, and a dress length meant picking out one's own pattern and being able to turn that fabric into something truly special! Another special gift was when my mum had a print made of a portrait her uncle had taken of my grandmother when my grandmother was 18, so in 1903. I had always admired that portrait & she knew how much I wanted a copy of it. She had it framed, and over 50 years later I still have it in a place of honor in my home.
That's special
This is not exactly frugal, but it is the kindest gift I ever received. After our daughter passed away. someone (to this day I don’t know who it was) left a box of homemade cookies and Christmas candies on our doorstep. I’ll never forget it.😊
@dawnellreeves1774 I'm sorry for your loss and the gift was kind
I am in retirement now but about the only gifts I really remember are the ones people made me. From the desk my Dad built to the bags my Aunty made. To the cakes and jam from a cousin to mince pies from my Granny. From dolls clothes from my other Granny to the Christmas decorations from my Mum. Every one a treasure.
Lovely memories
I remember my grandmother taking slips from her African violets and starting them to give away as gifts. When she died the African violet, she had received as a wedding gift was still growing in her window sill. She was a wonderful seamstress (she even made her own lined, winter wool coats) and she did beautiful embroidery and crochet work. She was also a gardener and canned her produce. She often gave handmade gifts. I still have a set of tea towels and a set of pillow cases she embroidered for me. As a new bride in 1932, she knew how to be frugal.
I never gave a selfmade gift with Xmas but I knitted like crazy for the birth of my first grandson . And now I always give something to wear, something to read , something to do craft and something to play . I have a budget every year and look out for things on promotion or sales during the year.
Well said
A friend bought me a Sewing Street advent calendar stuffed with fabric and sewing notions. It’s the most awesome gift I’ve had in years!
Oh 🤩
My favorite gifts from anyone are food gifts. For years we couldn't afford buying gifts, but we made many things from our garden and I sewed a lot of gifts. They were mostly appreciated. But I would love to see this come back.
Thanks for sharing
My 85 year old neighbor makes me a kitchen scrubber every year out of netting. They last all year, usually much longer, are really indestructible and get used almost daily. I love them!
❤️
Every year I have to make spanikapitas for my son and his family…it’s all he really wants. He says it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Lots of love goes into making them for him.🎄🧑🏻🎄
How lovely 😊
How kind of you
I make fudge for family & friends!
I love it when one of my daughtres give me anything to do with crochet or knitting .
Oh, Jane, I wish my family believed what you say! When asked this year, I said anything consumable - really! What used to be normal grocery purchases have become luxuries - whole wheat flour (or any flour that isn’t standard white all-purpose), olive oil, even regular cooking oil has almost doubled in price, real vanilla extract (not imitation), ethnic spices (or sauces), any tea or coffee, chocolate in any form. I would love to get canning lids! Or JARS😍. Nice French hand soap ❤️ Since I don’t subscribe to streaming tv, I would love a Netflix (or other streaming) gift card. Usually I give food items I’ve prepared, but unforeseen circumstances mean that I have none to share this year, so I have fearfully resorted to what I’m calling a “rainy day care package” consisting of a book that I think they will like (purchased second hand), a pair of warm wool socks, something to eat or drink, and a small trinket that I think will amuse them. It is very scary to give things that I would love to get, knowing that others don’t necessarily share my values.
I think that is a great idea. 😊
I hope your family appreciate how much love and effort you've made for them with your gift. ❤
These "rainy day care packages" sound lovely!!
Sounds wonderful. I'd certainly be happy to receive any of your gifts🎉❤
Olive oil is a real luxury now
I once gave my grandmother a bag of frozen fish that my husband caught and she absolutely loved it!
We do a lot of switching around . A friend brought me a bag of pine cones from her yard. II gave a friends daughter a coat from my home. We are always switching around things from our homes. To me it's giving gifts with meaning.
It’s nice to be your friend like that !
I love that
I love receiving anything home Made or hand Made. Also, small treats like movie tickets or museum tickets. I like giving magazine subscriptions, anything for cooking (mittens, nice breakfast cloths, ladels…). Years ago I gave a “cookie in a jar” I made and all of my friends loved it so much! Anything like that (mix for cookies, mix for hot chocolate, mix for risotto…) I love receiving and giving: it makes life easier! My most creative was probably back in high School: I gave a friend a diary (of the following year) including quotes that I loved and I wrote myself on every single page. It needs time though!
Thanks for sharing
When my father in law got older we gave him a year's subscription to national geographic. Even though his mobility was badly compromised he had something to look forward to every month.
Lovely
I volunteered this a.m. and we wrapped Chanukah gifts for the needy with goodies and $25 guft card to a supermarket that a family will enjoy.
My friend nurtured an hydrangea cutting that she came across whilst out walking her dog. She kept it covered indoors for the winter and gave it to me in late Spring. It's been planted in my back garden for a few months now, having flowered in the summer. I'm just hoping that it continues to grow and flower again next year. 🙏🎄
🤩
Haha, Mary loves reading the comments 😂😍This year I gifted my home canning products to my family, making things I knew they loved (like Rotkohl for my German mother). I also sent parcels earlier this fall to friends in faraway places as an out of season “I love you”. I’m thrilled to be receiving 100 canning lids from my mother. Love frugal and thoughtful giving and receiving. In fact, even my non-frugal friends love a handmade gift. It’s become so rare that people appreciate it. Thank you, Jane, Mike, Mary and Dolly❤
Thanks for sharing
I like to get treats such as Battenberg cake, marzipan, hot chocolate, etc. Last year we got a set of infused olive oil, and one year we got coloured gourmet pasta. These were really appreciated. One year my artistic daughter created a red lantern with a winter scene in it with a red pickup truck and a Christmas tree in the bed of it, hauling a vintage camper. Being from Canada, as a family we made many good memories camping in the wilderness with our pickup truck, so her gift was special to us.
That is awesome!😎
As usual great tips and advice. I am throughly enjoying your daily Christmas vlogs. I love the idea of freezer bags and saplings from peoples gardens! Again thank you ever so much Jane and Mike 🙏🙏🙏🎄🎄🎄
You're welcome
I often gift my crafty friends items from my own stash, things which I know will give them pleasure.
That's so thoughtful
I have knitted 2ply shetland scarves for my friends this year. I know they are going to love them. It took very little wool and just my time. Love your vlogmus👍🏴
Wonderful!
Really good thoughtful ideas......reminds me of young people making macaroni necklaces or scent balls for the closet or dresser drawers etc..... 😊💜
A few years ago I was given a whole box of assorted lidded tubs, so various shapes and sizes. I have also received a set of three cake tins in different sizes as people who know me know I like to bake all sorts of cakes, cookies, bars. I have had garden gloves and also a heated propagator, which I love. I have a friend who works in a cafe at a garden centre and one year she came over with lots of little seedlings in a lined wooden box. The seedlings were planted out and I still use the box each year for new sowings.
Thank you for reminding me frugal, useable gifts are the best. Thank you Jane, Mike Dolly and Mary.
You're welcome ☺️
My godmother loves mincemeat (pie filling- no meat), I had plenty of green tomatoes this year, so I made her a few jars, using great Grandma's recipe. (Her grandmother).
I love getting canning jars, lids and ring and GOOD tea!!
Lol I just told my daughters last week that I wanted flats for my canning jars and medical herb seeds for my herbal garden. I live in USA. Merry Christmas!
👍
Love the knitted bed socks made from oddments of yarn, so cosy and and useful
Lovely chat ⛄️👍🇦🇺
Yes they are!
My daughter propagated plant cutting for me last Christmas. I loved them
Wonderful!
Last year my sons chipped in together to buy me a stove as mine was almost 20 years old and the burners had been replaced several times, it would turn on spontaneously so became a safety issue so I had to turn it off in the adage at the breaker box when I was finished with it. I also received baggie holders for when I wanted to bag soups or hot items so I wouldn’t get burned. Another friend gave me 2 thrifted cookbooks and a best selling novel from the thrift store. I had a friend who gave me her late grandmothers aprons.
You tell us that there is a great system: baggie holders! Thank you for sharing !
That's perfect
My late mother was a master of practicality, practicing it to an almost painful degree and expected her daughter (me) to demonstrate the same virtue, to the nines. Towards the end of her life, when she had little interest in food and her body was not always under her control, I would send her regular shipments of meal replacement drinks, adult diapers, and such things. Not an elegant gift, but she was delighted. "I don't need cut flowers, Vic. I need Depends." I think my chagrin at sending such a gift was just a bit of icing on the cake for her...
Well done
I actually just got a lovey gift card for a grocery store in a Christmas card today!
My first choice of gift would be a plan to spend time with a loved one in the new year. I am at the age where I don't need a single solitary thing, except for perhaps some home-bakes cookies!
Best wishes for that !
I agree
Gift cards, new sheets in the brand I like, a heated mattress pad... practical things that I will use for a good long while with joy.
I gave my husband a heated mattress pad for his bed for his birthday. He and the cats love it.
Perfect gifts
For friends who feed the birds, a bag of birdseed is appreciated. Also, for friends who like to take baths, homemade bath salts is a nice gift. Take epsom salts and add a few drops of food coloring, and a few drops of lavender oil and stir. Put into glass jars and tie a ribbon around it.
Great tip!
I would love it if someone gave me a freezer meals or a frozen container of homemade soup to keep for one of those days I just don’t feel like cooking. I did this for my parents one year and I think they really enjoyed it. They had five different suppers ready to thaw and cook without having to think about it. I also realize that there are SO many treats around the holidays that I dint like to add to the abundance. But I do make special cookie dough, freeze it in individual balls and give someone a bag of cookie balls that they can thaw and bake later in the year when they are wanting a little treat. Again, my parents used to bake 4 at a time throughout the year, although they also got frozen cookie balls for their birthdays, too.
Frozen cookie dough is such a good idea. I requested my mother make me some meatballs for christmas as hers are the best.
A friend gave me a container of potato leek soup as an early Christmas gift a few weeks ago. Delicious.
Thanks for sharing
10ft/3m long charging cord for phone/tablet. You can sit in favorite spot and use device while still charging.
Brilliant
I've given out hand made certificates that I called Sweet treats for a Year Club. It stated that on the first friday of each month they would recieve a homemade baked treat from me for a year. Everyone loved that one!! Also given infused vinegars and olive oils that I made and homemade vanilla.
That's so generous!
How kind
Number 1 is always time for me. When someone spends their time with me, that is what I like most.
Number 2: homemade food or drinks or food or drinks I don´t buy for myself, but like a lot (like eggnog from a certain farmer in our neighbourhood, or a bottle of more expensive wine, Berger chocolates... etc.)
Thanks for sharing
Homemade jams and chutneys from a garden glut using recycled jars
The last few year I have given plantpots filled with flower bulbs (mostly bought in the sale). Some friends give the pot back to be planted up again. I like giving jam that I've made. Bunting and handbags other years. I've given allotment friends a pile of horse manure once, they loved it!
As a keen gardener I would have loved the gift of the horse manure! But I have to admit I had a giggle when I read it.😅
Well done for knowing your friend so well. 😊
So nice of you
I’ve made cushions cross stitched Xmas xx
Wonderful!
👍👍👍
I love getting pickles or salsa. I've given 1) homemade jams & marmalade 2) chokecherry syrup, (it was suppose to be jelly but chokecherries can be challenging with their pectin or lack of it 3) spaghetti squash, (with recipe), from the summer garden, (they keep well in dark, dry, cool environments) 4) homemade wine (that was actually pretty good because we bulk aged it for a year). 5) Hand sketched cards & goofy poems written personally for people 😜😉
Thanks for sharing
This year I sewed aprons with fabric I purchased at 40 percent off and then machine embroidered them to personalize it for each person. Cost was definitely less than purchasing them from a store
That's a great idea!
I love home made presents 🎁 I am too nervous to give home made presents though as during bake sales at work the home made cakes were left as colleagues discussed whether other peoples kitchens would be clean enough 😢
Good lord that's just nasty of them 😢
Oh how rude of them
I really love that sweater (jumper?)! Did you make it?
@@sherrylewis9327 nope, from a charity shop and marks and Spencer's originally
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Well, it's beautiful, wherever it came from
Thank you x
You are so welcome
I've made piccalli and chutney to gift to friends and upcycled old jars. I've also infused some gin with gift I was gifted but didn't really like. Also picked some sloes and made slow gin. Make lovely gifts for people
That's a great idea!
Great vido and thoughtful ideas ! I always cook with Herbs of Provence (laurel, thyme, rosemary, etc...). My friends who live in this region offer me a big bouquet of all these plants from their garden every year and a bottle of olive oil from their village. For me it is a real treasure! I offer them each year a beautiful books from my personal library.
Sounds great!
I gift my friends and family jars of homemade jams, jellies, hot mustard, soups and salsa. I do this in warmer months, usually when the produce us freshly canned and not for a holiday. They in turn gift me back the empty reusuable canning jars and new lids and fillers.
That's lovely
I loved the year I gave my oldest daughter 3 books from the used book store. I got to introduce her to 'Margaret of Ashbury'. Judith Murkel Riley is the author, in case you would like to meet her yourself. 😁
Thank you
My friend asked her son for a sack of logs and some coal.
Gift cards, for grocery store, a car wash or Amazon. I love fresh cut flowers once a year for my birthday. I am happy with what I have and do not want gifts. A card or text message is enough for birthday or Christmas.
Thanks Lynn
I make biscuits for daughter, bf and son..this year its gonna be lemon ginger and raison biscuits and a yule log for the xmas table
Thanks
I would love canning jars, food saver bags, ziplock freezer bags or cheese cloth and twine.
Me too
85th birthday gift made by two granddaughters, of a home made quilt for grandfather, with quilt sqares with initials of grand children , surrounding a centered large oval of an embroidered padded scene from an oval photograph of his ancestral home and farm, and around the oval having the embroidered full names of his parents, owners of the ancestral home, and date, and around the oval also, the full names of grandfather and our grandmother and their six children.
That's exquisite