Handmade Tales

Hardly anyone bakes bread anymore, but almost everyone likes a freshly baked loaf of bread, so I bake. I generally cool the loaves completely and wrap them for freezing so recipients can choose to enjoy them either now or later. A few people do end up getting loaves warm from the oven, and they’re often devoured before they have a chance to cool, which means I know they’re enjoyed. The ingredients cost much less than what I’d spend on a purchased gift, and I take less time kneading than I would looking for just the right thing. And it’s much more fun than shopping in crowded malls with long lines. I especially like that recipients don’t need to dust, store, or display gifts they don’t like. It’s money and time well spent.
Heather Engelman
Syracuse, New York

For the many children on my list, I order very affordable holiday craft kits from Oriental Trading Company (www.orientaltrading.com). Then, at Christmas gatherings, while the adults sip wassail and chat, the children have hours of entertainment and great little handmade gifts to give to others.
Kira Mayer
Colorado Springs, Colorado

It’s a Wrap

Throughout the year, whenever you’re asked “Paper or plastic?” at the grocery store, answer “Paper.” Cut the paper grocery bags open and turn them inside out to use as gift wrap. Then, by the time December rolls around, you’re halfway to having free wrapping for your “brown paper packages tied up with strings.” For Christmas name tags, I hit the hardware store and collect paper paint samples in greens and reds. The less you spend on the wrapping, the more you can spend on the gift.
Holly Pushefski
Branson West, Missouri

I buy all my wrapping paper, ribbons, bags, and tags online from a wholesaler. The prices are great, and the selection is fantastic. You get the extra-nice paper that fancy stores use for gift wrapping at a fraction of the price of the lower-quality holiday supplies that are available retail. My mother, my sister, and I order together to get the best deal.
Annette Paul
Ashland, Virginia

To wrap presents economically, I buy different-size brown shopping bags with handles from my local arts-and-crafts store. I use different Christmas tissue for each gift. Christmas morning, after all the gifts are opened, I fold away the bags and tissue (which can be ironed) to use again the following year. I also save tape, ribbon, and time.
Linda Valentine
Laguna Niguel, California

Spirit of the Season

Each year our family chooses a humanitarian organization (like Doctors Without Borders, Heifer International, or Habitat for Humanity) that we can contribute to in our extended family’s and friends’ names. We prefer to give to those who are very much in need and find that our loved ones are delighted to know that their gift consisted of medicine for children, “milk and honey” (goats and bees) for a family in Africa, or lumber toward a new home for folks on the Gulf Coast.
Karin Davidson
Columbus, Ohio

If a friend likes a scarf I’m wearing, I give it to her at Christmas with a note: “When we had lunch in April, you admired this scarf. Enjoy wearing it, and know that it comes with my love.”
Marilyn Hartman
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

My family has created a tradition that saves money. We draw the name of a country out of a hat, research its holiday customs, practice those traditions, and try the food from that culture on Christmas Eve. We also select a nonprofit organization in that country to send gifts to. While we buy fewer gifts for our kids, they don’t seem to mind, because they’re involved in wrapping the presents to send away. My family loves it because we always learn something new.
Marion Deno-Bell
San Diego, California

I send a big check to my local food bank in lieu of gifts. They very kindly send me a stack of holiday cards saying, “A donation has been made in your name,” which I then send out. I save some money, but mostly I save brain cells. People don’t wind up with extra stuff they don’t need, and the food bank is helped. Most of my friends thank me profusely for ending the “gimme more stuff” cycle.
Siobhan Jess
Altadena, California

I remind myself daily that the goal of the holiday season is to reconnect with family and traditions. Instead of focusing on buying expensive presents, I make time to bake cookies with my children, decorate the tree, try a new recipe for the holidays, take a ride on the sled, make our holiday cards, or get together with friends. I hope that our children will remember these times of togetherness more than “that year I got a Buzz Lightyear toy.”
Erica Conway
Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey