Holiday Headstart
How often have you been frantically shopping for gifts on the 24th December and said “never again, next year I'm starting early”? Well it's July, is that too early?
Planning your Christmas gift giving now will help you to stay sane in December, but better still it will help you to stay on budget in December.
I know how hard it is to think of summer heat and sunshine and Christmas in the midst of winter, but try. You'll love the benefits.
Planning your Christmas budget and gift giving early helps you to save money, time and energy. With that in mind here are a few “do ahead” gift ideas for your perusal.
Family Calendar
Every family needs a calendar – a place to write appointments, sports, music lessons, birthdays, anniversaries, school holidays etc so making a personalised family calendar as a gift is bound to be a hit. You can add the important and special dates for each individual family and decorate it to suit their interests and you'll have a winner. In fact this is the type of gift that could become a tradition.
Calendars are easy to create on your computer (if I can do it you can too). There are lots of free programs out there to get you started. Calendar Labs is a website with lots of different free calendar templates that are easy to download and edit. And of course Hewlett Packard and Microsoft offer free photo calendar templates for you to download. You can insert photographs, insert and edit information for special days and then print out each page.
Create a calendar on your computer and using clipart or scanning in family photos to decorate and embellish the pages and print off as many copies as you need. Or you can buy blank calendars from craft and office supply stores (like Officeworks) and add pictures, photos, stickers etc. and have them copied there.
Add a spiral or comb binding so the calendar will hang flat and flip easily and you have a gift that will last the whole year through.
I've suggested this as a project to start early because if you're going to personalise the calendars you'll need to start now. Don't wait until Christmas Eve to start this project.
Family Cookbook
Almost every family has a treasured, favourite recipe or recipes that have been handed down through the generations. A great way to ensure that the recipe and the family history aren't lost is to make a family recipe book.
This is a project my mother-in-law Pat has been talking about for years. Lots of the recipes she uses were taught to her by her mother and mother-in-law and they are firm family favourites. The problem is only she has the recipes, and most of them are stored conveniently in her head. We plan to create a family recipe book and include all these recipes, especially the Christmas pudding because no one else can make it. No one else has the recipe and if anything were to happen to Pat, then a favourite part of our family heritage would be lost.
Creating a recipe book isn't something that you can do in a couple of hours. This is a project that requires planning and consideration.
Start by making a list of all the recipes you want to include in your recipe book. Then you'll need to decide on the format. Will it just be a recipe book or will it have space for family history? Will you include stories with the recipes, such as why Granny's Johnny Cakes were the best ever, or the secret to Aunty Mary's Beef Casserole? Will there be space to add other recipes? And will you leave space for comments and notes to be added later on? How will you decorate it? And what about a cover and binding? And is this your personal project or would you like some other family members to help you?
You can use Word to create your Family Recipe Book or you can buy software designed specifically for this project. I've looked at a couple of programs available and really, while they were relatively cheap (under $40) Word will let you do all that they offer.
Don't forget the illustrations. A nice way to decorate and illustrate your recipe book is to include family photos and favourite sayings and traditions sprinkled throughout the pages. A visit to your local library should supply a wealth of inspiration.
The size of the finished book will determine the binding. You can get binding done at office supply shops and printers for a reasonable price or you can put it in a display folder or a ring binder with a personalised cover. There are dozens of ways you can bind or present your Family Cookbook, look at the recipe books on your shelves if you are stuck for ideas.
Again this is a large project, but one you could easily do by yourself. Just remember that it will take time.
Family Recipe Box
Instead of a recipe book, why not create a Family Recipe Box? Same steps as for the book except that you will be printing recipe cards instead of pages and collating them in a file box.
There are lots and lots of free printable recipe cards available on the Internet. Some of my favourites are at countryclipart.com (some are free, others you need to buy). You can download the recipe card of your choice. Print them onto cardstock and away you go.
Card files are available at stationers, office supply stores or discounts shops like Big W, Kmart, The Reject Shop, The Warehouse etc.
Decorate the front of the box with decals to suit the theme and you'll have a lasting gift that took just a little time and cost just a few dollars.
Planning your Christmas gift giving now will help you to stay sane in December, but better still it will help you to stay on budget in December.
I know how hard it is to think of summer heat and sunshine and Christmas in the midst of winter, but try. You'll love the benefits.
Planning your Christmas budget and gift giving early helps you to save money, time and energy. With that in mind here are a few “do ahead” gift ideas for your perusal.
Family Calendar
Every family needs a calendar – a place to write appointments, sports, music lessons, birthdays, anniversaries, school holidays etc so making a personalised family calendar as a gift is bound to be a hit. You can add the important and special dates for each individual family and decorate it to suit their interests and you'll have a winner. In fact this is the type of gift that could become a tradition.
Calendars are easy to create on your computer (if I can do it you can too). There are lots of free programs out there to get you started. Calendar Labs is a website with lots of different free calendar templates that are easy to download and edit. And of course Hewlett Packard and Microsoft offer free photo calendar templates for you to download. You can insert photographs, insert and edit information for special days and then print out each page.
Create a calendar on your computer and using clipart or scanning in family photos to decorate and embellish the pages and print off as many copies as you need. Or you can buy blank calendars from craft and office supply stores (like Officeworks) and add pictures, photos, stickers etc. and have them copied there.
Add a spiral or comb binding so the calendar will hang flat and flip easily and you have a gift that will last the whole year through.
I've suggested this as a project to start early because if you're going to personalise the calendars you'll need to start now. Don't wait until Christmas Eve to start this project.
Family Cookbook
Almost every family has a treasured, favourite recipe or recipes that have been handed down through the generations. A great way to ensure that the recipe and the family history aren't lost is to make a family recipe book.
This is a project my mother-in-law Pat has been talking about for years. Lots of the recipes she uses were taught to her by her mother and mother-in-law and they are firm family favourites. The problem is only she has the recipes, and most of them are stored conveniently in her head. We plan to create a family recipe book and include all these recipes, especially the Christmas pudding because no one else can make it. No one else has the recipe and if anything were to happen to Pat, then a favourite part of our family heritage would be lost.
Creating a recipe book isn't something that you can do in a couple of hours. This is a project that requires planning and consideration.
Start by making a list of all the recipes you want to include in your recipe book. Then you'll need to decide on the format. Will it just be a recipe book or will it have space for family history? Will you include stories with the recipes, such as why Granny's Johnny Cakes were the best ever, or the secret to Aunty Mary's Beef Casserole? Will there be space to add other recipes? And will you leave space for comments and notes to be added later on? How will you decorate it? And what about a cover and binding? And is this your personal project or would you like some other family members to help you?
You can use Word to create your Family Recipe Book or you can buy software designed specifically for this project. I've looked at a couple of programs available and really, while they were relatively cheap (under $40) Word will let you do all that they offer.
Don't forget the illustrations. A nice way to decorate and illustrate your recipe book is to include family photos and favourite sayings and traditions sprinkled throughout the pages. A visit to your local library should supply a wealth of inspiration.
The size of the finished book will determine the binding. You can get binding done at office supply shops and printers for a reasonable price or you can put it in a display folder or a ring binder with a personalised cover. There are dozens of ways you can bind or present your Family Cookbook, look at the recipe books on your shelves if you are stuck for ideas.
Again this is a large project, but one you could easily do by yourself. Just remember that it will take time.
Family Recipe Box
Instead of a recipe book, why not create a Family Recipe Box? Same steps as for the book except that you will be printing recipe cards instead of pages and collating them in a file box.
There are lots and lots of free printable recipe cards available on the Internet. Some of my favourites are at countryclipart.com (some are free, others you need to buy). You can download the recipe card of your choice. Print them onto cardstock and away you go.
Card files are available at stationers, office supply stores or discounts shops like Big W, Kmart, The Reject Shop, The Warehouse etc.
Decorate the front of the box with decals to suit the theme and you'll have a lasting gift that took just a little time and cost just a few dollars.