So I'm trying to make Christmas more meaning full this year. I know I know its 7 months away but I want to get a real head start this year. What I'm thinking of doing is:

Homemade cookbooks: My mom, MIL, and the family swap person, dads wife
Rag quilt- DH, Mom, ?
a photo album for my sister

BUT, what else?

i need some creative help here ladies!

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My choices yesterday create my today. My choices today create my tomorrow.

This is actually a good time to start. Not that I have but it still a good idea.

How about place mats and matching napkins. I saw some the other day and holiday / winter fabric is really cheap right now.

Another idea is the hot/cold packs you make from fabric and fill with rice. Here are very basic instructions. You can google for more:

Rice bags

you ladies are awesome! Thanks!

Keep the ideas coming!

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My choices yesterday create my today. My choices today create my tomorrow.

for my dad i bake homemade goodies( banana breads, cherry pound loaf, cinnamon bread, pumpkin bread and my gramma's fruitcake recipe). he is alone and he loves them..i freeze them and they go into his freezer so he can take one out and thaw...my sister makes him meals that he can have when he wants( portions for one) chili and meatloaf and so on( stuff that freezes well) and she gves him enough for about two months of meals and they go into his freezer with labels. he loves this more then anything we could ever buy as its made with love..so if you have a person who is alone..its does not take much time to do it.( i start in september baking..banana bread first then go from there..he gets two to three of each thing).
make ornaments for people..special ones for weddings( first year together) , new baby, etc...if you can crochet, cross stitch, bead..something from the heart.
photo albums sound good too...might have to try that this year.

Last year I made a little gift basket for my grandma with a christmas ornament I had made and some other Christmas themed stuff-lotion, lip balm. I wanted to do the rice bag in there, too, but didn't get to that.

One of the things I definitely want to do this year is a cook book scrapbook and then tell the person who gets it (we do a swap) to email me more recipes and I can have more pages made up for them with recipes they like.

My grandma one year made all sorts of table runners in holiday themed fabric and added tassels. They were so pretty. She also made a casserole carrier out of fabric..these are nice but take some time to make. Hope this helps!

I have NO talent as far as making gifts-sewing, scrapbooking, etc. So I always do baked goods and give those out as gifts to family members. I came up with the idea of doing a cookbook, but as of right now I have 100 recipes and to print that out and give some copies as gifts, is gonna be a little pricey. But I a reworking my recipe book and am hoping to have it ready by Christmas. I have family members that are big coffee drinkers, so I am going to make up batches of coffee creamers (recipes are posted) and put them in nice jars as gifts as well. Perhaps I will get brave and try to do some easy jelly recipes too and give those out as well.

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Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.
Jon Bon Jovi

I am hoping to finish an afghan for my MIL was supposed to get it last year but I didn't finish. Not sure how to describe the other thing I am making her it is sort of a scrapbook but they are on a display instead of in a book and the pages are small. I figure it is something she can just leave out.

I also plan to do some baking and possibly make some jelly - never done it before though so it could be intersting.

I LOVE this idea!!! I had already planned on making a lot of people cookbooks this year, but this is perfect! thanks wendy!

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My choices yesterday create my today. My choices today create my tomorrow.