Christmas Gift Tags Made by You

When I was a child, Christmas was a special time. We'd have a great dinner with family, listen to Christmas music, and pass lots of presents to each other. Usually my grandma would win the prize for most decorated packages. She'd pile on the ribbons, use fancy paper, and each gift would have a beautiful gift tag perched atop the box, showing who it belonged to.

I've tried to replicate my childhood Christmas for my own family, complete with the big dinner, good family times, and lots of gifts. But with the economy taking a big bite out of my pocketbook, I've had to get creative with the little details-it saves me lots of money over time, and the traditions that sparked because of my frugality have become a new fun aspect of the holiday.

Take those gift tags, for example. You can spend way too much money on what boils down to a simple scrap of paper, a ribbon or other means to secure the tag, and a colorful design. Why not make some that are going to be utterly personal and less expensive? These are easy to do yourself, or, set the kids up with the craft supplies listed below, and let them have some fun creating new tags for your impending present-exchange-extravaganza! Just supervise the use of those scissors when kids are involved!

Supplies you'll need:

Cardstock-you can either purchase this new at most craft stores, or recycle items such as saved greeting cards, loose game cards, or index cards.

Writing tools: these can be crayons, plain ink pens, calligraphy pens, or markers.

Connectors: to secure the tag to the package, use a glue stick swipe on the back of the tag, plain old scotch tape, or punch a hole in the tag and thread a ribbon or yarn through the hole.

Here are some theme ideas for the tags:

Recycled tags: using the old greeting cards simply cut a 2" x 3" rectangle from the colorful side of the card. Then, on the reverse side, write your "to" and "from", include appropriate names, then attach to the gift. If you're not one to save and display Christmas cards, this might be a nice way to recycle them.

Sparkly tags: cut out a 2" x 3" rectangle of cardstock. Then, using school glue, write your "to" and "from" names on the front in glue. Immediately after you are done writing, shake on glitter to make the words pop. Let this one dry before you attach it to the present. Depending on your sense of adventure, you may or may not want to do this one with the kids!

Game cards: When we have a children's game that is not perfectly complete at our house, I take the instruction cards out of the box and save them for crafts like this one. The instruction cards are usually just the right size, so you won't have to cut them down. Just punch a hole in the top, add a ribbon, and either write the to and from directly on the card, or paste a small piece of wrapping paper to the face of the card, then write the greeting.

Bookmarks: Cut the tag a bit longer, say 2" x 7", decorate, punch a hole on the top side, add a ribbon or yarn loop and make your gift tag into a gift- a personalized book mark!

Handmade gift tags do not have to be expensive, or complicated. And, a little extra effort on this small detail shows a lot of thoughtfulness!