DIY: How to Make Great Homemade Christmas Gift Baskets!

Homemade gift baskets are great, money saving ideas for cheap but meaningful Christmas gifts. Most penny savers have discovered that designating a theme for their gift giving is the best way to give a lot and spend a little. Let your friends know that this year's theme will be homemade Christmas gift baskets (homemade treats and crafts also make great ideas) and they will spend the rest of the season looking forward to the goodies that you have in store for them.

Step 1: Buy Baskets

"Gift basket" is the most literal translation, and there are certainly a lot of cheap options available. www.dollardays.com has a great selection of baskets that run as low as $.50 a piece!

But, don't feel limited by the word "basket". Being creative about your conatiner can often mean saving money. Do you have several old Christmas popcorn tins lying around? Or some other unused container that just needs a bow or a few festive Christmas stickers to turn into the perfect "basket"? Feel free to use it. What about ceramic flower pots? Or a nice ceramic bowl you found on super sale? The ideas are endless. Spend a few hours one Saturday checking out your local discount stores for great, cheap and creative options.

Step 2: Fill 'er Up!

For me, this part is the most fun because there are so many options. The great part about homemade baskets is the level of personalization that can go into them. Last year, my children and I spent most of Christmas Eve decorating Christmas Cookie Ornaments (which was a great way to keep the excitement level manageable). We decorated the tree, and then filled a half dozen tins with them topped with a bow and a digital picture of all of us making them. They were a big hit.

A great way to save money is to buy a few items in bulk at your local Sam's or Costco and split them up into severalbaskets. If you get the right items, these cheap and easy baskets will be a big hit!

Another option, and one that works best if you don't have a ton of people to buy for this Christmas season, is to jot down a quick list of some of your friends and famiy's favorite items. Do you have a niece who goes ga ga for chocolate? Or a friend who won't roll out of bad for less than two cups of coffee? Consider filling their baskets with an assortment of their favorite goodies. My nephew is an aspiring filmmaker, so I always fill his basket with a few movies that I get from the discount bin at Target. They can run for as little as $3 a piece and you never know what gems you'll find.

Step 3: Finishing Touches

When it comes to homemade Christmas gift baskets, size really doesn't matter. Small baskets make it seem like there's tons of stuff inside, and large baskets can be filled out with store purchased filler. Or, a great idea is to send a roll of Christmas wrapping paper through your shredder! Two Christmases ago, we layered the bottom of our Christmas baskets with Christmas t-shirts that we found on sale.

Traditionally, Christmas gift baskets come wrapped in plastic. But plastic doesn't really say "homemade", so don't feel obligated to do this. Check out your local craft store (most stores actually carry ribbon) for thick felt, red ribbon and wrap it around your baskets, or simply tie a big bow around the handle. Everybody's really just excited about the stuff inside anyway.

DIY Gifts like homemeade Christmas gift baskets make great gifts because they give people a break from the traditional, mass produced Christmas fare. Putting a little thought into each basket, even if its just one personalized item on top, lets people know that you care and gives your wallet a rest.

Merry Christmas!