If you are like most people the budget is tight this year.
The holidays are coming up and that means extra expenses.
Are you looking for ways to cut down a bit on your spending? A great way to do that is to have your kids, or better yet, you and your kids make gifts for people this year.
People always say that the thought and effort put into a homemade gift means more to them than a purchased gift so why not give it a try? It can be great fun and you will be teaching your children a valuable lesson about giving of themselves.
There are lots of ideas out there but let's start with a list of some things you and your kids can do together:

1. Baking is a great together activity.
   You can even work on math and reading while you do it.
   Think of what you want to bake.
   Loaves of sweet bread make great gifts.
   You can find recipies online or you can get box mixes for things like pumpkin bread, lemon poppy seed bread, date bread, etc.
   An easy way to wrap the loaves is to first put them in Saran wrap and then in foil.
   Tie with a pretty ribbon or, you can let the kids get creative and come up with their own special wrap.
   
2. Make wrapping paper.
   Start with some inexpensive white butcher paper (you can get it at Michaels).
   Get some holiday shaped sponges, create shapes for tracing or cut shapes out of potatoes.
   You could even let the kids finger paint.
   With the sponges and potatoes you can stamp the paper various colors.
   If you trace you may want to use either paint or magic markers.
   Cut the paper into large sheets, fold in one foot squares and wrap up a package of them to give as a gift.
   You can even make matching gift cards.
   
3. Use old holiday cards to make stationery.
   You can get card stock at an office supply store and then cut and paste pictures and words to create holiday stationary.
   Box them up, decorate the box and presto! you have a great gift.
   
4. Of course you can always make extra cookies or canned goods to give as gifts.
   If you can in Mason jars you can cut a piece of colorful fabric a little bigger that the mouth of the jar, put it over the top of the jar and then put the ring on.
   All you need to do then is to put a label on the jar to let the recipient know what you have made for them.
   The same goes for jars where you put the ingredients for making soup, brownies, cake or hot chocolate.
   Just be sure to add the recipe so someone knows how to cook the ingredients.
   

These are just a few ideas to get you started.
Make gift giving a fun activity for the whole family.