Lights are made from shotgun shellsSo, I thought I would start a thread for the really old school inexpensive things to do for autumn and Christmas holiday season.
The post following begins this set of suggestions, including having something for your kids or younger relatives to do. These are mostly really old school things.
1. Make a clove orange for the closet ( 1 orange and a box of cloves. Insert cloves with a thimble.)
2. Decorate a box of round glass ornaments with family names. (Elmer's glue, and glitter needed in addition to the ornaments).
3. String your own garlands with popcorn, cranberries or construction paper.
4. Using a toilet paper roll, make a decoration (with rags from old clothes, felt or beads. Can make an easy Santa or Reindeer from this).
5. Make a sleigh with toothpicks (I did this for a project once. Made a Roman chariot and the ends of curlers [which I 'borrowed'. Then I spray painted it with gold. You could also make a Nativity scene given time and planning. This might also work with a box of pasta, but the cutting up might be difficult).
6. Using bread and eggnog, make French Toast. It'll be sweet.
7. Learn to make cut out ornaments from plain paper, folding it and snipping the design (from, say, a snowflake).
8. Get a rock and a little can of paint. Make those saying stones (Joy, Love or a saying) yourselves.
9. Cut out the bottom of a clean tin can. Design a toy soldier or house (or something else) and poke holes in the can (or the lid) to match the design. You might need to put the dots for the design on the can first with a pen or marker. This can be hung on a tree or under a lamp.
10. Get a box from paper reams. Cover it with old wrapping paper or Christmas/greeting cards to give as a box.
11. Get a few small baskets and spray paint them green. Fill with floral grass or straw and little figurines.
12. Make your own stationery or cards. (Find some autumn grasses or Queen Anne's lace (or other small, interesting flower). Flatten and dry them in a phone book with a couple of books on top. Then, using wax paper and 2 parts water with 1 part Elmer's glue, place the dried items between 2 pieces of wax paper and iron them. Cut paper to match the size of the card you are making, perhaps ripping the wax paper and plain paper with a straight edge.) Give as a set of 5-10 cards.
13. Learn to carve animals from wood.
14. Make your own door 'ducks' from old pieces of clothes. Fill with sand or beans (needs heavier fabric).
15. Make a macrame design, purse, sleigh (will need bells). May need bandaids for knuckles. (Plenty of websites on these, and can be really wonderful).
16. Make pipe cleaner angels, turkeys, etc. (Will need pipe cleaners).
17. Buy 1 square of a floor sample, design a scene and decorate. (will need markers or other materials). Hang it.
18. Using an old shoe box, make a diorama (will need dried twigs, grasses, glue and/or figurines).
19. Make your own Christmas food. (Example: Using a 58-70 cent box of corn meal that only needs water and some syrup (like a strawberry or chocolate syrup, that you can drizzle into holes.)
20. Make your own carved soap using Ivory soap or a plain bar.
21. Make a coupon book for family members to 'cash in.'
22. Practice caligraphy and write out something like the Declaration of Independence or the Nativity Story or a Prayer. (Can use wood and a hot/soldering iron).
One year, #11 and a tin of cookies WAS our gift to friends and neighbors.
Lights are made from shotgun shells Free range pet rocks are far happier and healthier than farm raised ones.
Hussein’s Depression is so bad that most of us will be lucky to afford pipe cleaners to make little gifts.
“Remember when Bush was President and People Actually Had Jobs?”
Easiest and most simple of all? Remember what the season is al about. Dp spmething for someone else, if you must decorate try a simple candle or construction paper wreath. Hang out with family, enjoy life, thank God for all of it....”God bless us everyone”
Save for later. Just took a $35,000 annual pay cut, gonna need the cheap ideas. Obama’s stimulus plan is SO successful...NOT!!!
The Christmas tree lots usually have a good bit of the trimmings from the stem of the tree. Use twine to make wreaths and pine cones with glitter to decorate.
Also, my mother’s side of the family has decided we are not giving gifts at the family gathering but having a Christmas cookie decorating party instead. Everyone to bring a batch of sugar cookies (just the tube dough is fine) and a bit of sprinkles or icing or whatever and we will use food coloring to color the icing and candy, etc... It’s really fun to decorate a Christmas tree shaped cookie with M&M’s as ornaments and that glitter sprinkle as garland.
Oh and that’s our dessert for after the ham dinner!
The 99 Cent Only stores have great decorations for only 99 cents. You can’t even make anything that cheap.
Oh yeah, and for your redneck friends, you can make a gag (but cute) “Redneck wind chime”. Take a piece of wood and paint “Redneck Wind Chime” in crude letters, drill holes in them and put old cans, can openers, stuff like that to hang from the wood.
You can decorate uncut eggs, too. I use glitter, glue, and get the stickers from the folks at Dover :)
Now if someone can tell me how to catproof a Christmas tree...