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Holiday shopping seems to have gotten out of control. We buy for our kids. We buy for our parents. We buy for our siblings. We buy for grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We buy for teachers. And coaches. And bus drivers. And mail carriers. And Scout leaders. Where does it end?

If you want to show appreciation for the people in your life, without spending a lot of money, your best bet is to make something from home. For the rest of this week, we’re going to focus on easy, frugal, homemade gifts. Year after year, I get my holiday shopping done, pick out something for the teacher, then panic the night before the last day of school when I remember the office staff, the bus driver, the assistant teacher…

Festive Candles

The night before Brenia’s Make ‘N Bake party, I was a bit panicked about having enough crafts for the kids. While I was buying supplies for our treat boxes, I noticed the adhesive jewels next to the stickers. I grabbed a package of clear crystals, then headed for the candles. I bought two packages of votive candles—one green, one red.

Total cost? $4.97 for 12 candles!

Each child received one of each candle and a strip of jewels. They spent a few minutes decorating their candles. Each one turned out so cute! The candles make a nice decoration for the Christmas season—the hubby is actually the candle fan around here. He lights multiple votives around the house as soon as he gets home from work in the evenings.

They are so simple to make and are perfect for last minute gifts—and easy enough for the kids to do themselves for a bit more personality. Lorelai made the ones in the picture—if a 5-year-old can make them look this adorable, imagine what you could do!

These will make a fun gift—wrapped in tissue paper or cellophane and tied with red & green ribbon.