Shop garage sales, tag sales, flea markets or thrift stores for fancy bottles, gift baskets, coffee mugs, ribbons, raffia ect. You'll be surprised what you'll find when you start looking.

Cookie jars are a wonderful way to present homemade cookies. I've found some wonderful ones at garage sales or the flea market. I also look for tins at these sales because you can usually find them for 10 cents to a dollar. Be sure to look inside and check for rust.

If you have a paper shredding machine, shred colored papers for inexpensive filler for baskets or gift bags.

Styrofoam chests and insulated bags make great gift containers that let you give items that need to be refrigerated as you can pack your goodies on ice. You can pick these items inexpensively at discount and drug stores. I found some interesting insulated bags this year for $1.99 that were designed for a paper grocery sack to go in them. They would be perfect for gift giving and then can be left in the trunk for transporting cold items and they take up little space as they fold flat. You just have to be on the lookout all year round because you never know what you will run across when you least expect it.

Save the bubble wrap, popcorn and styrofoam packing that comes with anything you have gotten during the year. This way if you are sending some of your homemade gifts out you won't have to buy these items.