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. |