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Any good ideas for holiday gifts to your neighbors? I'm looking for something other than baked items as I am not too good at that!:???:
Thanks for the help!
How about stamped bags with some Christmas candy? You could get white lunch bags, fancy trim the top, stamp them, use a ribbon to seal them or as handles and put some Hershey's kisses inside.
Or, if you are a really great neighbor, you could offer to pick up dog poop off their lawn - just kidding!
__________________ Jennifer
Live each day with kindness, happiness, and a smile.
Can you melt some white chocolate chips and crush some candy canes? ;-)
You can make peppermint bark
or even easier dip the last 2 inches of candy cane in melted white chocolate and sprinkle with white or red & green nonpareils
__________________ Victoria
~Made of awesome
~My 6th Avon 39
Do you know if your neighbors have animals? Maybe instead of giving them more cookies and candy that really no one needs lol gift their pet. A goodie bag of bones for the dog, a toy for the cat?
__________________ Victoria
~Made of awesome
~My 6th Avon 39
One of my neighbors loves his yard and garden. I've given him a bouquet of pin wheels to add to it.
Or look up some recipes for flavored nuts?
or if you have a Lowe's near by they have nice soy candles in nice containers with removable labels that you can decorate.
__________________ Victoria
~Made of awesome
~My 6th Avon 39
OK...This one is really easy! Anyone can do these and they are GREAT!
Poor Man's Turtles
1 bag of small pretzel twists
1 bag of ROLO candies (you will need 2-3 bags for all the pretzels in the bag)
Pecan halves
Heat your oven to 350
Lay you pretzels on to your cookie sheet
Unwrap one ROLO candy for each Pretzel
Have your Pecan Halves ready
Put one ROLO candy onto of each pretzel and bake them for 4 minutes, no more, no less
Remove them from the oven and place a pecan half on each ROLO pressing down easy with your finger...
Let them cool and remove from the baking sheet...Cool over night and package for gift giving...
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
Wow...I just got home and am amazed at all the great ideas for my neighbor gifts. Now I wish I had more neighbors! I'll just have to make more gifts for my family now Thanks so much!
Post it pads, mini composition books with mini pen attached, tree ornaments, candles with design melted on, s'mores in a jar mix, set of all occasion cards....
__________________ ~Vee
It's not who you know-it's whom you know.
I don't know if this is what you want, but I have tons of ideas for neighborhood gifts--with cute sayingss. However, I am away from my own computer and on vacation. So I thought maybe I could still give you some ideas by having you google in "cute christmas gift sayings" and you will come up with a lot of fun ideas. So many you won't know where to begin. I have found most of my ideas at craft fairs. Hope this helps.
I bake bread with my bread maker, hit the church bazzars for homemade jam etc. and buy a dollarama Christmas tray and knife. Wrap it up in Saran Wrap and leave it on their doorstep.
4x4 tumbled stone coaster, these make a lovely gift that can be used all year round. Makes a great gift and lets the person know you are thinking of them! Great tutorials on Splitcoaststampers for this technique!
Although I am appreciative of the "things" people give me I generally give something consumable - no one I know needs more "stuff" to find a place for.
In spite of my previous post (lol), one of the things I thought of as I read this thread was giving gift tags. Unless it was someone I knew to be appreciative of the time/effort put into making fancier tags I would keep them fairly simple so that they would feel free to put them on everyone's gift! I do this for my mom every year - she always needs more tags!
My vote would be for a small baked good even if purchased at the supermarket. As was said in previous post......most people have all the "stuff" they need and have a place for. Unless it's a neighbor you are especially close with, a small token gift is all that's necessary. You don't want the neighbors to feel obligated to return the gift with another gift if they hadn't intended to in the first place.
A purchased baked good would also let the recipient know what it was made with in case there are any allergy issues. Home baked good (though they probably taste better) can leave a mystery as to ingredients.
Although I am appreciative of the "things" people give me I generally give something consumable - no one I know needs more "stuff" to find a place for.
I should note that when I say consumable I also mean items that are used up like a nice soap/body lotion or paper goods. One of my favorite gifts to give my kids' teachers was a pretty "tower" of sturdy seasonal paper plates and napkins (dinner plates, dinner napkins, snack size plates, cocktail napkins) - good for a hurried dinner at home or to whip out for unexpected company.
I go through all the cards and ATCs I've made all year for swaps and classes and put sets of 6 to 12 (or more) cards and envelopes together to give at Christmas and for birthdays. I've made dividers (labeled Birthday, Get Well, Wedding, etc.), too, and put the sets into photo boxes. MY SIL loved getting hers for Christmas and begged for refills for her birthday! If I'm ready to part with swaps I've received I'll make them into cards and add those to the collections, too, with the name of the original creator on the back.
How about leaving a card on their door with a note inside, saying you will shovel their snow/mow their lawn once during the season? And then do that in the future.
Red~
You always seem to have the BEST postings online.....its seem...lately...I read something and lo and behold....your name is at the bottom....keep it up...we love you
Casey
Quote:
Originally Posted by kphorse
OK...This one is really easy! Anyone can do these and they are GREAT!
Poor Man's Turtles
1 bag of small pretzel twists
1 bag of ROLO candies (you will need 2-3 bags for all the pretzels in the bag)
Pecan halves
Heat your oven to 350
Lay you pretzels on to your cookie sheet
Unwrap one ROLO candy for each Pretzel
Have your Pecan Halves ready
Put one ROLO candy onto of each pretzel and bake them for 4 minutes, no more, no less
Remove them from the oven and place a pecan half on each ROLO pressing down easy with your finger...
Let them cool and remove from the baking sheet...Cool over night and package for gift giving...
__________________ Casey Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. ~Jules de Gaultier
I disagree with everyone who says no one needs more cookies and candies - I ALWAYS need more cookies and candies! <grin> That is my favourite gift to receive!!
Location: Rescuing one dog may not change the world, but for that one dog, the world will be changed forever
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yummo
Quote:
:p
Quote:
Originally Posted by kphorse
OK...This one is really easy! Anyone can do these and they are GREAT!
Poor Man's Turtles
1 bag of small pretzel twists
1 bag of ROLO candies (you will need 2-3 bags for all the pretzels in the bag)
Pecan halves
Heat your oven to 350
Lay you pretzels on to your cookie sheet
Unwrap one ROLO candy for each Pretzel
Have your Pecan Halves ready
Put one ROLO candy onto of each pretzel and bake them for 4 minutes, no more, no less
Remove them from the oven and place a pecan half on each ROLO pressing down easy with your finger...
Let them cool and remove from the baking sheet...Cool over night and package for gift giving...
These are a family favorite not only to eat but to make. If you have children they can help with the unwrapping of the sweets and placing, making the task not only family togetherness & fun but go along much faster!!
We also buy large pretzal rods and dip them in semisweet choclate chips we've melted in the microwave then roll them in mini M&M's or sprinkles... even crushed candy canes! Not only yummy but the kids love unwrapping & putting the candy canes in baggies & smooshing them with the rolling pin!!
We've also gifted those white lunch bags that are often so elusive.. We stamp them with Christmas and Valentines themes..... use a decorative punch around bag top and wrap with cello and ribbon. We figure they will be used one Holiday or the next right?
lol
Just enjoy whatever you do and don't stress.
Everyone appreciates simply being thought of!
You could stamp out a coupon book offering to water their flowers on their vacation or walking their dog,Feedign the cat/fish, watering their inside plants, getting their mail.. Anything to save them time and money would most likely be most appreciated! HAVE FUN!!
__________________ www.petfinder.com
Why Breed or Buy & Let Rescue Dogs Die?
Last edited by emsmomthestamper; 12-09-2010 at 03:29 AM..
Reason: typos
I bake bread with my bread maker, hit the church bazzars for homemade jam etc. and buy a dollarama Christmas tray and knife. Wrap it up in Saran Wrap and leave it on their doorstep.
My closest neighbor is 5 acres away and I don't even know the name on the one on the down hill side and am not friends with the one on the up hill side. However, I am friends with one 10 acres away and take care of animals, water plants, shovel snow, split wood, drive her to town etc. all year through, so a promise-note would not be special. However, she loves bread (bakes her own), so that is something I like to bake for her as she can always freeze it, and it saves her doing it herself. Homemade jelly/jam from a craft sale (I don't do preserving) is a great idea to go with it as I know she would love that. Thanks for that idea. Usually a homemade ornament and card goes with whatever else I give her.
These are great ideas!! Thanks so much for sharing! I don't have a lot of neighbors to do something for....but others...ladies at church, post-lady...etc.
All of these would be great for that too!!
I have two great neighbours who I would like to do something special for. For one, I am creating a 'family movie night' basket with popcorn, and a gift card to our local rental store. I usually make fudge/candy at this time of year and will definitely add some of that. What great ideas everyone has! Thank you for sharing!
I live in senior mobile home park and some of my neighbors are alone for the holidays. Most of them are not allowed sweets and don‘t want or need “stuff“. Every year I pick up silk flowers, small ornaments, vases, ribbon and such at the thrift shops and Dollar Tree after Christmas sales. Then the weekend before Christmas I go to the tree lot and pick up trimmed branches for free and make small bouquets. For most of them it’s the only decoration they have and they love the smell of the branches. I wrap a pair of socks, a bar of soap or something else they can use form the Dollar Tree in pretty paper for each of them. I keep it cheap and let them know it’s cheap so they don’t feel obligated to get me something in return.
Location: not too far from the big mountain in n.h.
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Originally Posted by G Ma Bernie
I live in senior mobile home park and some of my neighbors are alone for the holidays. Most of them are not allowed sweets and don�t want or need �stuff�. Every year I pick up silk flowers, small ornaments, vases, ribbon and such at the thrift shops and Dollar Tree after Christmas sales. Then the weekend before Christmas I go to the tree lot and pick up trimmed branches for free and make small bouquets. For most of them it�s the only decoration they have and they love the smell of the branches. I wrap a pair of socks, a bar of soap or something else they can use form the Dollar Tree in pretty paper for each of them. I keep it cheap and let them know it�s cheap so they don�t feel obligated to get me something in return.
You are the best! Very inspiring! Thanks so much for doing this. So many times we forget the seniors who are alone. They are always so appreciative of what they receive no matter what it is. Just to have someone care is so good for them. Again, thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Go through your extra cards or make a gift set bundle of an assortment of sympathy and birthday cards. Then add a sheet of forever stamps with them. You'd have a lovely gift for under 10.00. My entire family still asks for it!
We have elderly neighbors on both sides and in back of us. We have always given them a Pointsettia. They are pretty, last a lot longer than Christmas, and the neighbors now look forward to them.
When I was working I took the little ones to my co-workers. They are only a few dollars, but look like much more.
I was also in a group that I gave them to. We now celebrate in January, so they no longer get a Pointsettia.
I would come out of Lowe's or Home Depot with 10-15 plants. Now I get 4, 3 for my neighbors and 1 for me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
__________________ Jac-ee Former FSJ Founding Coach and SU! Demonstrator, now crafting for myself. "There is a fine line between 'HOBBY' and 'MENTAL ILLNESS'"
Neighbor gifts?
