Need some last minute quick gifts? Get some citrus and get cracking. One of the first ever eco-gifts I made was a scented ball for my mom's closet. Grab an orange. Poke it with cloves - free-form or in a pattern of your choosing. Wrap with a ribbon and leave a tail to make a loop. Hang over a hanger and the scent will permeate the clothes in your closet.
Another favorite of mine is to take the skin of citrus fruit and cut it into shapes of stars, suns, moons, whatever you fancy. Let the skin naturally dry. Coat with watered down white glues to keep the stirring critters away. Wrap with jute or raffia and hang on the tree. You could add cranberries and popcorn as well, or even beads.
These make great hostess gifts and stocking stuffers too - so get your vitamin C and your gift giving going. Good for your body and good for the environment.
14 comments:
I am jewish and have never celebrated christmas but this may be a fun gift to give my roommates for the holidays. Cheap, easy, and green...awesome! I think people also appreciate homemade gifts more then bought ones. Besides it being cheap it means a lot to the receiver that you put the time and effort into a gift.
Oh wow, when I was little my mom used to have my sister and I make the scented balls out of oranges and cloves. We would always do this for our grandparents, aunts and uncles. It smells amazing, seriously like nothing else. And it's pretty fun to do and see how neatly you can get the cloves to wrap around.
these are really cool ideas we are always looking for fresh scented candles and things of that nature for our house and room because the dog has started to make the house smell but you cant leave candles on while you aren't home so this would be a great substitute and so easy!
I agree in that I think people definitely do appreciate homemade gifts as opposed to store bought ones, it shows that more thought was put into it. I think these ornaments are a great idea and sound like fun to make. I'd like to try making these at home with my mom, I think she'd like to hang them on our tree because she made some of her own ornaments a few years ago and continues to use them each Christmas, so we can add these to her collection!
My mother always makes the oranges with cloves around this time of year, and they do smell great! She uses them in larger quantities and makes great center pieces. This could be a great idea for a holiday party with multiple tables, and someone could take home the centerpiece as a gift. I've never tried this craft as a closet scenter, but I may try it in my studio apartment since we can't light candles!
This is very inspiring. Self-made gifts are a great way to celebrate without costing money and express your sense of style. Although I don't really celebrate Christmas back at home in China but the closet idea is still good for a new year gift.
I love new and creative ideas for gifts the holidays. I always appreciate gifts, especially from my friends, that are handmade. I love these ideas, especially homemade decorations. My entire family always gets together for Christmas Eve and one year we all decorated ornaments. Not only are they great gifts but its a fun holiday party activity also.
This is such an eco-friendly, adorable idea! My mom is always trying to find new ways to decorate the tree and make the house smell great. I was looking online and there is a website that gives you a list of other fruit you can do this with too. Now that I know to put glue with the fruit I am more open to try these little gift ideas. Very cute.
I think this is a fun and great alternate if you are low on cash and need a quick gift idea. Also it's fun to make and i myself always enjoy homemade gifts because they are always more personal.
I love these ideas for quick and easy gifts for the holidays. I consider myself horrible at figuring out what items to buy for friends and family, and these eco-friendly presents would be perfect. My mom is a huge fan of putting potpourri around the house and around her clothing. She would love these sweet smelling gifts to put in her closet!
I really like the idea of homemade presents. Taking the time to make something for someone shows how much you care about them. Making an ecologically friendly gift shows how much you can about that person as well as the environment. I think these are wonderful presents that keep the Christmas spirit in mind.
I'm loving this idea but not just for christmas. This is a great way to infuse your home with the scents of the season. i keep scented oils in my room but this is a great alternative. cheap and fun to make. could be a fun thing to do with kids at the family holiday party too!
I always love receiving hand made gifts. It shows the person really took the time to make something unique for you. These are all great ideas. I would love to receive unique hand made gifts rather than someone going to a store. Cheap, easy, and green! YES.
I used to do this when I was younger. Along with making hanging ornaments I used to make poparie jars. Take orange and citus fruit peels, and cloves and put these in a mason jar. You then take the center peice out of the lid and line it with a peice of screen and decorate the jar with ribbon. There you go you have a fancy poparie jar. You can also paint the fruit peels too to make the contents look nice too. Making gifts for the holidays is always fun and cheap! I don't have too much to spend this year so I may just have to do some of the tricks from when I was younger.
Post a Comment