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Tuesday

Homemade Christmas Gifts

Did you hear more homemade Christmas gifts will be given and that sales of craft items are up even in the midst of the financial crisis? Well, that's what the newswires have reported. The increase in sales was impressive enough to merit a press release stating the numbers.

The reason for the spike was reported to be that more people are having to make their own Christmas gifts because of a lack of funding for store bought items. If you are a crafter, you know this is a big bunch of bull.

Before you come at me with paint brush loaded for bear, let me explain. Homemade Christmas gifts are BETTER and if you are smart (shall we say crafty?) you can save some money. However, you know as well as I do unless you have been crafting for awhile you can go broke buying supplies and end up spending more than if you had just gone on and bought perfume and neckties as in holidays of the past.

But you would have to kick off your plan to make your own Christmas presents much earlier than late October or November, my friend. That is unless you have only one person to buy for on your list. Homemade quilts, knitted sweaters and crocheted afghans take more than a little time to complete.

What I would like to believe is that people are turning to handmade gifts because
homemade Christmas gifts are unique and personalized, not because they are cheap.

CHRISTMAS DINNER MENUS

I have been suffering over possible Christmas dinner menus. Somehow the thought of basting a turkey and stuffing myself with dressing so soon on the heels of Thanksgiving is not appealing.

I have polled the kin who will be attending to see if they will be sad without a traditional Christmas dinner. You might be wondering what a traditional, southern holiday meal might include. At our house that would be a combination or all of the following:

  • A golden brown basted turkey to serve as a centerpiece and an extra baked turkey breast so nobody gets mad if the white meat is gone before they get a slice.
  • Two large jellyroll pans full of cornbread dressing with a pitcher of special gravy to pour over it which works wonders if for some reason the dressing is dry.
  • Sweet potato casserole using one of several different recipes
  • A crock-pot full of slow simmered green beans or green bean bundles
  • Molded cranberry salad.
  • Yeast rolls
  • Gallons of sweet iced tea
  • Desserts


Since we had turkey for Thanksgiving and the thought of doing it again is not appealing. I'm researching Christmas dinner menus for baked ham and all the trimmings.

Do you have a website that has a good recipe or some Christmas dinner menu ideas that include something festive besides turkey? Please let me know about it in the comment section, quickly. I need to make up my mind so that I can make a grocery list so that I can go shopping for the ingredients before tomorrow.