• Make a hat and glove set as an inexpensive Christmas gift.winter cap image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
  
  When money is hard to come by but Christmas is closing in on you, homemade gifts are a great option to show people you care without breaking a budget. With a little thought and creativity you can come up with a gift that someone will appreciate and use more than any store-bought item.
  
  

Crafts

• If you are crafty there are several gifts you can make at home. By visiting the local craft store you can pick up remnants of fabric and make a quilt. Buying some yarn will allow you to make family members hat and mitten sets to keep them warm. If you like to knit you can make a blanket or sweater. Children can even get in on this by drawing on paper used to wrap presents or decorating paper to use as Christmas cards.
  
  

Food

• Over the holidays one of the most common traditions is eating together. Bake up favorite dishes for people when you can't buy them gifts. Prepare their favorite meal and freeze it, then give as a present that they can warm up for an easy dinner. Bake everyone's favorite cookies, brownies or cakes. Make pumpkin rolls for family members you can't afford gifts for but want to show them you are thinking about them. Cheap mugs with the dry ingredients of a recipe are good gifts too.
  
  

Memories

• Scrapbooking and photo gifts are a great way to make a memory last forever. Buy T-shirts, aprons and totes at wholesale or very cheap prices, even from the dollar store, then use iron-on paper to print a photo and put it on the product.
  
  Scrapbooks made out of printed photos and scraps of paper are always a beautiful gift. These often take some time to make but the memories included in them last a lifetime.
  
  

Recipes

• Sharing recipes in the form of a cookbook for Christmas is a nice gift for a new bride or young adult. Most young people do not know how to cook very well, so recipes from an experienced chef will be helpful. Since you know your family and friends so well you know what kind of recipes they would like to use best, you can do themed books on easy recipes or baked goods.