Homemade Christmas Present Ideas, Cheap Gifts Of Quality

by Angela

When it comes to homemade Christmas present ideas, it always helps to have a few cheap homemade Christmas ideas in mind that would work for anyone. Situations just tend to arise in which you need to plan a gift for someone you don’t know all that well yet, and at those times, there are certain traits your present should aim for, for the best chance of being well received.

Such a gift would do well to be generically thematic, to be useful without being boring, and, for an added bonus, to make it possible for the recipients to personalize it, since you don’t know enough to do so yourself.

One of my homemade Christmas ideas is a special quilted table runner. These moderately practical items are a common staple of holiday decorating, and store-bought versions tend to come only in a few varieties of sizing, despite the many kinds of table and other furniture surfaces on which they are used.

I’d start by browsing options online to get a feel for those average shapes and measurements, and then hit up whatever fabric store or department is having a sale. You want to choose three coordinating fabrics for the top of the table runner (for example, a black/green/red/gold Holly print, a dark red shimmer, and a swirly-styled dark green brocade), purchasing a little more than 1/3 of the total fabric space needed for the whole runner, in each of the coordinating fabrics, to give you room for seam allowances.

You’re also going to want about ¼ of the total space’s worth of clear vinyl. Lastly, choose ¼ again as much as should be enough (bearing in mind seam allowances) fabric for the back or lining of the runner (a thick black cotton canvas or the like would probably do well for that). If you want to get fancy with edging or tassels, pick those up at the same time.

General assembly instructions for the table runner can be found online. What makes this project distinct, however, and what you shall have to keep in mind, is that a few of the quilt squares on the front of the runner are going to be made from the clear vinyl.

When the back of the runner is prepared, finished slits in the fabric should line up with one side of each of those squares on the front of the runner, so that when the other three sides are sewn again, sewing the front of the runner TO the back of the runner, pockets are created. Into these pockets, from the back, the gift recipient can slip their own photos.

Take a look at these other great frugal Christmas ideas!