Homemade Gifts

*UPDATED* I added samples of the stationary paper I made onto my sidebar. It got altered when I was uploading but I'm not sure how to fix. ;-)

This past summer I started making homemade gifts in preparation for Christmas. Every year I get frustrated with the amount of clutter caused by toys not even used. Except for a few favorite toys, most of the toys bought during the holidays are never used as much as I imagine when purchasing. So this year I decided to create or buy meaningful gifts.

As St. Nicholas Day quickly approaches Craig has reminded me not to spend a fortune and turn it into a mini Christmas. I've been thinking and thinking and came up with some wonderful ideas!!

Last week I called a local Catholic bookstore to find out how much Catholic stationary cost. The store owner quoted me $16 a set!! I've also been eyeing these sets. But I just can't see buying 4 sets and spending that much money.

Well, today I spent some time printing homemade stationary. The three older girls will each have their patron saint and their name on their paper. Kolbe will also have his saint but will have dotted lines (to encourage correct penmanship).

As for Catherine, I've decided that I will start doing preschool with her in January. I've been enjoying all the Along the Alphabet Path posts here and here. Catherine will begin her journey in January. To help with this cause I've ordered this cd. After printing ALL the coloring sheets I'll have them spiraled bound. I'm also going to print out all the saint coloring sheets from HERE and have them spiral bound.

Veronica received a plastic baby album for her birthday. I have yet to put pictures in it. I plan on printing up pictures of every family member so she can enjoy her book during mass.

Total cost for this Saint Nicholas Day??

4 stationary sets - about $6-10 (printer ink, paper)
envelopes for stationary- about $10
cd of Alphabet Saints - $20 (we already own book)
printing saint sheets - about $1-2 (printer ink, paper)
spiral binding two books - about $3-7
pictures - about $3

Total: $36-40 (since I already own ink, paper, album)

I'll also be bake some cookies using my St. Nicholas stamp. Each child will receive a little baggie with cookies and an envelope of hot cocoa.

I am so excited about these homemade gifts!!!