We’re all trying to save time and money this holiday season, and making gifts at home is an easy way to do it. Cookie Gift Certificates are not only a fun and easy gift to make and give this holiday season, they are inexpensive and require no trips to the crowded mall! Perfect for anyone, a cookie gift certificate is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.

The certificates are simple to make! Just print out your favorite design from C&H® Sugar, find out your gift recipient’s favorite dessert, fill out the certificate, and you have a unique and personalized gift for anyone on your list. And since the certificates are small, they make great stocking stuffers and can easily be mailed!

*Brought to you by Domino® Sugar and C&H Sugar.

Homemade recipe books are a great way to organize recipes while adding a personal touch, and are a wonderful gift that can be passed down from generation to generation. Start with your family’s tried and true recipes, add in your favorites, and leave blank pages for future additions.

Decorate the cover of your recipe book using scrapbooking supplies, various cardstock papers cut with decorative scissors, fabric swatches or small ornaments. Customize the look of your recipe book with your personal creative touch for a one-of-a-kind homemade gift.

For step-by-step downloadable instructions to make your very own personalized recipe book, visit C&H® Sugar.

*Brought to you by Domino® Sugar and C&H Sugar.

As a busy mom, it’s no surprise that my holiday to-do list used to be longer than Santa’s: Buy the gifts, buy the food, prep the food, wrap the gifts, thaw the turkey, bake the turkey, make cookies with the kids… and on and on. Thanks to Safeway, I’ve got everything I need to stay on track this holiday season.

A great feature is the Safeway holiday website. Like Santa’s sleigh, it’s packed with goodies. That includes money-saving recipes for appetizers, and main dishes, plus decorating tips. Safeway has even come up with some great kid-friendly recipes and ideas for edible gifts that even a non-crafty mother like me can make!

Take these Sugar Cookie Pops: They’re fun to make, inexpensive and make fabulous presents for kids and adults alike. That’s a gift that would make even the most finicky elf proud.

The holiday website even has a fun Gingerbread Man Game, where the kids can create their own gingerbread men and share them with their friends. It’s an easy, imaginative holiday activity.

Let’s face it – things are tight for a lot of us this year, but with Safeway’s weekly specials and email savings, as well as their grocery delivery service (free for first time users), I can have a holiday season that I’ll remember for years to come.

Family, decorations, and holiday food all within my budget? That’s real value. Which is what I always expect from Safeway.

Brought to you by Safeway

Nothing says Happy Holidays like a special gift made by you, especially one that is personalized with the recipient in mind.

Homemade Sugar Scrubs are easy to make, smell delicious, and are a wonderful gift for anyone you know that could use a little pampering after a day baking in the kitchen!

Brown Sugar Body Scrub
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup ground oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup almond oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Small containers with lids

Combine all ingredients using a spatula in a large bowl until well blended. The mix should have a paste like texture. If it is too dry add more oil a few drops of oil at a time. Conversely, if it is too oily add more dry ingredients until you reach the desired consistency. Store in jars for up to 2 weeks in refrigerator. May need to mix before use if ingredients settle.

Know someone who could go for a little spice? The Brown Sugar Sweet & Spicy Sugar Scrub is not only perfect for them, but uses ingredients you may already have in your pantry!

*Brought to you by Domino® Sugar and C&H® Sugar

Sugar doesn’t just belong in the kitchen; it goes above and beyond the culinary world. The sugar experts at Domino® Sugar have compiled wacky and crafty things you can do with sugar. From silky smooth skin, hummingbird feed and art, Domino® Sugar has got you covered!

Fancy a trip to the spa but having trouble finding the time or the money? Try making one of Domino® Sugar’s many body scrubs – Sweet N’ Spicy Brown Sugar, White Cane Glimmer Sugar, or Brown Sugar Body Scrub. The perfect recipe may depend on your skin type so have fun and experiment with what works best for you. Try out scents from essential oils like grapefruit, lavender or peppermint, which can be found in specialty markets or crafts stores.

These body scrubs will exfoliate, and relax your body from a long day of baking! They can also make a nice, low-cost gift idea too. Just get creative and use small mason jars or washed out baby food jars as containers and decorate them to suit.

Hummingbirds feed on flower nectar, a.k.a. Sugar Water. Using Domino® Pure Cane Sugar, you can make your own hummingbird nectar. Just follow the directions in the Domino® Sugar Hummingbird Nectar Recipe, and you’ll have hummingbirds flocking to your feeder.

Have you ever thought of using Domino® sugar cubes to create fun, building block projects? The creative people at Domino call it, SugArt, which is basically, art made out of sugar. With a little imagination, food coloring and glue, you can start making castles, robots, pyramids and much more in no time. These activities are perfect for those rainy days at home or any type of fun-filled group projects. The unique shape of the sugar cubes makes it easy to get creative—tall, flat, or three-dimensional–the sky is the limit. A popular SugArt project is the American Flag. Be sure to have enough sugar cubes because this project requires 875 sugar cubes!

So the next time you think of sugar, think of all the possibilities. They’re endless!

*Brought to you by Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar

Here are some of my favorite Christmas decoration ideas to get you out of that green and red rut.  

Who would have ever thought that a pink Christmas might just be awesome?  Decorated with giant globe balls and pretty white lights, this is definitely one waaaaay outside the box Christmas tree.  $259 at treetopia.com

Not going for an over the top Christmas tree?  How about decking out a beautiful fresh wreath?  This beauty is spruced up with small silver tree ornaments and fresh eucalyptus.  The smell alone is outta this world.

Make tradition just a little bit more sparkly.  Make your own traditional starred Christmas topper.  Cover it in glitter and surround it in wired tinsel roping and it’ll make any tree just that much more gorgeous.  Here’s how to make your own tree topper!

I think my favorite craft this holiday season is these glittered candles.  Simply buy all the pillar candles you think you might need, some spray adhesive, a face mask and silver gold and pink glitter.  To make, place a few candles in a box, with a mask on and in a well ventilated area, spray the sides of the candles and spoon over glitter.  Shake the glitter to cover and let the glittered candles dry overnight.  It’s that easy!

I am so looking forward to the holiday season, but I’m absolutely dreading the high price that comes along with cooking, decorating and entertaining my friends and family.  The current economic downturn is doing nothing for my holiday spirit.  Well, I’ve picked myself up by the boot straps, put on my cheapest thinking cap and found some of the best, most wallet friendly ways to enjoy this holiday season, without having to pick up any more extra shifts at work.  

Celebrate the holidays with imagination instead of money

Go for a natural centerpiece

Forget the fake birds or fancy crystals, head down to the farmers market and pick up some beautiful, bright tangerines and pomegranates.  Arrange them in one of your favorite kitchen bowls with whatever other fruit and veggies you might have on hand.  Your center piece becomes something beautiful to look at, and something to munch on long after the holiday guests are gone.  Now that’s thinkin’!

Don’t have a fancy table cloth?  Reach for the butcher paper!

I love how rustic and casual butcher paper looks on a table.  It’s also great fun to throw some holiday colored crayons on the table for people to doodle as they sit around the table after dinner.  Combined with the rustic and natural center piece, you’ll have a cozy, themed dinner table without the big price tag.  

Head to the thrift store!

Thrift stores are the best and cheapest places to find all sorts of cute cups and knick knacks you might want for around the table or around the house.  At 50 cents a cup, you’ll be able to stock up without breaking the bank.

Don’t buy a tree, decorate the tree outside!

My family decorated a tree in our yard year after year.  My Mom just hated the idea of cutting down a lovely tree to only enjoy for a month.  The tree in your yard doesn’t even have to be Christmas tree shaped.  Have fun with it and think outside the box.   Decorating a tree in your front yard is great for your finances and great for the world.  Just think of it as one less dead tree sitting on the side of the road come mid-January. 

Pot luck if you can!

Having each guest bring one of their favorite dishes to your holiday dinner is a great way to share stories about food and family, and it also helps save you from a gigantic grocery bill!

Clip those coupons!

Coupon savings can add up at the grocery store.  Make coupon clipping a fun Sunday morning activity for the kids.  Sit down for a big breakfast and a browse through the newspaper coupon section with the family.  It just might be fun!

Don’t take the kiddies to the grocery store!

Believe it or not, this tip will, without a doubt, save you money.  Stores intentionally place the more expensive brand names on the lower shelves, right in reach of the little ones.  Save yourself time, money and temper tantrums by avoiding the middle of the aisle Lucky Charm negotiations.  

Craft your own gifts!

Who says you have to go drop a bunch of cash on Gap sweaters and scarves?  Why not make your own holiday presents this year.  Paint a picture, make cute magnets, make mini loaves of banana bread and a homemade chai tea mix, or throw together a mini recipe book.  Handmade gifts always feel more thoughtful that the store bought ones.  

Forget the store bought gift wrap and make your own!

Remember that butcher paper you’re using for your tablecloth?  That same paper can also be used as gift wrap.  If you have a few festive rubber stamps, you can stamp your own wrapping paper.  If not, just buy a roll or two of beautiful ribbon and your wrapped present will we absolutely gorgeous!

Give back!  It feels good and it’s free.

People get in the giving spirit around the holidays, right?  Why not give a little of your time.  It can be free and fun!  How about volunteering to pet cats and your local animal shelter?  Maybe volunteer to make cookies for seniors in nursing homes.  It feels great to give back during this time of year.  Volunteermatch.org can help you find local places to give you time and love.

Oh!  If only I had all the time in the world.  Just imagine the home and kitchen treats I could come up with!  Everytime I visit Martha Stewart’s expansive website, I am reminded of all the darling projects I might complete were there more hours in the day.  

This month Martha and her team are focused on Halloween, of course.  Wait… did I say this month!?  Correction:  we’re smack dab in the middle of eight weeks of Martha Stewart Halloween madness.  Too much?  Never!  There’s papier-mache, candy wreathes, jack o lanterns, gift bags, cookies, cakes, spidery things- more Halloween crafts than you could possibly imagine.  Next week Martha tackles outdoor Halloween decor and the following week she focuses on candy crafts.  

Get your game faces on, people.  This is serious crafting.  Not for the faint of heart. 

Check out MarthaStewart.com.  She’s doing things.  Lots and lots of things.

Take a look at what Baby Gap is offering for your little ones? Are these not the cutest pull along toys you’ve ever seen?! The toys are sold separately at BabyGap, or you can purchase them separately online. You’ll want to take plenty of pictures for your scrap books when you sweet pea starts dragging this adorable toy along behind him/her. Click here to have a look at these toys and others.

My BF gives me a lot of grief for my love of scrapbooking. His mom turned me onto it, so once a month I give my liver a break from boozing and go with her to a cropping party. For those of you who aren’t cool enough to know what cropping is, it’s just a fancy term for scrapbooking. I have tons of pretty paper and girlie hole punches, pens, etc. that I pack up and carry with me all the way across town during rush hour so I can spend $15 and 6 hours “gluing pictures on paper.” Believe it or not, I find it to be so relaxing. Lounging in a store with a bunch of women who are all old enough to be my mother and talking about how great our pages look. If you haven’t caught on to this over 30 trend then do so. I have done quite a bit of traveling to be so young and that is how I chronicle all my journeys. I have one that showcases my weekend trips all over Korea and my vacation to Thailand. I am currently working on a book for my little brother to commemorate his graduation from college and after that is done I’ll start working on a book that showcases my relationship with my BF, which should be so fun since we’ve known each other since birth. Eventually, I’ll get around to preserving my pictures from my trip to France.

While scrapbooking is tons of fun it definitely is not a cheap hobby. Just buying the paper, alone, can add up. All the tools that come into permanent contact with your pictures have to be acid free, which contributes to the high cost of supplies. It also takes a steady hand, a lot of patience, and high attention to detail. But when you have the finished product proudly displayed on your coffee table for friends and family to look through, the money and time spent are all worth it. So grab your pictures and all those trinkets that you saved but never quite knew what to do with and let your imagination run wild. Click here for more info on how to begin scrapbooking.