10 low-cost gifts from the heart

The holidays are supposed to be about visiting with loved ones -- laughing around the fire, chatting up Grandma, hosting people in your home. So stop the holiday madness. Stop trudging all over town, waiting in lines. Stop running after your own sense of Christmas past. Isn't it time to focus on giving gifts that really mean something? Here are 10 suggestions for how to spend less money and put more of yourself into creative gift giving. Some of the best ideas require a fair amount of time, but they're far more rewarding than creating an attack plan for the mall.Not everything on the list is charmingly homemade, but everything is a step above the generic gift card. Family cookbook: Do you miss Grandma's shepherd's pie or Aunt Aggie's famous French toast? You can bet your siblings do, too. Try compiling all the favorite family recipes into a cookbook. Use your design skills to create an attractive cover and add photos or stories to create a wonderful record of family history that extends beyond the kitchen table. For help, check out books such as "Scrapbooking with Recipes" by Better Homes and Gardens or how-to guides online. Web sites such as Secret Ingredients allow you to create a book online for printing.Video tribute: Who doesn't want to be a star, especially when the rewards are as sweet as a personal video tribute from loved ones? Ask family and friends for funny stories and favorite memories of the honoree. Too often we share these stories only on special occasions, such as weddings, or after the people are gone. This is a great idea for parents and grandparents. Just have the tissues handy -- this one's sure to be a tear-jerker. If you need a camcorder, start here. Then check out the simple video-editing software that came with your computer.Personalized/homemade gifts: Anything homemade -- soaps, stationery, jams -- offers something stores cannot: your love and effort in all its imperfect glory. The best ideas take advantage of family history or photos (see "Turn your memories into precious gifts"). You can embellish your gifts with magazines or newspapers that were published on auspicious dates in your family's history -- a wedding or a birthday, perhaps. (You can search for Time magazine covers or for Life magazines and newspapers online.) Or check out the nearest paint-your-own-ceramics shop. Children (and adults) can add charm and personal messages to gifts such as mugs and picture frames for grandparents. The hostess with the mostest: Anyone who has put on a family reunion knows that the level of detail and schedule juggling can be mind-boggling. By taking on the planning, you're freeing everyone else to relax and look forward to the event. Even a simple picnic at a park can be tons of fun.Cover the family beat: It can be difficult to keep up with the comings and goings of your immediate family, let alone extended family across the globe (chances are, they're not all addicted to Facebook). So don your reporter's cap and create a newsletter that includes the extended family's news. Even if you keep track with a blog online, you can compile the news at the end of the year in a great keepsake for family members. "Creating Family Newsletters" by Elaine Floyd is just one book that can help.Gift of the month: You've probably seen the commercial gift-of-the-month clubs that offer flowers, wines or cigars. By drawing on your own talents, you can create a personal monthly gift service at a fraction of the dollar cost. Maybe it's freshly baked bread, homemade candles, flowers or vegetables from your garden that you bestow on lucky friends or family each month -- even a poem or car washing. Be careful, though. It can be a big time commitment. You might want to make it quarterly or consider doing something that you can make ahead, such as jams or homemade soaps. The worst thing you can do with this kind of gift? Not deliver on your promises.A new survey finds 38% of shoppers say high energy prices will make them cut their holiday spending plans.Prepaid cell phones or calling cards: For elderly relatives living on fixed incomes, prepaid calling cards mean they won't have to forgo a comforting call because money is tight. (And for parents of overseas-bound college kids, they can offer invaluable peace of mind.) Try local groceries or drugstores, or research calling cards online. Every major carrier, as well as others such as Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, TracFone and Liberty Wireless, offers prepaid cell plans.Chip in on a group outing: Get everyone to agree to forgo the gifts and instead put the money toward a shared experience. It can be dinner at a fancy restaurant, a day sledding or a whole weekend away in a rented cabin. Not only does it reduce the focus on material goods, but you also will have time to enjoy each other's company.Spread the joy: In the "it's better to give than to receive" camp, consider sponsoring a needy child or giving to a charity in someone else's name. Have your kids pick one of their toys to donate to charity, or make a family event out of preparing a holiday meal for a local family in need. (See "How to tell a good charity from a bad one" or ePhilanthropyFoundation.org for help choosing a charity.)Your time: Ah, the most valuable gift of all. This can take any form you want, but formalizing your offer makes it worthy of being put under the tree. Consider monthly baby-sitting or dog-care coupons, or help someone with a difficult all-day project, such as getting garden beds ready for spring planting or building shelves for a hobby room. Lend your expertise to things your loved ones especially need help with, whether it's an all-day class on how to use their computer or how to cook some of the family recipes you've compiled for them.