By SUSAN BLOWER
Indiana Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — The homemade Christmas gift of choice used to be the dreaded fruitcake, enjoyed by only a few. For whatever reason, homemade gifts fell out of vogue.

But now the fashion, reinvented, may be returning like bell-bottoms and tie-dyed shirts.

“It’s coming back,” confirmed Evelyn Prasse, consumer and family economics educator with the University of Illinois extension.

Prasse believes the trend is a good one because flashy, money-driven gift giving misses “the whole Christmas spirit.” In addition, “homemade” is not limited to baking or sewing, although there are many new ideas using these methods. Simply framing a family picture or your child’s work of art qualifies.

Prasse recommends choosing an activity that fits one’s skill set as well as the recipients’ interests.

Photographers can take beautiful pictures, while a scrapbooker can make unique books for others, for instance. Those who can’t sew can use fabric glue and fabric paint.

Christmas – homemade style – also has a practical side. Making one’s own cookies, gift baskets or pictures certainly can be less expensive than buying prepackaged assortments at the store.
“In these economic times a lot of families are looking for ways to do gift giving without the high cost. Gifts from the heart made for individuals mean more because they are personalized,” Prasse said.

Personalized gifts also require more time and are therefore more thoughtful, she said. The downside is they often do require more time and thought. Planning a low-cost, homemade Christmas then may begin earlier – perhaps in October, not a few weeks before Christmas.

Prasse has assembled many ideas for low-cost, thoughtful, homemade gifts, and many more such guides exist on the Internet. Simply type “low cost gift ideas” into a search engine and several sites pop up.

Among her ideas are:
•When children are small, bedeck their school pictures in frames they have decorated in puzzle pieces or other ways. Grandparents, in particular, may also enjoy decorated or handmade scrapbooks that contain their grandchildren’s school papers and drawings.

•For grown children, scan old family photos and collect them in a book, together with the stories and names that go with them.

•Rather than spending lots of money on going out to eat or on party food, invite friends over for a shared soup meal. Each person could bring an ingredient for the soup or their own family recipe for chili. The hostess could arrange guest recipes in booklets as party favors.

•Give a little girl a dress-up box of your old clothes, jewelry and hats.

•Give coupons for your time and a special talent you possess, such as cooking, cleaning, massaging or babysitting.

•Draw names for a group exchange or have a “white elephant” exchange. This can take the form of a fun game, giving participants the choice between the safe, but bland, gift or the hidden item in a bag. (Farm World correspondents have enjoyed this game several times with their editor, at writers’ conferences.)
In turning the focus off the gift giving itself and upon the game or activity, families and friends can recapture the fun of just being together, Prasse said. She also said learning a new skill or craft may be as simple as looking it up on the Internet or attending a mini-workshop at a craft and fabric store.

Some other gift ideas gathered from http://simpledebtfreeliving.com and others include the following:
•Give the gift of music – burn a CD of your favorite songs.

•Make or buy an apron at the fabric store to decorate and personalize for your favorite cook.

•Magazine (or newspaper) subscriptions are low-cost gifts that keep on giving.

•Personalized gift basket for personal care, craft supplies, food, office supplies, coffee lovers, jellies, fireplace starter kit or any hobby/interest. Find an interesting container, perhaps a thrift store basket or tin, and dress it up with a cloth and ribbon.

At www.about.com specific crafts, with detailed directions and pictures, can be found. Creator Erin Huffstetler compiled such inexpensive gift ideas as a denim pocket quilt, rag wreath, sweater bag, wine cork wreath, Bundt cake candle and popsicle-shaped soap. They look as good or better than they sound.

She even has a few craft ideas to do for or with the kids. Prasse believes we should include children in our thrifty philosophy.
“We need to be instilling in their minds that they don’t have to spend a lot of money to give a gift that means something,” she explained.