There are times that Santa Baby wouldn’t slip a sable under the tree, or a ‘54 convertible too, and he won’t hurry down the chimney tonight. Christmas gifts can be expensive, and shopping for that one special gift can take a lot of time and effort. While Christmas is definitely not about the gifts, it can be more meaningful and memorable if you do have something to give away to a friend or a family member.

A “buy nothing Christmas” may be a bit too extreme for people who are used to store-bought Christmas gifts. When you collect all the store-bought neckties and plastic toys given away for Christmas all over the country, you’ll see how much Christmas can affect the environment. Times are also hard these days, and not everyone can afford to have the same plentiful Christmas they had before. Yet the joy of giving doesn’t have to end with your concern for the environment, or the state of your finances. The best gifts are often those that cost little to nothing at all, but come straight from the heart.

A Buy Nothing Christmas is a great way to celebrate the season of giving without breaking your budget. You also help save the environment, and at the same time break free of a commercialized, store-bought Christmas. Here are five gifts that can make their way into your own Buy Nothing Christmas list.

1. Housework Coupons for Mom

Your mom does housework for 365 days a year and still goes through the trouble of buying you that game console you really wanted for Christmas. If you can’t afford that beautiful necklace she admires, or if you’re stuck with less-than-creative ideas like aprons or rubber gloves, then you can make “housework coupons.”

If you’ve seen or received gift certificates before, a housework coupon is very similar to one. You can have your mom take the day or the week off from Christmas, while you do important chores like clean up the house, cook dinner, and wash the dishes. To make the coupon or certificate feel even more special, you can make it out of handmade scented paper and written in your own handwriting.

Remember that when your mom decides to cash in the housework coupon, make sure to do a good job with chores and tasks around the home. Add a “promo” to the coupon, like if she cashes in the coupon in a week, you’ll do extra housework that’s not included in your “limited time offer.”

2. Paintings for Dad

Your dad probably already has a collection of polyester neckties and bottles of musk from past Christmas celebrations, and he may really want something different for Christmas this year. One great Christmas present for your dad is a painting you made yourself. You don’t have to be a Picasso or a Rembrandt to make paintings of scenery and images your father may like.

A few weeks before Christmas, it’s time to break out your canvas, easel, and painting kit, and head off to some of the most meaningful places you shared bonding moments with your dad. Here are some ideas:

• The ice cream store or soda shop that you both went together when you were a kid
• His favorite beach or resort where you all go to on a holiday
• His favorite forest or hilltop view
• The view of a sunset from his easy chair by the window
• A family portrait
• A portrait of himself

Don’t be too worried that your painting or sketch won’t look like an award-winning masterpiece. Remember that it’s the thought that counts, and he will surely appreciate your gift better than store-bought presents.

3. Wildflower Potpourri for Your Fiancee

Many couples may have a curio cabinet of just about every store-bought item for couples. You may already have collected teddy bears holding everything from perfume to flowers to heart-shaped boxes. If you want to have a more meaningful and romantic Christmas present for the person you love the most, you can try wildflower potpourri.

Potpourri is both a romantic and a useful gift you can give to your fiancee. It’s a great way to freshen up a room, especially for those romantic moments you share with your beloved. Potpourri is also a very good way to get rid of strong odors from kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms. The great thing about potpourri is that it costs absolutely nothing to make.

Instead of buying flowers, you can gather wildflowers from a nearby forest or woodland, weeks before the winter season. You can then dry them out on the autumn sun, or use a set of heavy books to weigh down the petals. Fragrant bark pieces from trees like cinnamon, fir, or pine also add a unique scent to the potpourri. Loosely pack the dry fragrant pieces on a piece of cheesecloth, and place them inside an affordable gift box. (More tips on how to make potpourri sachets)

4. Scrapbooks for a Nephew or Niece

If you’re wondering about what to do with those stacks of used office paper, you can recycle them to make scrapbooks for your nephews and nieces. Office paper is very clean and already comes bleached. All you need to do is to shred the paper and make recycled paper pieces out of them. Here’s how you can make a scrapbook out of recycled materials for your nephews and nieces:

Tools

• Recycled paper pieces
• Two hard cardboard pieces (like the ones used to pack refrigerators, gas ranges, and personal computers)
• Thick colored yarn
• Nail punch, or any other punching tool that can make holes
• Pastel colors, colored glue, glitter glue, and stickers

Steps

1. Punch holes along the sides of the cardboard and recycled paper like the ones found in spiral notebooks or old accounting ledgers.

2. Assemble the scrapbook like you would a sandwich; a piece of cardboard at the bottom, the recycled paper pieces in the middle, and another cardboard piece on top.

3. Make sure that the holes are aligned. The holes need not be perfect. A few imperfections here and there give a very unique character to the scrapbook.

4. Bind the pieces together by threading yarn along and across the holes like you would shoelaces. Make sure that the binding is loose to make the scrapbook easy to handle, but tight enough to keep the leaves secure.

5. Decorate the front and the back of the notebook with crayons, decorative glue, and other decorative knick-knacks you can find in and around your home.

6. For more information, read how to make a scrapbook.

5. Homemade Preserves for Your Best Friend

If you want to give a really special homemade gift for your best friend, try homemade preserves. Christmas winter is the perfect time for you to break out some of your best-tasting canned and preserved foods to give to your best friend. Pickles, sun-dried tomatoes, strawberries preserved in syrup, or other preserved fruits and vegetables from your garden will really make your friend’s Christmas. Home-made delicacies like smoked salmon or homemade beef jerky also work well for the occasion.

They say that the best things in life are free, and that saying certainly holds true for Christmas. Remember that no matter how expensive the gift is, if it doesn’t come straight from the heart, it’s pretty much meaningless. If you want to be that Santa Baby who will sign the “x” on the line, don’t mind, because you’ll be hurrying down the chimney with those homemade gifts tonight.