
Gift idea: Favorite family recipes
Makes a good gift for: Good last minute gift for someone who likes to cook or bake
I think most people have a secret stash of recipes – whether they be in their head or on paper – that are worth sharing. I am not necessarily talking about the secret family recipe for chocolate chip cookies or meatloaf, but more day-to-day recipes that can work for a weeknight dinner, and maybe a couple more special occasion recipes. Why not type up some recipes, print them out on index cards or card stock and put together a little bundle of recipes or a little family cookbook? If you want to do a little more, you could head to the grocery store and pick up any of the more rare ingredients (like special spices or herbs), a couple cute dish-towels, an apron or cooking utensils and make a little gift-basket.
Gift idea: a cozy tour of Christmas lights in your neighborhood
Makes a good gift for: Anyone!
If you are like me, then you LOVE Christmas lights. I love every evening when the lights switch on (ours are on a timer) and seeing them shimmer and flash through the windows. I love bundling up and taking the dog out for a walk and oohing and aahing at the great lights in our neighborhood.
A fun last-minute and very low-cost gift would be to take a Christmas-light lover like me on a cozy tour of the best lights in the area. You should scope out a couple neighborhoods a few nights before and take notes as to where the best places are. Then arrange (or surprise) your guest of honor with a tour - complete with a travel mug of hot cocoa or hot cider, and of course some Christmas music! You could wrap up the evening by stopping somewhere to get a slice of pie, or maybe a milkshake. Sounds like a fun night to me!

Gift idea: DIY Crafts
Makes a good gift for: Good last minute gift for family members
Every Christmas when I was a kid, my mom would get me some kind of craft to do during Christmas break. There were a few years where it was decorating ornaments that were then given away to family members as Christmas gifts. As I got older, I enjoyed helping my grandmother decorate her Christmas tree and seeing the ornaments I had made as a kid go up on her tree, year after year.
Below are a couple of fun crafts that you should have all the necessary ingredients for either on-hand already, or be able to easily acquire at the grocery store. I think all of these would make a great last-minute gift, and some of them would also be a great holiday-time craft to do with any little ones that might be hanging around!
Make your own salt dough ornaments – another fun activity to do with kids and makes a great gift for all the family members!

Ingredients needed:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1.5 cups warm water
Paint and decorations for the ornaments

Ingredients needed:
Sugar
Dawn dish soap with Olay Beauty Hand Renewal (this is what the blogger used, but I bet this would work with any kind of dish soap)
Jars to put the hand scrub in
Ingredients needed:
Flour
Salt
Water
Vegetable oil
Cream of tarter
Food coloring
Containers to store/give the play dough in
Ingredients needed:
Sugar
Salt
Corn starch
Water
Food coloring
Jars for storing/giving the paint in