Oh my gosh! It’s here. Christmas is just about here, and I’ve hardly started with the shopping, the gifting, the baking, the partying….But I am determined to avoid the big time stress that usually accompanies all of those.  Does that happen to you? This week on THV11 This Morning, I’m showing some make-ahead gift ideas you can easily prepare that don’t involve any baking whatsoever. You can even get the little ones involved in the preparation and distribution, and you can have a pleasant time doing them yourself.

Look around your house. Do you see some pretty glassware you never use and probably won’t after all these years since your great aunt Mabel gave it to you for your (pick one):

• wedding
• birthday
• anniversary
• birth of your first child
• other..

Gather those jewels up and set them aside.

Grab some colored markers, tape, small ribbon, hole puncher and printer labels. If you have some scrap paper supplies handy, get those our as well. A few rubber bands, decorative bags/boxes/tins will come in handy. A good supply of zipper snack bags will come in handy. If you have any of those decorative bags form your craft supply store, now is the time to locate them and put them to use. Oh, and dig out those canning jars , lids and rings while your digging around in your storage closet.

The hard part is over. Trust me.

I’ll be posting the show’s video and links on Tuesday and will follow up with several additional ideas on the blog this week. All of these ideas will not take much of your time but you will end up with some special gifts from the heart you will be proud to share with family, friends and neighbors. 

You and your kiddos are gonna’ have a bunch of fun doing this. I just know you will.

In case you missed my last appearance: