Santa Sacks- No Sew Option

If you want to make the Santa Sacks, but you don't sew, here's a couple of different options.

Step 1:

Purchase pillowcases. You can get them at a thrift store, grab old ones from your linen closet, buy them at the store, whatever works for you. I would recommend using a darker colored pillowcase if that is an option for you, simply because the gifts may show through a white or light-colored fabric.

Step 2:

Purchase some cute fabric ribbon (again, not wired).  There are some fabulous patterned Christmas ribbons available. You could also cut a strip of fabric and pink the edges (like explained in the Santa Sack Instructions post).  I would recommend about a 2"-3" wide ribbon for a nice big bow, but it's up to you. You will want it at least 45" long. Use it to tie your bags closed. Voila! You're done!

If you can, I would recommend at least stitching the ribbon to the back of the bag like shown in the Santa Sack Instructions, but you don't have to do that step. It just keeps the ribbon from getting lost.

Step 3 -Optional Way to Decorate Your Bags:

If you purchased plain pillowcases and you think they are too "boring", then you can get some cute Christmas fabric that has reindeer or Santa or wreaths or whatever on it.  You won't need very much fabric at all. Also purchase some "Wonder Under" at the fabric store. You won't need very much.  Follow the instructions on the Wonder Under. 

Basically, it works like this: First, you will use your iron to adhere one side of the Wonder Under to the wrong side of the fabric.  Then you cut out the shape that you want from the front of the fabric, such as the reindeer or the Santa that is printed on the fabric.  Then, place the cut out fabric wrong side down onto the right side of the Santa Sack that you have.  Place a damp cloth over both pieces and using a dry iron, press for 15 seconds. Ta da!! You now have a cute embellishment on your Santa Sack.  That's it. That's all there is to it.

You could even cut out the letters of your child's name in a fun Christmas fabric and then iron them onto the sack.  They could be as small or as large as you want. :)

Note: If you want these to last forever, and you DO sew (even a tiny bit), you may want to run a tight zig-zag or a satin-stitch around the edge of each iron-on piece. It will just make them last longer, as after a while the edges will begin to separate from the bag.

I don't have a "Christmas themed" picture to demonstrate this, but I do have one with butterflies (sorry! lol).  My daughter broke her arm 2 weeks ago, and we used this technique to make her sling a lot more fun.  The butterflies are simply cut from a fun patterned material and all I did was iron them in place.  The hearts were simply cut from a plain material using the same idea.  Hopefully you can get the general idea of how this works, if you've never used Wonder Under before. 

I will try to patch some pants using this method and show you how it works, but right now, I have to get some Christmas things done! Happy Holidays everyone!

Santa Sack Instructions

Here's the basic instructions for the Santa Sacks. Yes, this is definitely a beginner's sewing project.  If you can use an iron and sew in a straight line, you can do this. Sorry that I didn't make one of these specifically for the tutorial and so I don't have photos of every step. Hopefully it will make sense. If not, then be sure to comment and I will try to clear up any confusion. I will also post a "no-sew" option for these sacks separately.

Step 1 - Select Your Fabric:

Select your fabric. This may be the hardest part. :)  There are so many fun patterns to choose from. If you find a piece that you love but there isn't very much of it, you can use it for the trim at the top, so go ahead and buy it. 

Step 2 - Determine Size of Your Bag:

Measure your fabric.  Most fabric (in the United States) comes in 44"-45" widths.  We will just fold that width in half, so the bag will end up being about 21" wide when sewn.  You want to determine the length of your bag.  Most of mine vary from about 30" long to 36", but it really doesn't matter, as long as it is a rectangle shape and the length is longer than your width of 21" (when sewn).  

For the purpose of this tutorial & simplicity in reading, I will use the dimentions of a 32" length & a piece of 44" wide fabric.

Step 3 - Cut:

After you have determined your length, cut your fabric so that you now have a piece of fabric that measures 44" x 32". 

Step 4 - Adding a Different Fabric Trim Along the Top of the Bag: (optional)

If you want to add a different trim along the top of the bag, then cut a strip that is 16" wide x 44" wide (the width of the fabric.  These two photos (below) show that the top strip is a different pattern than the rest of the bag.  With right sides together, line up the raw edge (of the 44" width) and stitch a 1/2" seam to sew the two pieces together.  Press the strip away from the bag, pressing the seam towards the body of the bag. If you have a serger, you get to skip this step (and I will be envious.)

Optional: If you want to, you can reinforce the seams by stitching again either over the first stitching or a 1/4" from the first stitching.

Step 5 - Sewing the Main Body of the Bag:

With right sides together, fold the fabric in half & line up the raw edges so that you now have a piece of fabric that is 22" x 32".  (Be sure to match the seams at the edge of the top lining if you added that step). Pin one short edge and the long raw edge together. Start at the corner of the folded edge and sew along the short end and then the long side, leaving the top edge open.  You should now have the basic shape of a pillowcase. Press.

Step 6 - Stitching the Top of the Bag:

Press the top edge of the bag under 1/4" inch.  Fold the top edge under (wrong sides together) about 7-8" and press. 

If you added the optional contrasting trim at the top (step 4), then fold the trim so that it just slightly overlaps the raw edge of the seam.  If this part seems a bit confusing, go look at the top inside portion of one of your pillowcases. You will see how the top 8" or so is lined towards the inside with the raw edge neatly turned under.

Press the folded piece down, and pin so that the raw edge is covered (if you did that step) or simply pin it 7-8" from the top.  Topstitch 1/4" from edge. Turn the bag right-side out. You should now have a pillowcase. You're almost done!

Step 7 - Adding the Tie Closure- Several Options:

There's a couple of options here.

Option 1) You can purchase fabric ribbon and just tie the bag closed. Make sure you don't buy "wired" ribbon. I didn't want my ties to get lost, so I stitched them to the back of the bag in an "x" pattern. Hopefully you can see that in my photo.  If you do this, find the middle of your ribbon and the middle of the back of your bag and stitch just a small x to keep the ribbon from getting lost.  This is optional though. You could just tie the bags shut with ribbon and call it good.

Option 2) Ribbon can get costly, so I cut strips of leftover fabric in a contrasting material that were 4" x 44".  Then with right sides together, I folded the strip in half lengthwise and used a 1/4" seam to sew one short end and the long side together. Then I turned the strip right-side out.  Then I pressed the strip and folded the raw edge to the inside and top stitched all the way around the strip.  Then I found the middle of the strip and stitched it in the "x" to the middle of the outside of the back of the bag.

(Note: if you don't have a sewing tool to turn strips right-side out easily, this may not be the best option for you. It's a pain in the neck if you don't have the tool.) 

Option 3) If you don't have the turning tool and you don't want to invest in ribbon, you could cut a 3-4" wide strip of fabric and then use pinking shears along the edges so that it wouldn't fray.  Or you could even just stitch 1/4" from the sides and if it frays, it would just fray slightly, which may be a look that you prefer. Then you could still stitch it to the bag in the "x" pattern so that it stays with the bag.

That's it! You're all finished.  These bags can be made in any dimensions you'd like.  Hopefully they will relieve some stress for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve!!

Santa Sacks - Reusable Fabric Gift Wrap

I was growing up, Santa Claus did not wrap the gifts he left. They were laid out on the couch in a pile for each child. Gifts from family members were wrapped, but gifts from Santa were not. We simply went into the living room and we were faced with everything all at once, which means my mom & dad didn't necessarily get to see our reactions to our gifts, because all the kids got to see their things all at once. I have always liked wrapped gifts from Santa, simply because it seems to make Christmas morning last a bit longer, but the mess and expense add up, and poor Santa and his elves certainly spend a great deal of time wrapping those gifts!!  And sometimes, Santa realizes he forgot to wrap a certain gift. This way he can quickly toss it into the sack along with more than one other gift, if necessary.

So, last year I decided to purchase several yards of fabric for each person in my family and make "Santa Sacks." The idea behind the Santa Sacks is that Santa Claus is a very busy man, and this way he doesn't have to take the time to wrap our gifts. We are helping him to save the environment, and also save him some time. Each person in my family has a specific pattern/material for their bags. For example, my daughter has a green bag with reindeer on it, and my son has candy canes on his bags. That way we didn't have to put tags on them, though you could embroider names onto the sack. We set the bags out on the couch on Christmas Eve and then Santa can just slip our gifts into the sack during the night.  My kids had fun setting out their sacks and putting a note with it so Santa would know which sack belonged to whom.

Now, toys in boxes are easier to wrap, no question. But another neat thing we discovered about the Santa Sacks is that Santa's gifts can come completely assembled, with all the packing removed.  You know, the boxes that dolls or toys come in, and they have all the little twist ties and tape and as a parent you spend a lot of time just trying to get the toys removed from the box? This way you can relax because Santa's elves have removed the packing. Since the items just get tossed into the sack, the shape of the gift doesn't matter.  And then, mom and dad can sit on the couch, sip hot cocoa, and enjoy watching their kids play with their presents, rather than spending time trying to wrestle the Polly Pockets and Star Wars Action Figures from their boxes.

I made 3 large sacks for each person in my family (various sizes). You can make them any size you'd like. Just do some math considering how much fabric you purchase. I added a strip of fabric in a contrasting pattern (leftover from another family member's sack material) as a tie closure for the sacks. I lined the top portion only of the sack. You could line the entire bag, but that does get more expensive. It's not really necessary, though. Since they're only used once a year and they're not carrying anything, the sacks are just not going to get that much use that they will wear out. I just lined the top about 8 inches or so, and then sewed the tie closure just below the lined portion on the back of the sack (so the tie wouldn't get lost).  Then when the sack is tied shut, the top portion that sticks out is still cute and you don't see the seam.

They are sewn in a basic pillowcase pattern, very simply and they turned out really fun. I was a bit hesitant last year that my idea would go down in flames, but the mess it eliminated on Christmas morning was very worth it! I was also hestitant that my kids could untie the sacks and sneak a peek in the night, but I decided that their choices have consequences, and if they want to ruin the surprise, that's their choice. (And besides, it's no different than a gift in a paper gift bag with tissue paper. They can easily peek into those, too.)

You might try purchasing your fabric at an after Christmas sale when you can get 75% off or even better, or use a coupon to cut down the cost. Just consider the quality of the fabric so your bags will last year after year. A quilter's cotton will be a better quailty than some other choices, though it is a bit more expensive initially (but not too much).

According to Gift Bags Gone Green, wrapping paper and other paper gift wrap adds up to more than $5 billion dollars annually.  This is one way you can cut down on your own personal carbon footprint.  Just think, not wrapping gifts from Santa ever again times the number of people in your family, year after year? That will definitely reduce the amount your family spends on wrapping.  The initial cost will pay for itself very quickly, likely within a few years, depending on how much your family typically spends on paper gift wrap and how much you spend on your fabric and thread to make the sacks.

If anyone is interested, I am willing to create a tutorial on how I did this.  Let me know if you'd like to see one in an upcoming post.

Download Free Christmas/Holiday MP3s

Every day throughout December, Amazon.com is unveiling a new holiday song that you can download for free from their website. Each song is available for a limited time.

If you click on the song, you can preview a sample of it to see if you'd like it. But, hey, they're free, so even if you decide you don't like it, you can just delete it from your computer later. So, get yourself some fun new music, and start wrapping! Happy holidays!

Neighbor Christmas Gifts

Each year we give our neighbors something little for Christmas. Sometimes it's just a plate of goodies, but other years we've gotten more creative. These ideas are relatively inexpensive and can also be used for co-workers. My husband did the wrapping paper and the extension cords at work and they were very well received. After all, they don't add to the waistline, and there tends to be plenty of food that will do that each holiday season.

1. Gift idea: A roll of Christmas wrapping paper and a roll of Scotch tape. (The tape is optional. You could just give the wrapping paper.) Shop for good sales. We actually bought ours at an after Christmas sale and then stored the paper until the following year. Here is the poem that goes with this gift:

Since November you’ve been shopping
Barely sleeping, hardly stopping.
Now it’s late – you’re in a scrape.
Out of paper, out of tape.
Hope this wrap helps save the day!
Have a happy holiday!

2. A hot baggie (or 2): See HERE for how to make one. We gave one red hot baggie and one blue one, but you can adjust the poem however you'd like. If you don't want to do 2 hot baggies, then just omit the part about the blue sack (the 3rd stanza). The poem I wrote for this gift went with these went like this:

‘Tis the season of hustle and bustle
Which gives a good reason to ease a sore muscle.
The miracle contents of this red sack
Will please and soothe your aching back.

Just heat by microwave three minutes on high
Then for one hour kiss sore muscles good-bye!
Or take it along when you go see the lights
To keep out the chill of Jack Frost’s cold bite.

Store the blue sack in your freezer where it’s out of your way
And when your head is throbbing at the end of the day
You’ll be amazed at how it can relieve your stress
When you have a splitting headache and just aren’t your best.

Your family is great and we want to express
How much we appreciate your love and kindness.
We treasure your friendship at this Christmastime
And send warmest of wishes to your house from mine!

3. An extension cord. Let's face it. Everyone can use an extra extension cord, especially at Christmas. We shopped for a good sale and even found some for 2 for a $1 once. I also found the large orange exterior kind (that are normally about $5 each) on some rebates and I was able to get them for free, so shop around. Here's the saying that I put with this idea:

Here's an "extension" of holiday cheer.
We hope you have a wonderful Christmas this year!

4. Click here for 103 Gift Ideas that are creative and inexpensive.

5. Homemade holiday breads. Click here for some great recipes. I have made the Candy Cane Bread before and it was really yummy. My neighbors liked having hot sweet bread dropped off at their door. Not a lot of people go to that much trouble anymore, and this is certainly a very inexpensive way to give something.

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Ok, well, that's all I can think of at the moment. I may remember other things sometime when I am not so tired. If you have more ideas, please comment. We'd love to hear from you. Merry Christmas!!

Free Exercise Workouts and Nutrition & More

If you are looking to get fit but can't afford the gym, (or maybe your lifestyle is such that you can), you might want to check out http://www.sparkpeople.com/. It's a totally free website that demonstrates fitness exercises (both printable and video), gives nutritional information from dieticians, and includes an exercise tracking system and a calorie counter.

Again, it's completely free. Check it out and find some new information that can help you on your way to a healthier body -- because a fit, healthy body not only makes you feel great and relieve stress, it also can help keep your medical costs down --and that's being frugal! :)

I'm Dreaming of a Tight Christmas

This is an excerpt of ideas taken from the book The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn, pages 493-496.

If you give in to the pressure to buy expensive gifts despite your wishes, understand why you are doing this; and why you lack the courage to say =no. You may believe people perceive inexpensive gifts as signs that you are "poor," "cheap", and/or "thoughtless." Self-esteem becomes entangled with gift giving.

In addressing the perception of being "poor," consider that inexpensive gifts are often a sign of different values and priorities. You can afford the expensive gifts, but you prefer to spend your money on things that have a higher priority for you. Or you prefer to work fewer hours so that you can have more quality time with your family.

If you fear people will think you are "cheap" or "thoughtless", ask yourself if you would be happy with the quality of the gift you are giving. If you buy yourself expensive goods from Bloomingdale's, people will justifiably feel that it's inconsistent for you to buy them bargains from the dollar store. In contrast, if you always seek out bargains for yourself, others will be far more likely to accept them as presents from you.

Having a clear vision of your financial goals and making sure that frugal gifts are consistent with your whole lifestyle provide the self-esteem that's essential in dealing with those who make expensive demands of you.

Once we gain the confidence to say no, we further desire that our coworkers, friends, and family will accept, and perhaps even adopt, frugal gift giving themselves. There are two ways I know of to achieve this:

THE UP-FRONT PLAN
Talk about it.

Your first inclination may be to hold the discussion on Christmas Day, since everyone is in one place, but that isn't the best time. People could easily interpret what you say as a rejection of what they just gave you. Bring it up at a graduation party, a summer reunion, or some gathering that's at least a couple of months before Christmas.

You may be surprised to find how receptive other people are to the idea. Many people feel that Christmas is too commercialized, but they believe other people like it that way.

If you all agree that gift-giving has gotten out of hand, the next step is to decide on an alternative.

Many of these may sound familiar to you, but you can use this list as a tool to guide the discussion.

1. For acquaintances and friends who have become distant geographically, you might simply decide to exchange cards rather than gifts.

2. Draw names within families or between extended families, rather than buying for and receiving from everyone. (NOTE -- this is not in her book ---: you may wish to agree on a $$ limit in advance so that those who have less to spend don't feel badly when someone else can afford to spend more. For example, in my husband's family we rotate names of his siblings and there is a $30 spending limit for the entire family.)

3. Shift to "household" gifts, rather than gifts to everyone in a household.

4. Try alternative gifts. Make a rule that only food can be exchanged. Suggest more swapping of services such as baby-sitting. Money that would be spent on a gift could be used to take a family trip or donated to charity.

(Again a note from me -- not in the book: One year I "gave" my brother a certificate for a year's worth of mending. His wife does not sew. She was thrilled. He bought several pairs of dress pants and I shortened them for him as his length is 29" and it is difficult for him to find pants that are 29's not, 30's. Another "service" I gift I do is taking my parents a "casserole" 2x a month for a year. My mother is quite ill and it helps my dad a lot to know that dinner will be there for him to just stick in the oven. It also helps me spread out the cost of my gift over time. I have been known to arrange/compose music for people or record my piano playing onto a CD. My parents were thrilled, and the cost to me was almost nothing. :)

So use your imagination and think about what talents you have that you could give as a gift.)

5. Set a spending limit, say $5, and then challenge yourselves to see how wonderful and creative you can be within that price range.

THE COVERT PLAN
If it's too late to discuss the problem with your family this year, or if you are sure the discussion would be fruitless, try showing them.

Although extravagance has seldom been a problem in my family, if it were, I would regard frugal gift giving as my mission to show others how much more fun inexpensive gifts can be....

...If you chose the covert plan, consider these points:

1. To successfully convert people, your gift must be excellent. Gifts that are inappropriate or poorly made will fail. Frugal gift giving usually requires more time and/or thought. Let your desire to prove your point drive your efforts. If those on your gift list think inexpensive equals inferior, make and extra effort to "bowl them over" with your cleverness.

2. Start slowly. In some families, where extravagant, commercial holidays are deeply entrenched, change can require several years....Each tiny success will slowly erode their prejudice.

3. Provide information. Although it's generally considered tacky to divulge the cost of a gift, it's essential if you want to educate the receiver. I always tell my children how much I paid and how much the equivalent would have cost. If my friend thinks my homemade fits is store bought, I "accidentally" let it out of the bag that I made it....I might also add share how easy the gift was to make, how much the materials cost, and offer a set of instructions. (Note -- me again-- Personally, I wouldn't take this approach, but to each their own. You have to carefully consider the recipient and how they will receive such information. )

4. Be confident. Never apologize for the "humbleness" of your gift. Don't even let the thought enter your mind. If you think giving your children gifts from yard sales is a sign that you are "poor", they will pick up on your feeling and believe the gift is inferior. This is also true when giving to adults. The way you feel about the gift will, to some degree, be reflected by the recipient.

In attempting either the upfront plan or the covert plan, it helps to explain why you want to save money. If you choose the upfront plan, this reason should be a part of your discussion. If you choose the covert plan, frequently mention your financial goals to those around you. If you let everyone know you are saving for a down payment on a house, what reasonable person could fault you?

But if others still see your frugal gift giving as "poor," "cheap", and/or "thoughtless," use....

THE BUZZ-OFF PLAN

It's unreasonable for others to expect you to spend in accordance with their values.

And it isn't written anywhere that the cost of your gift has to match the cost of theirs. In some cases, both parties can be comfortable with the "inequity".

But even if you do encounter hostility, consider this to be their problem, not yours. If everyone had the courage to ask for a change, Christmas could be transformed from a marketing opportunity into the holiday it was meant to be.

Me again: That's the end of that passage from the book. I will keep thinking of some frugal gifts I have given or seen others give, and I will try to post them very soon. If you have some suggestions, please comment! We can all benefit from new ideas. Thanks!