| Gorgeous Gifts | |
Hats Off to the Holidays
Let it Grow, Let it Grow, Let it Grow
Stocking Vase
Treasure Chest
Copyright © 2002 Sandra Lee
Semi-Homemade Cooking combines fresh ingredients with carefully chosen prepackaged foods -- everything from ready-made pastry to premade soups -- to create a worry-free, timesaving new approach to home cooking.
For more information, visit www.semi-homemade.com
Christmas Recipes and Crafts Index
Don't settle for plain old paper and bows. Gorgeous gifts will be yours for the giving with these gift-in-a-gift ideas that'll make every holiday surprise twice as nice.
Hatboxes make stylish storage... and great gift boxes. Choose a color and pattern that matches the recipient's taste, or buy plain cardboard hatboxes and cover them with decorative fabric or wallpaper. If you're giving more than one gift, place each gift in its own hat box and stack the hatboxes in a tower, then tie them together with a color-coordinated holiday ribbon.
The winds of winter may be raging now, but spring's in sight. Encourage budding green thumbs by "planting" their gift in a window box planter. Line a decorative planter with green tissue paper, tuck the gift inside, then arrange crumpled "bouquets" of colorful tissue around the gift. Finish with an ivy garland spiraled around the planter.
Play Santa by giving someone a vase... with a special something tucked inside. Match the vase to the recipient's taste – hand blown glass for a friend who adores elegance, distressed white for someone who's into vintage style, tortoiseshell or animal print for wildlife lovers. Wrap vase in an accenting ribbon and embellish it with a theme-appropriate gift ornament.
All kids love a place to hide their treasures. To make a personalized place for your youngster to store their stuff, spray paint a lockable wooden box and stencil or stamp a suitable pattern onto it. Use colors and designs that match the recipient's interests, and try puffy paint or glitter paint for added interest and detail. Attach a colored shoe lace or decorative ribbon to the key and hide it with a diary or secret journal inside the box. 
About the Author: Sandra Lee has been making everyday lives a little bit easier for over ten years with her Semi-Homemade techniques. Now, she brings her inspiring, practical ideas into the kitchen in her very first cookbook, with recipes that are quick, easy, and most of all delicious.