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Suppiement of The Canadian Statesman, Wednesday, November 22, 1978 CreativitY ends c rush Christmias May comne just once a year, but you can start the fun of planning and anticipation months ahead by Making your own gifts. Hand-crafted gifts are a special way of applying your unique talents to) Christmias preparations. They also tell someone how mnuch you care about themi by personalizing the gift to suit the indi- vidual. With a little imiagina- tion, these gifts cani reflect the creativity and personality of their maker. The important thing to remember is to relax. Let the imagination wander and enjoy yourself. Making gifts should begin on a small scale-, whether they are Made by an individual or a family group. AtteMpt- im-g too many gifts or a complîcated project for the first year can leave gift makers disillusioned and overwhelmed. Our family bas made Christmas gifts on and off for seven years. Depending on the project, the effort sometimes has provided a financial sav- ings. More rewarding than that was the fun of doing somnething together,- as well as the surprised and delighted reactions of relatives and friends receiving our handiwork. How did we get our ideas? We walked through craft shows and holbby shops, observed demionstrations and took lessons once. Our projects ranged fromn edible to ornamiental to functional. The only problemn with edible gifts is making sure they don't disappear before they can be pack- aged and dispersed. Close friends have often enjoyed special cookies and fudge mnade fromi my mother's favorite recipes. When baking goodies, rememiber that the moist varieties keep fresh est and seemn best able to withstand being mailed across co)untry. Keep an eye open for recipes including in.gredients like honey, which helps pre- serve moisture. Also remember to use plenty of cushioning miaterial around baked goods destined for a mail journey. We often tel] the story about mny first-and pos- sibly, the only-fruitcake I've baked. Using a couple of newspaper reci- pes and my imagination, I started to combine ingredients in my largest mixing bowl. I soon switched to my largest pot, and then to a kettle. After baking in a slow oven for what seemed like hours, the monntrous resuit was taken upstairs to be weighed on the bathroom scale. The end result-a l-pound fruit- cake. The mnoral-make things in batches and bake in small pans, adjusting time and tem- perature accordingly. Other famnily projects have included candies and resin castings. Candies were made in a variety of shapes to suit the color schemes and personalities of our family and friends. An endless variety of shaped molds are available at most stores, but simple and inexpensîve house- hold items also can be used as molds. Like most projeets, instruction bookiets are available for do-it-your- selfers, who should plan to mnake a, couple trial items before beginning a gift. One candle made for a brother-in-law was round and dyed black with a foot-long wick. That canon hall look-a-like pro- ved to be a conversation piece for months. Our resin casting proj- ects have ranged fromn soap dishes and napkin holders to complete chess sets. Macrame belts and wall hangings also Pro- ved to be unique gifts for our friends. If these ideas don't interest you, don't give up. Make a checklist of your talents and combine themn with ideas from your local hobby and craft stores.. Remember, the plan- ning and anticipation is haîf the fun of Christmas. And the time to start is n ow. -SANDRA ARMBRUSTER A large selection of Q UALITY FU R NITUR E ai Sensible Prices. Choose f rom a wide range of LAM PS AND ACCESSORIES High Quality STEREO EQUIPMENT by Morse Electrophonic Mulder's Furnîture 23 King Street East 623-5515 We have gift ideas galore at Carnegie Pro Hardware! ishwashers ,Ranges i Refrigerators by litfE Small Appliances and Grooming Aids by GE, Proctor-Silex and Toastess Power Tools by Black & Decker arnegi I 5 King St. East Telephone 623-5à Di Am 3E 40O8 ffl. 1 IL- L