One of the best and surefire ways to make gift buying easy this year and save a little money in the process is by creating and giving your own homemade gifts. Depending on your skill or expertise, you can make hundreds of different unique gifts which everyone will be wishing they got like ornaments or detailed quilts instead of a new pair of socks.

True gifts are often seen as a sign of love and caring but that doesn’t mean you need to spend large amounts of money to show someone you care about them. Everyone can make a celebration or holiday memorable with just a touch of imagination. Gather all your savvy, creativity and available resources such as money, time, energy, talent, and skill.

Get into creating homemade gifts by using your imagination, plan ahead and having enough room to store everything. Here are a few ideas to get you started and on your way.

• The best way to show someone you care about them is with food. For centuries, food has long been associated as a sign of love and caring. After all the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach as the saying goes. So not surprisingly, gifts involving food rates pretty high among homemade gifts. There is nothing more popular than sweets but there are other options available. Bake some fresh bread like banana bread, minestrone soup or chili. Put together a fruit basket with some tasty, fresh fruit.

• Take the time and build something yourself that they will be able to use. While everyone thinks of a spice rack for this type of gift, there are other ideas you can try. Build a birdhouse or a picture frame. They are both easy projects and make nice gifts.

• You can go very creative by presenting food mixes for someone to use in the future such as ingredients to make cookies or brownies. Get a jelly jar and then layer the dry ingredients of a recipe. Another variation of this gift requires you to mix a dry bean soup in an attractive bag or a hot cocoa mix in a tin. Add a little flair to the presentation by attaching the instructions to the container.

• Think about making some herbal personal care products. With aromatherapy being as popular as it is, build a gift basket full of lotions, bath oils and powers. It’s simple. Add some bath salts to the basket by combining a tablespoon each of baking soda and borax with 1/2 cup table salt and then mix in 1/4 teaspoon of a scented essential oil.

• Use some digital photos saved on your computer to create a neat gift. Build a montage of someone’s favorite photos or framed a photo that is special for the gift receiver. Printing a digital photo album for grandma and grandpa works wonders. Programs such as Microsoft Publisher or even Adobe Photoshop can help you build an album. They even allow you to insert some text for a story about your family.

• Craft something with your hands to create something precious. If you’re a skilled knitter weave a pair of gloves or a hat. Quilters can piece together special quilts with meaning. Someone skilled with needlepoint can make some attractive wall decorations.

• If you don't feel as though you’re that creative and handy, then offer the gift of time. Help out a family member by offering to cut their grass over the summer or your babysitting services.