It’s December 22nd, and I’m feeling a little festive, a little sappy, and a little . . . tense. I mean, I’m trying to get my fa-la-la-la-la on, but either I need to get my entire house cleaned and the kitchen stocked for the grandparents’ impending visit and host the Best Darn Christmas There Ever Was this week — or they’re going to be unable to make it at all due to the crazy Seattle snowstorm. Between the two scenarios, I greatly prefer the first, but they both require at least twelve cookies to even consider.

(I have eaten a LOT of cookies over the last few days.)

In between fretting over holiday-related tasks and being snowed in (FOR FOUR DAYS AND COUNTING) (WITH TWO SMALL CHILDREN MIGHT I ADD) (SORRY FOR THE CAPS LOCK BUT I ASSURE YOU, THE SITUATION WARRANTS), I’ve been thinking about 1) kid-distracting activities, and 2) handmade gifts for certain people on your list who you were going to buy a gift for but hello, SNOWED IN FOR FOUR DAYS, etc.

So! If you’ve got some last-minute gifts to pull together and you’d like them to be of the homemade variety, here’s a list of easy, non-lame crafts you and the kids can whip up in short order.

Pinecone bird feeder. A thoughtful gift for anyone who enjoys feeding birds, this is a classic, albeit a little messy, craft most kids love to make. (Note: you can substitute suet for the peanut butter if you’ve got allergies to consider.)

Homemade bath salts. Sea salts, bath oil, cute jar, KERBLAM, gift.

Chocolate dipped spoons. Super-easy, super-fun-for-kids-to-taste-test method for making chocolate dipped spoons. Put them in a fancy mug with some gourmet ground coffee, maybe.

Mulled spices. Some ideas for fancying up store-bought mulling spices. Yum.

Wine charms. Put your arty child in charge of picking out the coolest beads for these easy wine charms. Put the messy child in charge of staying away from the box of beads.

Marble magnets. I’ve made these magnets before and they are AWESOME. You could use teeny little photos of the kids, even, for grandparents. (Keep the magnets away from very small children, of course.)

Fridge tin pen holder. Another fun project from Not Martha, which repurposes those tin gum containers into a cute little holder for pens.

Cookie mix. A tried-and-true homemade gift that’s surely as fun to make as it is to receive: cookie mix in a jar. Tips for presentation here. OM NOM NOM.

Well, whatever happens this week, I’ll be with my family, and that makes me happy. Who cares if I burn the Christmas dinner, it’s not like my 3-year-old’s going to eat it anyway, right? Besides, we’ve got plenty of cookies.

Happy holidays to all of you!

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