"Only 20 Shopping Days 'Til Christmas" is a phrase that makes grown men cry, women race for the Sunday sale papers and retailers rub their hands together in glee. It makes people willing to shell out $300 for a TMX Elmo on eBay when Toys R Us is selling them for $39.99 when they're in stock.

There's no reason to go broke during the holidays. One of the most overlooked gift ideas is homemade gifts. It can save you hundreds of dollars and give you a sense of satisfaction and contentment. Everyone loves a homemade gift. Except for fruitcake. No one likes fruitcake. So, no fruitcake.

One of the easiest and most fun gifts to make are candles.

I love going to FamilyFun.com. They have some great gift ideas. The Ice Candle, pictured, is easy to make and costs a fraction of the amount it would cost were you to buy that same sized candle in a large retail chain store. It's really a win-win situation. I get rid of unwanted toilet paper rolls, Grandma thinks that the next Picasso is a blood relative, and I save a fortune. You can also add your own colors and scents to make it a truly personal and unique gift.

Really inexpensive homemade gifts are usually the easiest to make and bring the most joy. Some that I have used over the years include:

* Chocolate Spoons
Buy a pack of plastic picnic spoons. These are very cheap, I buy them at the Dollar Store for..well..a dollar, and you can get literally dozens in a pack (enough to make all your presents!) Melt some chocolate with a pat of butter in a dish stood in a pan of boiling water. When the chocolate is runny dip the spoons up to where the handle starts into the chocolate. Place on waxed paper to dry then wrap with cellophane wrap and finish with a pretty bow. To add flavor you can add liqueurs, mint, or coffee, orange or vanilla flavoring to the melted chocolate mix.
* Personalized Towels
A set of cheap white hand towels can be made unique by the addition of colored ribbon or braid sewn approx. 3 inches from each end. Make them extra special by attaching the initials of the recipients with some scrap fabric and a glue gun.
* Decorated Coffee Jar
Don't throw out your coffee, jam or pickle jars, especially if they are those really beautifully shaped ones that you get nowadays. All you need are some sequins or diamantes, which cost literally pennies from craft stores. Stick them on at random and glue a label to the front with "coffee", "spice", "pasta" or anything else which the jar might be utilized for storing. Tie a festive bow round the neck of the jar.
* Home Made Honey Bath Oil
Mix together a cup of light baby or olive oil with 1/2 a cup of honey, 1/2 a cup of liquid soap and a drop each of your favorite essential oil. Mix together gently and decant into a pretty squirt bottle.

Another great way to save money during the holiday season is on cards. If you're anything like me you have to send about 40 Christmas cards to people you know. So, a box of 10 cards that all have the same boring pattern can cost up to $8.00 a box. Christmas cards can cost you around $50 after the cost of the cards, envelopes, and stamps. A much better way to go at it is with construction paper, glue, glitter, ribbon and some scissors. If you're like me, and not on the overly creative side, you can go to ScrapVillage and get some really great ideas. So, for the cost of about $9.00 you can make up to 60 cards. To borrow a slogan from a well-known greeting card company, "When you care enough to send the very best" you send something that you made from the heart..and save about 75% in the process.

Ok, one of my biggest pet peeves is wrapping paper. The cost of wrapping paper is insane. One roll imprinted with cute fuzzy animals can run around $5.00. There's barely enough to wrap one large gift. Also, on Christmas morning when the little darlins are shredding it like it must be banished from the Earth, I am running around in back of them with a trash bag to throw it away. I realize how much money is being thrown in the trash. Now, I could save it and reuse it but that's not frugal, that's just cheap. So, in my endeavors to find yet another way to cut pennies from my budget, I head on over to HGTV.com and get some wonderful ideas on how to make my own inexpensive wrapping paper.

So, instead of going broke this holiday season, you can make some gifts for people. You get to spend valuable time with your kids or even alone while you let your creative juices flow. I figure that every penny I save is one less penny I have to earn. The less I have to earn, the less I have to work. The less I have to work, the more time I can be with my family.

Of course, there's always room at the holidays for some retail gifts. There's lots of bargains to be found for them, too. I think we'll discuss them next time....until then..Happy Saving!