Last Minute Gift Ideas

So this year when it comes to Christmas shopping I have been a bit of a procrastinator. Partly due to the fact that the accountant and I have been sharing one car. Making it difficult for me to get out and shop since we don't live near a bus line or public transportation of any kind. The other reason is our Christmas budget is not very big and I like to be creative, buy or make things people like. I won't share what I actually made since family reads this and they would know what they are getting. I will share what we made/bought for a few friends and Jason's work gift exchange.

Little Artist Craft Box. This is a box of items you can tailor to the child you have in mind. Here are some of the items I considered putting in mine:
An old used men's button down shirt. Sleeves cut to fit the child. This is for the child to wear while painting.
Package of multi colored construction paper
White roll of paper (or butcher paper)
Box of crayons
Scissors
Stencils
Paint set
Markers
Modeling clay
Bag of fabric scraps
glue
Glitter
Colorful pencils
A Book of drawing ideas

A "taste" of Italy gift basket. I bought the basket at the goodwill then filled it with a bag of dried pasta (from trader joes), organic olive oil, dried basil, oregano, gourmet olives (all from trader joes), an italian cookbook (found one that looked new at the goodwill), Recipe cards

Food as Christmas Gifts

This year the accountant and I are tight on money so I decided to include Christmas gifts as part of our food budget. Which meant I had to find cute, useful recipes that won't cost me an arm and a leg. I love giving Christmas gifts and enjoy taking a hostess gift when invited to parties so I was excited when I was standing in the checkout at Fred Meyers I spied a Better Homes and Garden "Food as Gifts" magazine. I resisted the urge to buy it and decided to see if they listed their ideas on-line for free. They do!! After purusing the recipes I have decided the following are the most cost effective and fun ideas. Most of the ingredients can be bought in bulk from Winco, Costco or Fred Meyers.
Mocha Hot Cocoa Mix 
Peppermint Cheesecake
Hazelnut Mocha Sauce
Cheddar Herb Bread Mix
Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal Cookie Mix
Buttermilk Pralines 
I am super excited to try these recipes. I LOVE giving gifts and the thought of not was killing me so figuring out how cost effective this would be makes me really excited. Anyone have any ideas for other cost effective gifts?