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Here's an excellent gift idea that can be made right at home, and it's a wonderful family craft project for older kids, teenagers, and adults who just love being crafty: Homemade Ornaments.

When I was a young girl, I used to get a specific gift every year. It was a beaded doll craft project. The project came in a box with all the materials I needed: A Styrofoam doll body, the doll head and arms, and many beads, sequins and pins.

I don't know how many different doll designs there were, but I ended up with many over several years. And I don't know what happened to those kits either... I've looked for them to buy for my own daughter in recent years but I can't find them anymore.

You can use the same concept to create your own ornaments though, and these make wonderful gifts to give to family and friends.

Then simply decorate the balls! Put a straight pin through a bead first, then through a sequin. Then push that pin into the Styrofoam ball. Put together colors and patterns as you see fit. The designs are pretty much limited just by your imagination.

You could make straight rows for instance, of alternating colors. Red beads with clear sequins on one row, and clear beads with green sequins on another row. Keep putting new rows on the ball until it's fully covered, then push a small eyelet hook into the ball, and thread some ribbon or thread through it for hanging.

One note of warning: Since your homemade ornaments will be filled with sharp pins, be sure they're not easily accessible by small children or pets. They'll love the sparkly, almost jewel like look created from the lights shining on the beads and sequins, but they could be hurt by the pins if they tear the ornament apart.