It's nine days until Christmas and you still haven't found the perfect gift for those special people on your list.  What will you do?

Are you kidding me?  What in the world have you been doing all year?  Certainly not selling houses -- the Media said so!.  You knew Christmas was coming this time last year! Uggghh...

I digress...

Here are some cool, SIMPLE, inexpensive gift ideas that you can whip up fairly quickly.  Yes, they are homemade, but they won't have to look homemade, if you put a little thought into 'em--

1.  Give the gift of THEM THEM.  You're a blogging maniac and I know you have loads of GREAT photos just waiting to be released from your MY PICTURES purgatory.  Release 'em already!  This is one of my favs.  I did this for my niece one year and she's raved about it ever since.  I gathered a couple pix of her 2 kids (ones she had no idea I'd taken!), uploaded them to Walmart.com's photo page, then picked them up at the store an hour later.  I didn't even have to buy frames since I buy frames like some women buy shoes (and always for a song!) so it was easy enough to pop some into frames, wrap 'em and call 'em a gift.

2.  Give the gift of YOU YOU.  Write 'em a letter.  Hand write your Dad (who has everything already, right?) a letter from the heart.  Tell him what he means to you, tell him about how you've come to appreciate those "mean" things he did to you in childhood (now that you are an adult w/your own lovely tykes).  Tell him you remember when he first took you to the zoo, or how he always made you pancakes on the weekends.  Tell him how much you appreciate the time he spends w/his grandkids now.  The sky's the limit on this one.  However, word to the wise, don't write a cotton' pickin' novelette...short and sweet, that's the ticket! And put it on some nice paper, too! Maybe frame it, I like frames...

3.  Give the gift of Food.  Yes, food! Everyone loves food. Just don't do the fruitcake thing. Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies (yeah, that's all in CAPS, 'cause it's important!) in a gorgeous container, or your signature dish, whatever it may be, is always appreciated.  There are several variations on this one, too.  You could layer the ingredients for the cookies in a mason jar or some other decorative see-thru container (layer of sugar, topped w/layer of chips, layer of flour...) and top w/a bow. And you could should include the recipe (in a frame?..).

4.  Give the gift of Notoriety.  Write a blog about 'em.  You're a blogging maniac, remember? This is similar in concept to #2 but now you're taking it to a ho nuvah level.

These are just the tip of the iceberg.  Your imagination is the limit.  Just keep in mind that you don't have to spend hours in the mall or all of your money (that the Media says you don't have) to give a really great, inexpensive, yet unique gift.  All you need to do is stretch your creative wings and give the gift of your thoughtfulness.  People like gifts like that. That eat that stuff up (see #3).

Happy Holidays to you and yours!