This month in New Mexico, Texas, and California, I debuted my 12 Days of Thriftmas ideas on local television shows…one show a day leading up to Christmas, and featuring 12 simple and thrifty DIY decor and gift ideas. I am breaking it into a three part blog series and welcome to part two!

On the fifth day of Thriftmas we create chalkboard wine glasses! These make great gifts for girlfriends and neighbors.

Supplies needed: wine glasses, chalkboard paint, paint brush, painters tape, chalk

These chalkboard wine glasses are very simple and not only make fabulous and thrifty gifts, but are also great at parties because once you write your name on the base, there’s no mistaking whose glass that is for the rest of the night. I grabbed my glasses at Thrift Town for around a dollar each. There’s two ways to do this. The first and easiest in my opinion is to wrap a piece of painter’s tape on the bottom of the wine glass stem in order to create a clean line. Open the can of paint and simply dip the base of the glass into the paint up to the painters tape. Hold in for about 30 seconds, remove, and let drip dry. I used a hair dryer on low to gently blow dry most of the paint, then let it dry on a piece of wax paper. You can also use a paint brush to paint the top of the glass base. Dry, and use chalk to write on the base of the glass. Done!

On the sixth day of Thriftmas I am showing how to make a personalized platter.

Supplies needed: plate (non-plastic), sharpie, oven

This rates high on my easiest craft ever list. Typically during the holiday season we will bake and bring sweets to at least one person or party. This craft is definitely a step up from putting your goodies no a paper plate! I grabbed a basic white non-plastic plate at Thrift Town for a buck, grabbed a sharpie and wrote a little something on it (get as creative as you want, and use colored sharpies if you have them too). Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, pop your plate creation in for 30 minutes and you now have a dishwasher safe platter to leave as a hostess gift along with your goodies! And yes, it’s that easy!

On the seventh day of Thriftmas I show how adorable mason jars are as gift containers!

Supplies needed: mason jar, ribbon, decorative paper, adhesive, and whatever you want to fill the jars with.

Admittedly, I have a fetish with mason jars. Not sure why, but I do. However, fetish or not, they make adorable gift containers, especially for neighbors, teachers, or coaches. Pick some up at Thrift Town for around a dollar each and simply cut out some decorative paper and tape or glue to the top lid of jar. Outline the jar’s lid with ribbon, and fill it with special treats. I filled one of the above with dog treats, another with a smores kit, and the third with a hot chocolate kit.

On the eighth day of Thriftmas I want to show you how easy making chalkboard trays are!

Supplies needed: thrifted trays, chalkboard paint, chalk, paint brush

Not only do chalkboard trays make good neighbor gifts, but they also are great to set out at parties because you can actually label what type of food the tray is displaying. You can also just keep the tray up as a decorative piece in your home by writing either a fun holiday word, song, or phrase on it and setting it up in a plate stand on a side table or mantle. Simply find a beautiful vintage or fun holiday themed tray at Thrift Town for around $2, paint the inside of the tray using chalkboard paint, let it dry, and use chalk to write whatever your heart desires. It’s that easy!

All of our 12 Days of Thriftmas pinspiration can be found here: http://www.pinterest.com/pinthrifttown/12-days-of-thriftmas/ . All of the photos above were taken from our pinterest inspiration.

Stay tuned for next week’s Mommy Moments blog post for part 3 of the 12 Days of Thriftmas!

Happy thrifting!

Gina Doglione-Nielsen is featured every week on Good Day Sacramento’s Thrifty Thursdays, and owns GNJ Consulting which handles Public, Social, and Media Relations for Thrift Town Stores. Gina lives in Northern California with her amazing husband Josh, and is constantly on the go with three “very active” and “strong personality” bambinos; aka Team Nielsen, and loves every minute of it.