A DIY Christmas is the merriest kind, especially for families who may be short of cash but can find time to do things together. I am thinking particularly of grandparents, but Christmas projects can also be fun for aunts, uncles, cousins and parents. The children’s Christmas fever can be passed on to all generations when they get involved in cooking together and making decorations, cards and presents. So, prise the kids away from the telly and get them colouring, cutting and glueing, stirring, tasting and baking. You will soon be as happily absorbed as they are. If you are a hoarder, now is your moment. Out come the scraps of wrapping, ribbon, glittery fabric, sequins and buttons that you couldn’t bear to throw away. They are the components of home-made decorations, cards and presents.

PRESENTS
My Christmases past have yielded a box decorated with sea shells, a pebble-filled pencil pot, a painted photograph frame, a stone painted to look like a frog, slate roof tiles painted à la Jackson Pollock and assorted pottery decorated with handprints, footprints or just blotches. Made by my children and grandchildren, they are my treasures.

Flowerpots Paint clay pots (they take paint better than plastic ones) with water-based acrylics and plant with bulbs in peat-free compost, or a cutting with roots from the garden.

Needlepoint Why not make a cute little coat for auntie’s iPod? Felt is a wonderful material as it doesn’t need hemming. Just cut two identical pieces, using an iPod as a template. Join them with over-sewing stitch or blanket stitch, leaving one end open to slip in the iPod. Skilful stitchers can embroider initials or decorate the felt with braid, ribbon and sequins before joining the two pieces. Similarly, small purses for parking-meter change or spec cases are easy to make.

Decorative box Boxes of all shapes and sizes cry out to be recycled. Hinged wooden cigar boxes are ideal but hard to come by, and any reasonably strong cardboard box will do. It may originally have contained soap or chocolates. Use washable PVA glue or Pritt Childsplay glue to decorate the lid, sticking on sea shells, buttons, beads, sequins, or a combination of these. A box covered in a collage of family photographs makes a very personal present. If the inside is lined with sticky-back felt, it becomes a jewel box.

Techno power Tech-savvy teens could save themselves cash by creating a gift pack of freebut-valuable software. A bit of time spent downloading and installing no-cost security programs will protect a technophobic uncle’s PC from the viruses, hackers and spyware that could cost him thousands if cyber-criminals have their way. The best-known free download is the Firefox web browser (www.getfirefox.com). Dedicated security programs are also available free. They may look less polished than their commercial competitors, but levels of protection are similar. Zone Labs (www.zonelabs.com) provides a free firewall to keep hackers at bay, while AVG Anti Virus Free Edition (www.grisoft.com) will protect against viruses, trojans and worms. Spyware, used to steal passwords from unprotected PCs, can be detected and removed using Spybot Search and Destroy (www.safer-networking.org/en) and the free version of AdAware (www.lavasoft.com).

A word of caution: using search engines to find free security software can lead to programs created by fraudsters. Instead, type the printed address into your browser or use the direct links to these programs at www.timesonline.co.uk/tech.

Promise vouchers Give your nearest and dearest that precious commodity, time. Offer babysitting, yourself as chauffeur for a day, a day’s gardening, an afternoon of dog-walking, whatever will be most appreciated. Ideas include a trip to the cinema; a river picnic; a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry replica at Reading Museum or even the real one in France; a wildlife park; or the London Eye. Make the voucher look appealing with fancy artwork.

Foodie presents Suggestions include chutney; jam; lemon or orange curd; pickled onions; apple and mint jelly; peppermint creams; chocolate truffles; Turkish delight; sugar mice; quince or damson cheese; fruit cake (keeps well); flapjacks; mince pies; oils flavoured with chilli, tarragon, rosemary or wild mushrooms; fruit cordials, and muslin sachets of bouquet garni herbs.

Hampers Line a hamper or basket with crumpled felt, gingham or hessian and fill it with home-made goodies, or with lotions, potions, pot-pourri and lavender bags made from gorgeous vintage materials, scraps of brocade, velvet, embroidered silk and ribbons.

Online photographs Every year our son-in-law gives us a wonderful calendar. He takes brilliant photos of the children and chooses one for each month. Several photographic websites offer free calendar templates to download. Try directlogic.com or bonusprint.co.uk. And don't forget, granny has probably got the internet, so why not create an online photo album with pictures from the previous year’s family gatherings. Websites such as myphotoalbum.com provide this service free and some internet providers, such as Yahoo, will allow you to create a family homepage, with photo collections and news.

Alternatively, put together a collection of old family photos, and digitally scan and print them to make albums for aunts and uncles. Most photo-developing shops will do it for as little as 79p a picture. People love tracing their ancestral roots so a photo album of stern-looking great- grandparents will be a hit.

If you’ve got a Mac, use iMovie, which is a free package, to put together a short film or sequence of photos from your digital camera. It’s a great way of keeping holiday memories fresh (and a way of getting them off the camera where they all too frequently stay) and you can download a 79p theme tune of your choice from iTunes as background music. ()

Times recommends

• Live chat: Thrifty ways to update your winter wardrobe
• Is anybody out there really listening?
• Nutrition Q&A: Will eating late make me fat?