Happy holidays! This is Amy Sorensen for Big Picture Scrapbooking, telling you about my holiday class, called Gift of Words.

There's this idea floating around out there about making holiday gifts. Somehow, people think you'll spend way less money on something if you make it yourself. Or that you'll be less stressed because you won't have to visit store after store.

For those idealistic people, I have one word: wrong!

I've discovered that, usually, making your gifts is just as stressful as anything else. There was the year I was up until 2:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, putting the finishing touches on the coated-with-flowers picture frames I made for my mom and mother-in-law. Or the time I decided that my children absolutely needed a quilt made by me, despite the fact that I had a new baby that year and so hardly any time for actually making the quilts, except for the rare midnight hours when said baby was actually sleeping. Or the time I spent an entire year working on an intricate counted cross stitch I was certain to give to my sister. That half-finished fiasco is still waiting to be finished, more than a decade later!

And then there's the cost. Have you been inside a fabric store lately? Flannel is costly! As are scrapping supplies, and woodworking supplies, and anything else that's crafty. Yep: handmade gifts usually don't save you much money either.

Still, though, despite the stress and the cost, I still have this deep-seated belief in a handmade gift. Maybe it's because I haven't ever forgotten the year my grandma gave me a pair of slippers she'd knitted herself, or of how much I cherish the porcelain nativity set my mother gave me fifteen years ago. A handmade gift just seems to mean something more, because it's imbued with the time, effort, and talent of the person who made it.

Worth the stress and the cost, yes. But honestly: a handmade gift doesn't have to be either stressful or costly, and that is what the Gift of Words is all about. Words are the only thing I have discovered that are simple and yet completely personalized and meaningful to give. Plus: they're cheap!

Let me explain. So often, we find ourselves searching for the perfect gift for someone we love. Because we love that person, we want the gift to say something to them about how we feel about them. We try to put the language of our emotions into an object. Sometimes it's even a useful object. But when I really stop to think about it, no one on my shopping list really needs anything. We all have homes and food and clothing. And each other, of course. Everything else is just extra. And while those handmade gifts of years past probably do suggest something about my feelings for the friends and family I made them for, they can't really come out and say it. And that's why words are what I love giving most. My words-the way I feel about the people I love, the things I want them to know. It's not letting things tell someone how I feel about them. It's just opening up and telling them.

If you're ready to give something that really is a little piece of you, this class is perfect. It's just two weeks, so it'll fit easily into your rush of holiday preparation. During week one, you'll learn how to quickly personalize nearly every single Christmas card you send out. Because, really: why go to all the effort of making or mailing Christmas cards, when you simply write a bland "Happy Holidays" inside of it? With the techniques I've developed, you'll be able to write something with substance in just a few seconds, in every card you mail out.

During week two, we'll go about learning how to write word gifts. What's a word gift? Think of it as a sort of reunion with the lost art of writing letters. Only more valuable. It is a way of giving of yourself, of truly making something that comes right from your heart.

Plus there are all the goodies that Big Picture is known for, like reminder emails, downloadable audio, fantastic handouts. And you won't want to miss the bonus-and completely optional-downloads. One's full of techniques you can use to improve your writing. The other is brimming with creative ideas for your Christmas letter that will help you get past your usual way of doing it.

I hope you'll find time during your busy holiday schedule to join me for The Gift of Words. You'll find yourself less stressed about finding or making the perfect gift and devoted to the idea of the word gift. See you in December!