40-ish is a lot of small gifts to buy and the cost certainly adds up.
This year I found a use for several stashes of second-hand and reclaimed supplies to create lavender sachets.
I made about 40 tea-bag sachets from Christmas print fabric that I'd picked up at op-shops during the year. Each was trimmed with a reclaimed shirt button and a piece of thin ribbon rescued from purchased tops and dresses. You know - the bits of ribbon that make the item secure on a coat hanger.
The only element I had to buy was lavender, because our lavender is the ornamental French variety rather than useful English. Each bag only needs a decent teaspoon full, so it wasn't a huge cost.
I modified this tutorial by Mademoiselle Chaos. My teabags are only one sachet, not a folded piece to make two, and I changed the hanging system to create a ribbon loop and lost the silly tag piece.
I figured these are a sweet, seasonal token. They fit neatly into a small Christmas card making giving them easy as well. The investment of time is about 10 minutes a piece (not the 5 quoted in the tutorial) and the money invested minimal. If the recipient threw it away within seconds I wouldn't loose any sleep over it as I would with a knitted item. Some of my colleagues have hung them in their cars, and others over coat hangers to ward off moths in the cupboard.
Be warned, though - these are addictive, and I have MANY ready to be filled with lavender and finished as little gifts during the year.
