KTF, I remember making ornaments out of old-fashioned wooden clothespins (not the clip kind but the other type) years ago. I recall making an angel, a woman caroler, a woman w/her hands in a muff, and a farm boy carrying a pail. If you google "clothespin ornaments", you'll see lots of ideas that cover a wide range of skills and "craftiness." Maybe that would be a way to go.
Also, depending on where you live, if you have access to areas where evergreens, weeds such as teasel, bittersweet vine, wild grapevine, etc., grow (and where you could cut some of these things w/o breaking any laws), you could make some simple decorations. Over the years, some of the things I have made include a bittersweet wreath, a grapevine wreath, a teasel bouquet, and a small evergreen door swag that I decorated w/a red bow and a couple of cheap bamboo flutes from a dollar store.
Local thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent's) can be a great source of really pretty glassware to fill w/dried weed bouquets or with the soup/baking mixes others have mentioned. There could be lovely mugs to go along w/a box of a favorite tea, which is usually fairly inexpensive. A fun cookie jar could be filled w/baked goods. I heard someone on a public radio show the other day tell how her friend had taken a pretty container and filled it w/slips of paper, each of which had an inspirational thought written on it, then given it to her as a gift to help her thru a tough time.
I have not bought any Christmas gifts in YEARS, as the family had all agreed that we'd rather make donations to NPR, local shelters, etc., than exchange gifts among ourselves. This thread has gotten me all fired up and feeling creative--maybe this year I'll go ahead and do some gifts for the first time in a long time! Thanks for posting, KTF, and I hope you find some good ideas here. Would you be so kind as to post and let us know what you decided to do and how it went? I'd love to hear!