Christmas on a Tight Budget

Awww Honey, I’m sorry the money thing has you so strapped, evil necessity darn it.

Here are some thing I’ve done when being frugal.

Buy some pretty quality beads (even the good ones aren’t too expensive), and some elastic string and make ankle bracelets or get some tiny beads and make some toe rings. GREAT special gift, not your average gift but women love them.

A $3 tote bag with a $2 iron on (sew on beads too is a good idea) is a great gift too.

Make some easy microwave fudge, (I have the best recipe if you don’t have one), use check boxes wrap pretty with Christmas paper and pretty ribbon... lovely cheep, heart felt gift. Same idea applies to home made anything wrapped nicely. Great guy gift.

I make quick bread ready made dry ingredients present in lunch bags. With instructions to add squished banana, butter, egg milk and pop in oven. Kinda like a cake in the box but it is from you. I do banana bread, beer bread (this is easy all they have to do with this one is add beer) and cookies ready to add liquid and viola done.

Buy cheep candles (votives’ are cheep) and decorate them with crafty tiny beads, shells, ribbons... even just use crayon shaving and melted on ......

Something cheep for guys is a mini screw driver set, they’re like $5 but the guy will really love them.

Make some homemade play dough for those kido’s on your list.

Make a kido art box set, $1 paints and crayons and construction paper , storage box... ( all at the $1 store)... easy nice $5 kido gift.

lol I’m thinkin I’m gonna be doing all these things lol soooo excited anklets first.... lol

I have more ideas but will stop.. what ever you do

Just remember it isn't’ what you spend, it is the quality and heart behind the gift.

Please, I want to hear more ideas, studmuffin!!!

Here are some ideas, some crafts, some not, most pretty iexpensive:

Manicure sets;
Whetstone sets for guy who carry pocket knives;
Wooden type boxes or other masculine looking containers to put wallet, keys, pocket change, etc. in when they get home and get in their comfy clothes;
Sweat suits for wearing around the house;
Dew Rags (can buy or probably could find a pattern for them if one sews);

Have yours and DS's photos made together, make a frame & give for gifts. I saw one post where they mentioned buying photo mats , hot gluing all kinds of items on the exterior to make the frame (buttons, shells, beads, etc.). Probably have to glue some sturdy kind of poster board on the back of it, leaving a slot to slip the photo in. I thought about doing an ocean one, using elmers glue smeared on, pour dry sand on and let it dry. Then on top of that glue things like tiny starfish, sand dollars, shells, etc. Then spray over that with shellac.

Things kids love are posters.. . select a favorite photo of your child and have it enlarged into a poster. You can probably do this at a place where you send photos off to be developed, or if you have a place that does color copies on a big copier. I can get them done here cheap. . . like an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper in color would be $1, poster size probably $4 or so. Great idea for all kids on your list.

Also can do refrigerator magnets from kids photos. Great for gifts from child to grandparents, aunts and uncles. In fact, you can do these on your own. Select a photo that your child's picture can be trimmed out easily with scissors. Purchase some of those flat magnets that have sticky peel off paper on one side and glue the photo to the magnet, then trim. The magnets trim easily and cleanly with a good pair of scissors.

Any kids gifts one has to buy. . . they love personalized things. Order a dozen pencils with their names stamped on them. Note pads with their name printed on every sheet. . that sort of thing.

Another idea is a calendar for the upcoming year. I've seen them done by people who like to make their own, using their computers.
I purchased one for $20 I think it was. . . You select your own photos, one for every month and that is your calendar photos. I gave this for Christmas one year and that person loved it so well that she has one made every year now for herself. Another time we did them for my aunts, using photos that was their life. .. as a child, young adult, married, their babies, their babies as adults, aging, etc. One of them had tears in her eyes when she saw what it was.

If you're into it, another idea is to forgo gift giving completely and either contribute money in the names of those who would normally receive gifts or spend the day of the holiday helping out at a homeless shelter, old folks' home, soup kitchen, children's hospital, etc. That way you are very much into the spirit of the holidays without blowing the budget or adding clutter.

Danna =]

Thanks everyone, for your ideas! I am taking notes