Frugal Christmas ideas

[steelergal]

With the prices of everything going up, I am starting to worry about Christmas (I am already juggling some bills with the cost of everything going up!). I do have a little stockpile started (as in a few stocking stuffers for my girls, and my mom) but nowhere near to what I usually have (for the most part I would find great deals but everything does not seem to go as low in price when on sale anymore!).

Anyone started for Christmas yet? Any ideas on how to make a frugal Christmas great?

Thanks!

[danimarie0820]

I'm glad you posted this because I need help in this department also! One thing I do is start shopping early but clearance things only. Depending on who you buy for you can make something. I did a scrapbook last year and it was a hit.

[perSue]

yep... been thinking about it for a couple months actually!

I've decided that rather than getting gifts for lotsa ppl... I'm making a card list. I've got tons of xmas/holiday cards and plan on sending ppl I normally would send a gift to a card instead... at least it's something...

What I've done in the past, and seems to work, is send the cards kinda early... like 2 weeks or so before Xmas (or whatever holiday date)... then they'll respond w/a card as well... and IF gifts are brought up, I recommend against it & say to spend money on themselves or their loved one.

Cards are WAY cheaper than looking for the obliged gift for in-laws, coworkers, etc.

Otherwise, start checking out the Clearance tables, Mark-downs, the dollar stores, etc.

If there's something special (pricey!) on your list... save up...

We're doing a smaller xmas this year... fewer gifts and more of a "time spent together" sorta thing.

What about making coupons (hand made or print off) for family... things you can do that's extra nice or special for them...
maybe a 'promise' to go someplace (when money isnt tight)... a movie day (at the theater or at home w/rentals & your choice of snacks), an amusement park, a nearby arboretum, a sporting event (local or national)... it's like a promise to do something TOGETHER, as a family or bonding experience between/among a few family members.

Depending on ages and likes/dislikes... there's always the simple "necessary" things...
clothing is like opening up a box of styrofoam peanuts... and as exciting (ok so the peanuts could be a lot more fun than socks!) LOL

but what about for girls... new hair accessories? makeup? perfumes? nailpolishes?

for boys... a manicure set, first shaving set, key ring w/his own house/car key (whatever you wanna put on there), a gift card to buy new sports equipment (even if it's 5 or 10$ - he can get a new hat or glove or just take the edge off a higher priced item!)

cluster all items in one bigger box... or if they like to open a "lot" of things... pack them seperately.

Instead of "Build a Bear" workshop... do your OWN... where YOU make the bear OR just make the clothes for a bear the kids already have OR one you got on discount

try to think of interests... stuff they talk about on a day to day basis... not the "my favourite.... is"... but that strange comment the other day of "i wish i had...."

they'll be surprised you even paid attention!

good luck

[ewokgirl]

I have the issue that my nieces live overseas, so I have to find things that are affordable, AND easy (small enough) to ship.

This year I'm making bed pockets for them. (In case anyone doesn't know, bed pockets are those fabric things that sit under a mattress. There is a pocket that hangs over the side of the mattress, and you can put books/magazines/whatever in it.) I found fabric back in July that matches their bedspreads; it was on sale for $1.99/yard. When Amazon was having a 4-for-3 sale on books, I bought a book for each girl. I'm going to include a small flashlight for each girl so they can annoy my sister by reading in the dark. All put together, I doubt each gift will cost more than $12.

For friends I always bake a variety of breads. It's inexpensive, and they all look forward to it. Besides, it's something different from the typical sweets everyone receives that time of year.

My husband's teenage niece is always the hardest to buy for. I usually try to find a good sale at one of her favorite clothing stores or buy her an iTunes gift card. It's a little harder to save money on teens, I've discovered. They really seem to just prefer cash.

Other things to look for: If you ever get those coupons in the mail for $10 off any $10-or-more purchase, use those towards gifts. I did that with one of my niece's birthday gifts. Combined with a fabulous sale, I only paid about $2 at Kohls for a gift that was originally $30.

For another niece's birthday, I found some really great craft supplies at Tuesday Morning and Big Lots. I think I paid about $12 total for about $30 in crafting stuff.

[Maine Girl]

Also in recent days there have been many different threads on here about Frugal Christmas ideas. cruz around the site. How many people are you buying for this year and ages. It is amazing what the villagers come up with. Just a couple of ideas are movie baskets, board games, books, magazines, gifts in a jar, socks, fleece blankets.

[peanut]

I have no idea what to give kids this year. One of mine will get money for her second semester of university. Don't know about the other...Nieces and nephews will probably have to do without this year. It's too expensive to mail things now. As for me, I'd rather money went to necessities or our trip to Costa Rica.

Jean

[cheapskate 49]

I also ship gifts overseas and the price of shipping usually equals or surpasses the price of the gift,so this year I am making them fleece jackets(these are for kids)in sports teams prints.I have the Detroit Tigers and Lions and the Uof M....yes I know I live in Canada but we are so close to the border we've always supported the Detroit teams.I have been buying the fabric all year on sale or with the Joanns coupon,and for the Canadian part I will make drawstring bags in Canada fabric filled with Canada stickers etc.
I have found that I can only ship lightweight items....so no books or toys and it's hard to come up with ideas for gifts that don't weigh much.
The picture I posted of the quilt for my nephew cost $17 to ship- surface mail

[momof2joys]

I think some good stocking stuffers for girls are things like chapstick, or lip gloss. I also usually put a new hair item and a small book or some pencils in the stocking too, they usually need a new pencil or two by time christmas rolls around!!!

I have also been thinking about Christmas, today I am actually going to go through my gift tote and see what I have and what I have to get, I think I might have a couple of people done, but we'll have to see!! (I should probably get off FV and get that done!! LOL)

[ironmaiden]

If you can sew, doll/stuffed animal clothes. Simple stuff like a wrap skirt. And use velcro instead of futzing with buttons. Doll blanket, sleeping bag, pillow.

As for stocking stuffers, whenever my kids get goody bags at parties, all they look for is the candy. So I'd suggest gum and candy. Baseball cards etc.

Books read onto a cassette tape.

Homemade play-doh.

Craft "kits" that you assemble yourself, but are a specific project.

My DH is making my daughter a doll bed. And my son a tray to hang off the side rail of his loft bed - think the A&W trays, but made out of wood.

My DS8 actually asks me every year what I am going to make him for Xmas. And recently when I told him that it was time to get rid of way too small long-sleeve shirt that I appliqued a firetruck onto years ago, he said "but mommy, you made it". I used a coloring book page for the pattern, cut out felt and appliqued it onto a bought shirt.

I've crocheted funky yarns around regular hair elastics and elastic headbands.

[pollypurebred39]

I posted this on another thread but thought I'd repost it here.

My sister found a way to make Christmas special for her young children. She makes a lot of her kids gifts. Here's some of the things she did.

*She bought a dollar store plastic shoe box and filled it with a set of cookie cutters and 4 small containers of homemade playdough. You could even use ziplock bags. Her kids loved it and played with the playdough all afternoon on Christmas Day.

*She made Snowman soup. She got the idea from a website called CraftSayings. I dont know if you are allowed to put the dot com on a post so I didn't.

*She filled bottles {squirt and spray} with colored water. She glued decorated labels on each bottle and packed them in a homemade red cloth bag with a drawstring. Wala, a snow decorating kit. Her kids couldn't wait until the first snow storm.

*She bought a hat, gloves and scarf a the dollar store and got 2 long sticks from her yard, and stones from her driveway. She got a heavy duty box from a store. Call stores and ask what days they stock shelves and ask if you can get a box. She then painted the box and labeled it "Instant Snowman" Her kids built a great snowman and the neighbors kids begged their mother for a snowman kit.

* She made each one of her kids their favorite candy or cookie and packed it in a decorative tin.


And I made her daughter a dress up box. I scoured yard sales and thrift stores for fancy dresses{big enough to slip right over her clothes} hats, ladies shoes, hair clips, etc. She was thrilled and still talks about it to this day. She said it was her favorite gift ever and that she played with it for years.

You could also hit school sales right now and pick up crayons and markers cheap and then get her some coloring books and stckers at the dollar store for her stocking. I don't know if you sew but my Grandmother always made us kids a flannel night gown and crocheted us slippers. I loved that gift. I opened it on Christmas night and wore them to bed. I always felt so special on Christmas morning wearing my new PJ'S and slippers.

I hope this helps,
Polly

Oh, and I used to go to yard sales and buy games and toys for my kids. I always purchase new or like new. It's amazing what people buy that they never even open and then sell for $.50.

For family gifts we make family night baskets. We fill them with movies, jigsaw puzzles, board games, popcorn,homemade hot cocoa mix,decks of cards,dominos, etc.

We always get rave reviews from both parents and kids.

I've also made lovers baskets for couples. I filled them with bath beads, bubbles, candles, a romantic music cd, wine glasses and a $5.00 bottle of wine, big fluffy towels.

you can burn a cd really inexpensively or buy new really cheap at yard sales or store clearances. Candles on clearance or the dollar store,wine glasses from the dollar store or a yard sale, bath bubbles on sale or coupon. Wicker baskets are a dime a dozen at yard sales.

I've also made theme baskets like pasta night. I line a basket with a red checkered table cloth, and then fill with pasta and sauce, a loaf of Italian bread,wine glasses, wine, ect.

I've made dessert baskets like bowls for ice cream sundaes, or banana split bowls, sprinkles, and sundae toppings, brownies, and candies to sprinkle on the sundaes.

These never fail to get rave reviews. I even have sold them. I made quite a bit of money doing this years ago. My husband wanted me to open a basket shop, but the overhead was too high. I may someday consider doing this again.

Polly

[pollypurebred39]

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/spe...tmas_Gifts.htm

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/chr...s_for_Kids.htm

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/cra...Food_Gifts.htm

http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com/...christmas.html

http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/node/69333

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/04/04nov15c.cfm

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/forum/dollar/holiday.html

http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/christmas.htm

http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-cra...iday_gifts_ms/

http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-cra...hristmas-main/

http://www.budget101.com/christmas.htm

http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/hom...tmas_gifts.asp

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf849954.tip.html

[missmanny]

I was starting to get worried about Christmas but now am not feeling so bad.

My Mothers Family have decided to do a secret santa.

Everyone puts their names into a hat and provides a list of somethings that they would like to receieve as a gist up to the value of $80 and every one will donate $20 to charity so all in all presents for family will only total $100 ( I would prbabaly have usually spent about $350 dollars) then there is just DSO and my brand new nephew to buy for (given he will only be three months old he won't cost too much, I am thinking of a $25 money order for his future - although this would require my sister to open an account for hime - not a bad I idea I have decided)

Dso and I have promised that we will limit our selves this Christmas, I will try very respcetfully to stick to this, problem is that he is my only weakness and I like to spoil him, have to keep thinking on Christmas day though how upset he would be if I went crazy and he stuck to the original plan.

[TheRootedNomad]

One of the things I do on years when it is really tight is "family gifts". Like for my brother, his wife, and 4 kids I might do a ...

1)movie basket.

--big basket from home yardsale or thiriftstore (.50)
--easter grass from after easter sale (.25)
(or cut fabric strips work nicely as well)
--then I get a couple of used or really good priced DVDs (like at the $2.88 sale) 1 more adult friendly and 1 for the kids ($5 to $8)
--add popcorn in a cool jar ($1)
--salt (.35)
--garlic or other seasoning (.50)
--a couple of 2 liters of soda (2 @ .79)
--some homemade candy or cookies ($1 or $2)

(if I have appropriate material I may make a couple of throw pillows of throw bankets to add in)

Form about $12 - $16 I just wiped 6 people off my list. You don't even have to go that expensive though.

2) HUGE bowl of homemade cookies

3) One of those large boxes of chocolate that are sold for about $5 around Christmas

4) Breakfast basket (pick a few of these)
---jar/tin of your own mixed pancake mix
---jar/tin of your own waffle mix
---jar/tin your own biscuit mix
---a small spice jar of cinnamon sugar you've mixed up
---a jug of syrup ( I actually save the extra bottles of syrup we get when we every once in a while splurge and eat at Cracker Barrel)
--- a couple of index cards with favorite breakfast recipes
---cereal samples you've gotten in the mail
---homemade granola
---homemade flavored oatmeal packets

5) a LARGE fleece blanket to cuddle up under together

6) a board game that fits the family age group

[Wendy99]

Yes I have started on Christmas and am doing well .the Tightwad Gazette has some excellent pages on Christmas and when you know the kids have had too many gifts - real eye opener!! That has helped me realize the necessity of cutting back (not even just from a financial standpoint). Financially we are cutting WAY back on Christmas .. I'm actually going to the thrift stores a few times a week looking for Christmas presents for our immediate family here & if I see something brand new (tags on etc) I will buy it for outside our immediate family. I have already bought my daughter a brand new looking (after a good wash) barbie doll house for $2.29. My son 2 Thomas the Train movies at $1 piece. I've bought picture frames for the kids school school pictures (we always give them as gifts) - you can't tell that they are used because they are in excellent condition and you have to take the plastic off to put the pictures in ... so it's a frugal Christmas all the way here !! I'm proud of it .. will be awesome to see how much we can save. And not sure this if this acceptable but one of the Christmas gifts we got last year (a decoration) is just not our style, we will be using that at gift exchanges this year (where you bring a gift & play the game to see who gets what gift etc). So anyways I'm looking forward to seeing all the ideas on this thread for a frugal Christmas . I think the holidays will be all that more special when the materialism is taken out and we dont have to stress about money at would should be a peaceful relaxing time of the year.

[Maine Girl]

I found a bunch of note cards in my craft stash, that i was going to give as a set for a gift but have decided that they are really pretty and i am going to frame them. I am thinking I will place them on scrap paper, maybe use some stickers not sure yet. On one of the other christmas threads i think it is was lissettelovebug who did a framed scrapbooking page as a gift. I thought it was such a good idea i would try with notecards!!!