$5 Gift Ideas?

[emily_hope]

Was hoping to get some ideas here. I have to purchase 5 gifts for $5 each for coworkers. We do a gift swap and buy a gift for each other. Usually I purchase the same thing for each person, except maybe in different colors or something. I have just run out of ideas. We are a bunch of crazy cosmetologists. I would like to come up with something original. Any ideas would be welcome! TIA!

[sunshine]

Candles are generally a good gift --- many fragrances, sizes, colors, etc. Wrap several together with wired ribbons, etc.

Christmas in a Can-- decorate cans for Christmas (paint, decupoge, cover with paper, etc.) Fill with a few pieces of fudge, an ornament, a sprig of greens, hot cocoa - coffee -tea , whatever their preferred drink would be, copy of the Christmas story or "Twas the Night Before Christmas" . . . Whatever small items conjour up Christmas in your mind.

You're Worth a Million - another can craft. . . . print out copies of money, and decupodge onto cans. . . fill with $100,000 bar candy bars - bite sized or full sized. . include a note that says "Friends like you are Worth a Million"

You can get gift certificates to restaurants really cheap at www.restaurant.com

Somewhere on these boards are several posts for cute sayings to give with small things -- like filling a wire kitchen whisk with candy and saying "Whisking you a Merry Christmas"

[Missy]

Sunshine always has great ideas!! I was hoping she'd see this, lol cuz I am looking for ideas too!

[sunshine]

~ FLOWER POT GIFT ~

Here's a little pot
in which to plant a flower
For now, enjoy the candy
(I hope it's not too sour)

When the candy's gone
put some soil in the pot.
Then you add some water
be careful, not a lot!

Put a plant into the soil
or some seeds, just 2 or 3
And when you look this way,
you'll always think of me!

Paint a small flower crock, fill it with sour candy. Anchor a plant poke
with a pkg of seeds (Forget-Me-Nots or Daisies, etc) and attach the above
poem. Tie a pretty wire-edged ribbon or sweet country-type raffia bow
around the pot.


Candy Wreath

Bend a wire coat hanger into a circle-- tie wrapped candies (like peppermints) to the hanger until well covered (I tie several candies together in bunches, then tie the bunches to the hanger). . add a bow and you have an edible wreath


Rice bags

Take any sturdy fabric -- sew a rectangle or circular bag- leave an opening for filling. Fill 2/3 - 3/4 with rice, then sew opening closed. I like to make a washable cover for mine-- same thing. . .make a rectangle or circular bag about 1" larger than the one with rice. . . hem the opening , then place rice bag in the cover. . .

To use: heat in microwave for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes for warm pad, or place in freezer for cold compress.


http://www.recipegoldmine.com/crafts/crafts94.html




Treasure Hunt Jar
1 clean plastic jar with lid (such as a peanut butter jar)
Finch bird seed

Fill the jar half full of bird seed. Add whatever small items you can find, such as a screw, jingle bell, rubber band, piece of macaroni, button, needle, bead, screw, paper clip, penny, marble, pop tab, etc. Put 20 items in the jar. Fill with bird seed, leaving a space at the top for the seed to move around. To prevent people from opening the lid, you can add some glue to the threads of the lid, then screw it onto the jar. Keep a list of the items you put into the jar because it's almost guaranteed that the person you give it to will not find them all!

Add the following poem:

Some pirates got it all mixed up
And did things wrong way 'round.
They put the treasure in a bottle
And buried the map in the ground!

Their treasure was some silly stuff
Like needles, screws and beads.
Then dear old Polly Parrot
Added all her extra seeds!

So find the twenty items here
No two are quite the same.
Don't open up the bottle though
As that would break the game!

[Early Bird]

For $5, I'm thinking candy.

Or you can make batches of fudge. Here's an easy one:

http://www.eaglebrand.com/detail.asp?rid=48

[Mumzy]

Paper money oragami has been a hit for me on occations like this. Just clever presentation is the key.

http://members.cox.net/crandall11/money/

Let us know what you come up with.

[MarshHen]

Buy each one a really cute $5 ornament. Maybe put 2006 on each one with a paint pen or perm. marker. The dollar store has small gift bags that you can put each ornament in and then decorate each bag with pretty ribbon.

[Bethany]

A 5$ gift card to a coffee shop is always nice. Enough for a few cups of coffee on the go.
If you knit or chrochet, you can make a few cute red and white striped scarves with fringe in no time.

[2boys2girls]

Right now at our Target $1.00 spot, they have little Christmas tin buckets, bath scrubby gloves, lotion, foot scrub, lip balm, and pumice stones. They are in Sugar Cookie, Peppermint and Cranberry scents. I made each one of my kids teachers at tin bucket filled with these goodies for 6.00 a piece and they are so cute.

[Buckeye5]

Do you have an orchard or a store around you that would sell homemade jelli's or jams? Last year my DD#1, who is a college student) works for a law firm. Her money is extremely tight. What do you get lawyers? Well we found a place that sold homemade jellis and jams etc. they were in nice jars and were $2.50 each. She bought them and then went to Walmart and bought the green and red gauze like material and wrapped them in it. Then she made nice gift tags and pretty ribbon etc. They were absolutely adorable and very inexpensive and the lawyers absolutely loved them.

[favesis37]

socks, candy, coffee cups, candles, giftcards to a book store, coupons for things you can do for them i.e. babysitting, chores, errands.
lotion sets, puzzles, cards,
i saved some spaghetti jars, cleaned them, put stickers on them then added some homemade snow, then filled them with candy.

can't wait to see what you do!

[emily_hope]

Wow, some good ideas. Thanks for answering so quickly.

[slowtypinwoman]

I love home movie store gift card along with a movie size candy of a couple microwave pop corn. They even have the pop corn "boxes" at the Target spot.
Also I enjoy making candles. I bought all the stuff to make the candles for about $15 from Hobby Lobby. Then I decluttered my C-mas mugs. For $15 I'm sure I have enought stuff to make dozens of candles.

[Cele]

Ok, from the non-creative peanut gallery: scratch-off Lottery tix.

[watchingpennies]

I love the "I whisk you a Merry Christmas"...I am going to use that one!