While reading my ThriftyFun newsletter and leaving an answer for someone regarding less expensive Christmas shopping, an idea popped into my head.
Using a Gift Box for a Frugal Christmas
Once again, I have succeeded in being bountiful this Christmas without breaking the bank or getting into debt! I am recycling gift bags (and tissue paper) from the presents my husband and I gave each other to use for my brother and family.
I have a second generation spider plant that has more babies on it than I know what to do with. So this year, I clipped a few and put them in water about a month or two ago. I kept some aluminum vegetable cans (easiest to clean out) to use as pots.
A girl I work with made these cute necklaces for all of our co-workers one year for Christmas. This would also be a great craft for kids. You could even hang one in your car with a note, "Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly."
The perfect White Elephant gift! Use those leftover candy canes for this cute holiday treat. This edible puzzle is sure to give the receiver a good laugh.
Craft: Quickie Jingle Bell Lapel Pin
An easy and quick craft for the kids. Jingle Bells on a shiny pin. Let them make them for friends and family as gifts.
Craft: Elegant Clamp Jar For Gift Giving
My daughter and I found a whole box of these clamp jars at a yard sale this summer and thought they would be perfect for Christmas so we put them away. She had the idea that she would fill them with candy or nuts for her in-laws, since her father in law loves honey roasted peanuts.
Empty Formula Cans For Holding Gifts
For thrifty gifts this Christmas, I decided to make cocoa for several people on my list. Instead of buying glass containers, I saved my baby's formula cans and peeled off the labels. I measured the length and diameter of the can and cut wrapping paper to fit.
I find it challenging to give all the gifts I'd like to without exploding my budget. For many friends and their children, I have a $5 budget. I feel like this can work when 1: the gift is thoughtful and original and 2: the gift is well wrapped and comes off looking more expensive.
My sister-in-law and I both have kids in college this year and decided to pare down a little by purchasing consumable gifts for $15 or less. These Lifesavers Gift Packs are what I am planning to give everyone on that list.
I buy dollar store soaps in holiday scents, like peppermint or even gingerbread scent. From thrift stores or again the dollar store or any outlet, buy cheap children mittens.
Craft: Christmas Mitts and Potholders
Do you have four dollars and are able to sew a straight stitch? Here is a quick and easy craft for Christmas.
Measuring Cup Gift for Christmas
A wonderful, inexpensive, lovely idea for Christmas gift giving. Purchase a measuring cup, preferably glass. Tie a ribbon to handle with a card stating this or something like this: "The measure of a person should be...
In these hard times, shopping at the thrift stores may be that the only way some of us will be able to afford a Christmas for our families. So here are some ideas of what can be done with thrift store bargains to turn them from "Trash" to "Treasure".
Homemade Gift Ideas For Teenagers or Young Children
Gift Ideas to make. I have a 17 year old nephew, 14 year old niece and 10 year old niece.
I have been trying to think of "thrifty" presents for my immediate family. I am also planning to buy them modestly priced "new" items but I thought a thrifty gift would also be special, because they know I am into that kind of thing. Here is what I have come up with. I hope other people will also contribute their ideas.
Use Bartering as Part of Your Budget Plan
When trying to stretch your Xmas gift budget, don't forget about the power of informal BARTER. At a church sale last weekend, I traded several bottles of fancy bubble bath and some hair product for a wooden screen I had. You can do that for all sorts of things!
Here's a great way to save money on gifts and get the kids involved too. This particular gift idea is so easy and says "I love you" so well. Make several of these keepsakes and give them to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and anyone who needs a smile.
Cheap Christmas gift ideas. I hope this helps those of you on a tight budget who would like to give something but find it difficult financially.
Houseplant Cuttings As Gifts. For a thrifty gift this year, I decided to give pieces of my newly trimmed houseplants that I had rooted with a little poem attached. I ran into an issue finding decent priced pots to plant them in this non repotting time of year.
A girl I work with made these cute necklaces for all of our co-workers one year for Christmas. This would also be a great craft for kids. You could even hang one in your car with a note, "Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly."
The perfect White Elephant gift! Use those leftover candy canes for this cute holiday treat. This edible puzzle is sure to give the receiver a good laugh.
Craft: Quickie Jingle Bell Lapel Pin
An easy and quick craft for the kids. Jingle Bells on a shiny pin. Let them make them for friends and family as gifts.
Craft: Elegant Clamp Jar For Gift Giving
My daughter and I found a whole box of these clamp jars at a yard sale this summer and thought they would be perfect for Christmas so we put them away. She had the idea that she would fill them with candy or nuts for her in-laws, since her father in law loves honey roasted peanuts.
