Question by Brea: Does anyone have tips for not breaking the bank on Christmas gifts?
I’m not poor but I don’t have a lot of extra cash either. I don’t know what anyone wants. I want the recipients to like the gift they get from me. Any creative ideas on what to do? Money saving tips? Things I can possibly make for some of the gifts etc?
Best answer:
Answer by charles t
yea use a credit card like everyone else
What do you think? Answer below!
give pictures
Buy cheap frames at Walmart and put a picture of you and the recipient, etc, in it. Voila!
I would get your gifts online – you can find good deals on ebay or craigslist
and if it was something I wanted I wouldn’t care if it was a little used
I seen this neat idea on tv.
You get those big paper clips that have the black clamp on it and decorate it with glitter or what have you. Then you sit it down and use it for a picture holder.
Homemade gifts are always the best kind im my opinion.
Make gift baskets for example for girls buy a couple of cheap soaps and such and little baskets and give them to all you lady friends. That will be around 25 dollars.
Here is an idea for female friends and family. Make home made hand/body scub. You can usually buy containers from the dollar store or even glass jars with lids would work. Mix 1 cup to 1/2 cup oil (Id use olive oil). You could decorate the containers with labels, ribbon, gems etc from the dollar store also. I have done this gift before, and added a pair of the boby gloves to go with it. (also found those at the $ store!) Good luck!
Shop around for the best deal, a friend of mine wanted a new video game that was quite expensive i shopped around and got a great deal.
If you can sew a little, you could make tote bags or shopping bags – everyone shops and those are really handy and there are free patterns/instructions available on the web.
Homemade gifts from the kitchen are nice – quick breads, cookies, fruit butters (if you don’t can, be sure to keep them properly refrigerated and let the recipients know to do the same), or drink mixes.
http://www.momsbudget.com/drinkmix/index.html
Consider choosing books from a half-price store. Don’t try to pass them off as new, but do emphasize that you chose them carefully with the recipient in mind. Half-Price Books also carries used CDs and DVDs. Used items have a stigma, but less as more of us are struggling financially. Gamestop sells pre-owned video games at half price too. In my experience, gamers don’t care if someone else has already played the game; book lovers don’t care that the book has been read if it isn’t marked up; and movie buffs don’t care if the movie has been watched before.
Consider giving smaller gifts like hobby items: a new book of patterns for crochet or knitting; sheet music; crossword puzzles. A pretty cup, tea bags, and small jar of honey nestled into an inexpensive basket and wrapped in cellophane makes a nice present.
There are always the gifts of service: offer to babysit, help with a few hours of yard work; etc.
Make the presentation as lovely as you can. Really, it should be the thought that counts more than the money you spent!
I hope that helps.
That was a good answer that someone else provided ; gift baskets that you make yourself. They’re a lot cheaper than buying pre-mades and more fun and personal.
For smaller gifts that require some wrapping, you can use newspaper to wrap it. It might sound weird, but its actually a nice idea. I bought a bag of cheap gift bows (25 ct. for 99cents) and some fancy ribbons. I wrapped a rectangular gift with foreign newspaper (Chinese newspapers that I got free from local asian bakeries) and decorated it with the ribbon. I took this interpretation of the idea from Martha Stewart, heh!
It would’ve been great if you started shopping around Black Friday/Cyber Monday. It may be early to some but its an ideal time.