Ideas for incredibly cheap thoughtful christmas presents for 5yr old boy and 7yr old girl?

Question

We've just moved house and have a lot less than no money! I don't want to compound the problem by buying lots of stufff at Christmas and am willing to make stuff. Any ideas?
We have been given one great idea of filling a huge box with balloons and wrapping it nicely!

Answer 1

You would be suprise by how incredibly unmaterialistic most children are, they delight in suprise and novelty rather than the expense of a gift. You could get a big cardboard box and fill it up with lots of small and really inexpensive stuff and as long as it's wrapped up brightly the kids will just love it. I've done this before myself for nieces and nephews and had reports of how much fun they had unwrapping their many small presents. make sure that you include a letter from Santa to add extra magic.

We do not have a lot of money to spare, like any families, and when I want to treat my daughter i take her to the nearest charity shop. She loves it because there is just no telling what we are going to find in there and I suppose it's more of an adventure. It's great when you stumble on old toys from your childhood or old movies and you can share that with your kids for the sake of nostalgia. Don't discount nearly new items, it can be a lot of fun searching them out.

For children Christmas is about fun and suprise- worry about expense when they get into their teens. My children are not privilaged with a lot of things but they always look forward to Christmas the same way, if I had spent £1000 each on them, the effect would be no less great.

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Answer 2

Take them for an outing instead, it needn't be somewhere very expensive, would depend where you live, try and make it Christmassy and a bit special for them and have a fab time, that way you get a pressie of their time, and their parents get a pressie of a bit of a break for themselves. If you dont theink the children will accept this as a gift why not a rainy day box! We made one for our cousin and bought some paper, sequins, stickers etc, and filled it with pretty scraps of paper and fabric and foil and sweet wrappers- be warned though, don't buy too much as it can end up being another expensive gift if you don't ration yourself! But it's a box of treasures to a child. Check out ebay, local papers and second hand shops for toys in good condition. My friends child has a box of rail track that cost a £1 and it's totally her fave toy. Craft activities are good, I think, something that anticipates you maybe spending time with the child. look out for 2 for 3 offers in places like Woolies and Boots as well.

Answer 3

I have a 3 year old daughter, a 5 year old son, and no privacy in the bathroom. We refer to tampons or pads as "Mommy's special 'band-aid." I let them know that it doesn't hurt me, because the blood can freak them a little out. That they should Never, EVER touch my tampons (I can just imagine my son trying to talk his sister into being big like mommy). I too have explained that there is a cushion made of liquid (when pushed I said blood) in my body waiting for a baby to grow. If a baby doesn't come, then the cushion gets old and drains out. I tell them that they seemed to enjoy their cushion since they were both 2 weeks late in coming out of Mommy. My son appears to find it all fascinating and them moves on to playing with construction trucks. Just know that whatever you say will be repeated to someone at some time.

Answer 4

Avoid anything that needs batteries and anything that comes in a series or is advertised on TV. Can you sew? Make kites from nylon taffeta (Taslon is one brand). Plenty of patterns on the net. I recommend the Eddy which flies well. Make them about 45 cm across - ie 2 feet. Not too big for little kids, but large enough to be good fliers. Home made ones last better than shop-bought ones too.

Answer 5

Maybe simple things to fix up their new rooms at your new house. This would be fun and something the whole family can do together on Christmas. Umm...like a certain theme for each of their rooms - you could try thrift shops they have a lot to choose from for your home. (Salvation Army is great too) I'm sure your family is very happy to have your new house. Good Luck!

Answer 6

you should go to your local food pantry or you could call your county human services department and ask about gift programs for children. there are a lot of x-mas programs out there that people donate gifts for people who can't afford them, you should really check into that, it would be a big help for you guys. if you knit or crochet and have yarn on hand, make them something quick and easy, there are lots of free patterns on the web. if you sew, and have scraps of fabric there are stuffed animals you can make too. make some home made play dough if you have all the ingredients on hand, if not you can usually buy a four pack of theh off brand of play dough at wal-mart for 97cents. there are a lot of craft ideas on the web, just search for free crafts and look through some. i hope i helped, if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me [e-mail] :)

Answer 7

Sometimes, the gift of time and sharing yourself is a good idea. You can make little certificates that the children can redeem at a later date. One trip to the museum, one game of softball, one story book read,
one cookie-baking day, one finger-painting day, whatever they really like to do that you often don't find time for.

Answer 8

Why don't you try going to car boot sales or look for second hand toys which are often a fraction of the price and still in very good condition.

Answer 9

You can make some dolls outfits for the girl and buy some good quality second hand toys for the boy !!

Answer 10

Have a good look around, xmas does'nt have to be as exepesive as alot of people think. There are some really good bargins to be found. Try ASDA and instore