There is always so many to buy for every year! The children, spouses, parents, sibilings, teachers and even friends. I was thinking that maybe this year I could discover a way to still make things nice, expensive and fun. Please helP!!
2007-10-15 04:56:18 · 5 answers · asked by melissa_4573 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
Jams. Jams in all shapes of bottles, the berries picked during summer, the bottles collected all year. The best I ever received had homemade labels too, dolled up with a little scarf made of gingham or any scrap of leftover materials. I like blackberry jam with or without their seeds, plum jam by itself, and combinations of berries.
Though these are inexpensive, they are time consuming from beginning to end, and at the end of the day, your recipient knows that they are "expensive" when you factor the time involved to prepare these gifts .
You can also make home made wines, home made fruit cakes , candies and home made christmas tree decorations.
2007-10-15 05:13:57 · answer #1 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you considered parring down your gift list? Can you make an agreement with some of your family NOT to buy for each other? Perhaps do a gift exchange and set a price?
If that is not an option, you may want to try to make some gifts this year- like cookies and cakes.
Start looking around the shops for "small" gifts- like candles and sachets (they make nice gifts for teachers).
Can you sew? You can make place mats and napkins easily with scrap fabric. Maybe even some coasters. Fabric stores like JoAnn's have patterns. I have seen holiday fabric on sale at JoAnn's right now. You can make a lot of gifts from a yard of fabric!
2007-10-15 05:53:17 · answer #2 · answered by Lizzie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I come from a large family (six brothers and sisters, plus their families!), and what we do is all of us buy a gift for our parents (some years we go in together for one big gift). We draw names for the other people in our family. For instance, I'm married with two kids, so I draw four names out of the hat. My oldest sister is married with three kids and she draw five names out of the hat. My youngest sister is single, so she draws one name. It's fun because everyone gets a gift that, not to sound greedy, is worth more than something we'd buy of we had to buy gifts for EVERYONE in the family. Suggest this idea. You might be surprised at who supports it. I think its better to receive one meaningful gift then a lot of nothing. (Again, I'm being practical. Not greedy!)
My husband and I sit down a make a budget for what we'll spend on our kids and on each other. If its a tight year, we may put off big presents for each other in order to do something fun for our anniversary a few months later.
For teachers, gift certificates are a great idea. Even $5 gift certificates to book stores or office supply stores are greatly appreciated. As the sister of a teacher, I know most teachers already have enough ornaments and coffee cups to last a lifetime!
As for friends, could you offer free child care for a gift? Or plan a group get-together in lieu of gifts? Money is tight for everyone, but memories last forever.
Good luck!
2007-10-15 06:15:21 · answer #3 · answered by Merrie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My family always makes cookies in a jar for neighbors, teachers, etc. Its very simple and cheap, you can google it to find different recipes. Basically all you need are glass jars, and the dry ingredients to make cookies or brownies.
2007-10-15 05:59:06 · answer #4 · answered by Abbie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can knit scarf and hat sets are simple to knit and inexpensive! That's what my family's getting! Merry Christmas!
2007-10-15 08:09:33 · answer #5 · answered by badkat423 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋