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[zuzu_]

I know, I know...it's only October. But they already have the decorations up at the mall.

As someone teetering on the poverty line for quite some time now, I have a lot of great ideas. I'd like to share some, but I also need some more ideas to add to my repertoire. I am on the TT now, but I am supporting a family of four on my meager humanities paycheck.

Small, unique items on eBay that reflect the receiver's interests. Example: My brother is a Middle School Science teacher who is interested in space. For about $5, I bought him a vintage metal Challenger Space Shuttle pencil sharpener.

Holiday themed paper plates, napkins, and facial tissues. These were a huge hit, for years, with my grandmother. She was poor and disabled. She appreciated the fact that I saved her the hassle of doing some dishes. (BTW, Dollar Tree (not Dollar General or any other "dollar" store) is the best place to get plates and napkins.) These were practical items in a sense, but a "luxury" in the sense that she would never spend an extra $1 on name brand decorative tissues. (Apologies for not being "green" with this one.)

Boxes of holiday-themed Cereal, such as Christmas Captain Crunch. This is the perfect gift for any kid between the ages of 3-15. I would buy a pack of holiday pencils at Dollar Tree, and tape a pencil to the top of each box next to an adhesive gift tag. This is always a HUGE HIT (at least in my working-class family). These are often on sale for around $2/box.

Photo Magnets of grandchildren for grandparents and great-grandparents. Other photo-related gifts are often affordable and appreciated. I buy them on the Wal-Mart website, where it is easy to upload your digital photos and shop.

Inexpensive yet elegant gift bags and wrapping material. Again, Dollar Tree. They have the best selection of unique and attractive holiday gift bags for $1 each. Far better than Wal-Mart. Get there soon for the best selection.

I am thinking of perhaps doing some artsy-type scrap-booky type stuff with photos this year. (I've never really dabbled in this before, and I would appreciate suggestions.) On those HGTV budget design shows, they frequently use a family photo or other sentimental item to create a piece of personalized art.

Share your ideas here!

[zuzu_]

I forgot one..

Postcards instead of regular cards. They have so much more character, and they are a lot less expensive to purchase individually. Gifts shops and bookstores.

[liquidambar]

I love the idea of sending postcards instead of regular cards.

Here are a few ideas, focused mainly on handmade items:

Unique/weird items from etsy - handmade, often eco-friendly.  This can be good for people one feels obligated to give to but who already have everything.

Since I knit whenever I watch TV/movies, I'm knitting scarves for relatives.  Yarn isn't that cheap, but the money is doing double duty (both entertainment for me and gifts).

Last year I made lip balms and body butters.  Containers are the biggest expense, so if you already have some, that would help.  I can provide recipes if anyone is interested.  You can also make body scrubs, bath salts, and such.

I'm thinking about making custom magnets using small pictures and those flattish marbles.  http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/marblemagnets/

Homemade loaves of bread.  Everyone loves these.

[bibliothecula]

My husband and I make a charitable donation--usually an educational one, or OxFam or something that won't be divisive in my politically diverse family--and let everyone know about it, usually through a home-printed card with the logo of the organization or something on it, and then everyone gets some kind of homemade food gift (last year it was homemade pasta) and an ornament. We got the ornaments on sale for $1 or less at Cost Plus one year, and still have tons to give out. Spouse and I like making the food thing together --this year it will be homemade chili spices and perhaps herbs de provence--and everyone is cool with the charities. Last year I think we spent $45 on the charity and the cost of a bag of flour and some spinach and tomato powder for the pastas (yeah, they were red and green. We do xmas, even though half of us are atheists, half are Jewish, and half are some kind of Christian. Yes, that's three halves. Deal.)

Anywa, it's cheap and meaningful and fun.

[sappho]

I like going to garage/yard sales.  Sometimes I find absolutely new or unused items, such as books, children's toys and games, etc.

[prephd]

I'm no good at this. I'll decide I want to bake cookies for presents as a way to save money, and then I'll spend hundreds of dollars on gourmet ingredients for ten different recipes.

This year I have to be frugal. I'll let you know if I come up with anything good.

[doppelganger]

I also bake.  I get nice but cheap bags from the dollar store and then I buy regular old ingredients when they go on super-sale the week before Thanksgiving.  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a huge and easy hit. 

Sales and coupons.  Just today, I got a coupon in the mail for a free bottle of something at the local beauty store. 

The Thanksgiving Day-After $15.00 gift cards to the first 100 people at the local department store + the newspaper coupon allows me to get one really nice $30.00 present for $10.00 or less. 

I shop sales and clearance racks.  The 80% off racks at the big box stores are good for cheap presents.   

[prephd]

I also bake.  I get nice but cheap bags from the dollar store and then I buy regular old ingredients when they go on super-sale the week before Thanksgiving.  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a huge and easy hit. 

 

Well, okay, I do have one tip: if you're baking, start saving your coupons now. The past few Sunday papers have been full of coupons for chocolate chips, evaporated milk, Karo syrup, flour, sugar, crisco, etc. They all have expiration dates between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so clip the coupons, go to your grocery store on double coupon day, and bake away after Thanksgiving.

I also buy gift wrap and holiday cards after Christmas for the upcoming year. I can usually get it at half to 75% off retail price that way.

Maybe I do have a few tricks.

[penguinator]

This year I have a few ideas...

1. I'm definitely giving out the Avon breast cancer lip balm:

http://www.avon.com/1/1/1717-avon-breast-cancer-crusade-lip-balm-spf-15.html

They're $1.50 and $1.33 of that price goes directly to charity.

2. I also want to learn to make pickles. It's fun to have something salty in the middle of all the sugary snacks.

3. If you would shop on amazon but avoid it because holiday shipping on there is unreliable, I would suggest doing the free trial membership of amazon prime, which means you get free two-day shipping on lots of items, including shipping to multiple addresses. So I can send my family members gifts all over the country w/no extra shipping charge. They have lots of cheap DVDs on there, kitchen stuff, and of course books. I recently bought the following, the total was under $100, and it came in two days. It could probably be generous gifts for a a whole family (instead it was our 08-09 "we can't afford to go out for a year" purchase)
Air popcorn popper
Silicone egg poachers
Scene it for xbox 360 incl controllers
3 new release DVDs

4. Tea or cocoa and a mug! Always a hit with me and only requires a trip to the dollar store and the grocery store.

5. Board games and sports equipment are great for families and you can save a lot of money on buying individual gifts. Come to think of it, a popcorn popper is a good family present too.

6. I try to pick up pens and postcards and other small things at the conferences I travel to throughout the year, then give them out at Christmas.

7. iPhoto on mac has 8 x 10s that are fairly inexpensive. if you can find frames on sale, you're on!

LOVE the box of cereal idea -- this would be fun for adults too, especially a sibling whose cereal you used to eat. I know someone who always got a bottle of ketchup for xmas because she put ketchup on everything. she loved it!

I also buy festive disposable napkins and plates for my mom, who is disabled. It's great for her to not have to stand and wash dishes, which is difficult for her.

[collegekidsmom]

I don't buy any gifts anymore except for immediate family. I write each person in my extended family (and all friends) a personal letter, put it in a beautiful card and send it. I often spend a lot of time making sure the card is special. If there is a child, I write them a personal note and put a small amount of cash in it. Everyone else has started to do the same. So, you hear from people in a nice letter, they send some pictures or call. We have parties where we all bring great food-I am known for Christmas cookies. We all have fun being together, and I write the cards out during December. Everyone seems happy, and the kids like the personal note with the cash. We all enjoy Christmas again, and really look forward to getting the mail, and getting together. No gifts needed.

We feel that adults don't need the material gifts. Every family, of course, buys gifts for their own children, and focuses on that.

[expatinuk]

I buy gifts all year... whenever I see a really GOOD bargain. I put them in the 'pressie box' and when there's a birthday or Christmas I pull a 'pressie' out of the box.

I also bake. But I generally give the cookies and stuff to my elderly neighbors. They all have family that drop in over the holidays and they really enjoy having something 'homemade' to give them.

I LOVE to bake ... the baking gene kicks in around mid November. And since I don't want to EAT all those cookies and cakes... well I gotta give them away. And now I import things like Reeces baking chips and Toll House chips and make 'American' cookies. They are a huge hit here.

We also do the Oxfam thing and make our own e-card for friends and family.

[scheherazade]

I was really broke last year, but I feel guilty if I don't give a gift to my kids' teachers.  I usually bake insane amounts of cookies for Christmas, so I gave them bags of several different kinds of cookies with the recipes included.  All teachers absolutely loved the gift.

In the past, I've made cookie, cake, or bread mixes and put them in a pretty container with the recipe for people.  These things work well for me because they're things I'm already doing (so I'm not scrambling for time) and I love to cook.  Play to your strengths when looking for inexpensive gift ideas.

[zuzu_]

3. If you would shop on amazon but avoid it because holiday shipping on there is unreliable, I would suggest doing the free trial membership of amazon prime, which means you get free two-day shipping on lots of items, including shipping to multiple addresses. So I can send my family members gifts all over the country w/no extra shipping charge.

Great tip. How does this work? Do you have to cancel your membership before they start charging you the fee?

[zuzu_]

I don't buy any gifts anymore except for immediate family. I write each person in my extended family (and all friends) a personal letter, put it in a beautiful card and send it. I often spend a lot of time making sure the card is special. If there is a child, I write them a personal note and put a small amount of cash in it. Everyone else has started to do the same. So, you hear from people in a nice letter, they send some pictures or call. We have parties where we all bring great food-I am known for Christmas cookies. We all have fun being together, and I write the cards out during December. Everyone seems happy, and the kids like the personal note with the cash. We all enjoy Christmas again, and really look forward to getting the mail, and getting together. No gifts needed.

We feel that adults don't need the material gifts. Every family, of course, buys gifts for their own children, and focuses on that.

This is a great idea. I always have trouble writing sincere, personal letters. And I'm a writing teacher. Perhaps it's because I am too paranoid about churning out a crappy piece of writing.

[zuzu_]

I was really broke last year, but I feel guilty if I don't give a gift to my kids' teachers.  I usually bake insane amounts of cookies for Christmas, so I gave them bags of several different kinds of cookies with the recipes included.  All teachers absolutely loved the gift.

This reminds me--I REALLY need a good idea for my son's preschool teacher and FOUR wonderful aides.

(My SO and BF are elementary teachers, and they think candy/food is not a good teacher gift)

These professionals are so dramatically unervalued and underpaid. When I am better off financially, I will give these people large gift cards.