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[zuzu_]

--Every few days, there is a circular ad for Bon-Ton/Carsons/Hergbergers in the paper. (See if you can scam some inserts from your library if you don't get the paper.) Anyway, they almost always have coupons for "20% off a single item."

With this coupon, I just bought a name brand kid's holiday shirt, already on clearance, for about $3.


--Bag of nice brand coffee, from grocery store, $6-$8, plus nice $1 holiday mug from Dollar Tree. And I don't know about you, but I just LOVE getting nice coffee as a gift. (As much as I like my Folger's custom roast that I get on sale for $4.99 for the GIANT container.)

[extinct]

Make bottles of homemade limoncello, all you need is some Everclear, sugar and lemons, and some nice bottles and labels.

[upintheair]

A couple years back we were strapped for cash and we've got a lot of adults on our Xmas list. My solution: abstract painted wine glasses.

I went to one of those discount stores where you can get decent wine glasses for 99 cents each. Then, to the craft store for paints designed for painting glass (lots of different colors -- pick three or four you like at approximately $3.99 each).

Next, the painting commenced (this is a great project to get kids and SOs involved in). Just drizzle the paints on each glass, mix the colors (or not) to your heart's content, and you get a great one-of-a-kind effect. Then, stick the glasses in the over (directions on the paint as to degree and time). This makes the paint set so it doesn't come off in a dishwasher or during regular washing. We also did some vases for our non-drinking friends.

All in all, it costs about 7 bucks for 4 glasses and everyone loved them. Lots of fun, too.

[collegekidsmom]

Extinct-nice idea about the limoncello. I just saw a beautiful holiday fruit salad made with limoncello on a TV food show. Have to find that. Someone made me some limoncello in a beautiful bottle. Pretty just to look at that lovely color.

[wanna_writemore]

The adults on my list are mostly getting the fruits of my pottery class, but I am still not sure what to get for my niece and nephew.  The bath toys idea might be good for the three-year-old. 

We usually get the nieces and nephews books and clothes (usually pajamas), with the occasional creative toy thrown in (legos, craft kits, etc.).  We have a 3-year-old nephew too and we got him the Eric Carle Alphabet game this year.  It has beautiful drawings.  We bought it at an educational toy store but I just saw it last week at Target. 

[zuzu_]

Inspired by the recent discussions in the holiday anxieties thread, I am bumping this.

New strategy for me this year: Omaha steaks. My SO's family mostly live in the same city, so buying them all one big package (and shipping it to his parents) is far less per person than even giving everyone a $25 gift. Plus, it cuts down on food prep hassle for his mother.

We buy a big variety package with way more than just steaks--appetizers, desserts, all kinds of stuff.

[oseph]

This is not dirt cheap, but if you have someone requiring a step above dirt cheap but you still need to save money, homemade truffles are great, especially the ones rolled in cocoa powder or nuts or sugars or something like that.  Lots of recipes online, and then find some really lovely containers and nesting material.  As I said, not dirt cheap because the quality of the chocolate matters, but it is a different twist on the cookies/breads thing, and if the truffles are really good and the wrapping done well, it comes off as quite the fancy gift without being too expensive.

Sugar or salt body scrubs in glass jars - again, lots of recipes online.

Also sometimes you can find really tacky gift baskets online for next to nothing.  They've always got something yucky in them or just aren't a good assortment of things, or it is a generic, cheap looking gift basket just screams "I don't care what I give you."  Individually, however, many of the items are fine, just ruined by the presence of a ginormous sausage.  Buy the big cheap ones (takes a couple of hours of searching on the interwebs), open them, take out anything you don't like (like icky looking cheese spread or bubble gum scented bubble bath), set out what you do like (honey, crackers, bath salts), add some things of your own (homemade candy, homemade cookie mix, fresh fruit), make up new baskets (reuse the old baskets and buy some cheap extra containers - you can make four big purchased baskets, reorganized and with some homemade additions, into ten or twelve smaller, cuter baskets), and add really cute nesting material, cellophane, and ribbon.  It is a time-intensive project, but you can end up with some very nice, more personalized gift baskets that look pretty spectacular (and that someone actually would want) and cost much less than the average price of a nice gift basket.

[barred_owl]

Just now had to flip the wall calendars over to November, and doing so reminded me of an inexpensive gift I've given people in the past:  "homemade" wall calendars featuring my own photographs.  If you have a supply of great pix--landscapes, family pictures, etc.--why not let your friends show them off?!*  There are online and bricks-and-mortar places that will print and assemble the calendars; all you have to do is provide the images, of course.  Depending on the size and the number you order, it costs about $10/calendar.   You do have to plan in advance, though, to account for turn-around time on the order.

Alternatively, if you're not a shutterbug and don't have to give the gift right on Christmas day, most of the big chain bookstores will put all of their calendars on sale for half-price shortly after the holiday.




*Makes and especially great gift for MILs who need to have baby pictures to show their friends! ;)

[prephd]

I've been hoarding clearance items for a few months.

For example, LL Bean had some super-warm cozy house socks (fleece inside / wool outside) on sale for $5 a pair in the summer. I gobbled up 7 pairs and now each of my girlfriends, my sister, my mom, and my secret Santa will all receive a pair. Plus I got one for myself. They were regularly about $20 a pair, so it was a super deal.

I also buy Christmas ornaments for people who are close to me but out of town. It's a memento that says I'm thinking of them, but not something that's outrageous to buy or ship. Plus they can pull it out and remember me each year. I'll try to do something either really elegant, something that's an inside joke or kitchy. This year, I got several of The Christmas Pickle from Plow & Hearth: http://www.plowhearth.com/product.asp?pcode=5878 Looks like I lucked out because they're now sold out. I got them for about $3 each at the outlet over the summer.

I've also resumed an old hobby: beading. So, this year my girlfriends and sister will receive handmade necklaces. It's not inexpensive (because I buy real stones and quality sterling clasps), but it can be done on a budget if you buy good supplies throughout the year and manage to sell an item or two on top of the ones you make as gifts.

Another idea I use for that hard-to-buy-for person (like my stepdad) is to buy one of those gift certificates that allows him to choose a magazine subscription of his choice. Usually about $20 and very well-received. I wrap it up in magazine pages.

For the nephew & niece, I'll buy tickets to a show or event, wrap them up with an invitation to spend the night at my house, along with a few trinkets, and that's that. It's an enjoyable experience for all, and even though I ususally end up spending a hundred bucks or so, it's worth it to not buy them any more toys.

[notaprof]

prephd, I love getting ornaments as a gift, and if you didn't personalize it yourself, I will write your name and the year on it and think of you fondly each year when I decorate the tree.  Every ornament on my tree has a memory attached and decorating the tree is almost a parade of fond memories of all the people in my life and the places I have been.  Just wanted to endorse your ornament idea for gift-giving.  Thumbs up!

[spectacle]

I'm jumping on this thread to get ideas.

I love the idea of truffles!  Yum yum.  One year we did bath salts and they were a HUGE hit with my mom and all of my aunties.  We bought little wood craft scoops very cheap and tied them on each jar with a pretty ribbon. 

[oseph]

Oh, I forgot one -

So a few years ago we were in that situation where we have lots of friends with whom sometimes we exchange presents, sometimes not, and it's always very awkward to guess whether this is a present year or not and how much will be spent.  Finally we decided to fix the problem by having a dinner party to which we invited all of the friends in question.  We wrote up a cute invitation saying something like this was a gift that couldn't be wrapped or something like that.  Then we had a nice dinner party with salads, risotto, chocolate pots de creme, and wine.  Didn't cost all that much, there was no awkward gift exchange (most people brought us an inexpensive but nice bottle of wine, the kind of thing you do anyway when you go to someone's house), and we all had a good time.

Last year my present to my parents was Christmas dinner, which I bought and cooked.  They were thrilled. 

[marigolds]

These are fantastic.  (I'm going to start my holiday stamping for cards next week!)

We save nice-shaped bottles throughout the year (Knob Creek bottles are great for this) and make this amazing eggnog (which does not need to be refrigerated - I swear it doesn't!  We've been drinking it for 4 years now with no ill effects!) around Thanksgiving, along with real fruitcakes.  We package it up in the pretty bottles and give that away as gifts. 

We've also made homemade liqueurs of all kinds (limoncello is good, as is kahlua) as gifts, and all kinds of preserves.  A trio of lemon/lime/grapefruit curds was a huge hit, but it did have to be refrigerated and was a bit of a pain to transport. 

[biomancer]

These are fantastic.  (I'm going to start my holiday stamping for cards next week!)

We save nice-shaped bottles throughout the year (Knob Creek bottles are great for this) and make this amazing eggnog (which does not need to be refrigerated - I swear it doesn't!  We've been drinking it for 4 years now with no ill effects!) around Thanksgiving, along with real fruitcakes.  We package it up in the pretty bottles and give that away as gifts. 

We've also made homemade liqueurs of all kinds (limoncello is good, as is kahlua) as gifts, and all kinds of preserves.  A trio of lemon/lime/grapefruit curds was a huge hit, but it did have to be refrigerated and was a bit of a pain to transport. 

There's definitely enough alcohol in that to prevent the growth of pretty much any microorganism.

Citrus curds can be processed like jam (i.e. pressure-cooked) so that they do not require refrigeration.  I haven't done curd for gifts, but have made lots of jam and put it aside for holiday gifts, by which point most of my family has gone through the jam my mom makes in July.

I'm probably going to make cookies again this year.  I swore last year that I'd buy chocolates this year instead, since I live near a chocolate factory, but it will cost me about 4 times what it would cost to just make the darn cookies.  And everyone (well, the family and friends, anyway) loves the cookies, and I still have lots of tins that I can use.

[mended_drum]

Apple butter is easy enough to make that even I can do it.

But since I started taking pottery classes this year, everyone I know (and possibly some random strangers) is going to get strangely off-center bowls and vases, and I'm going to amuse myself with how long it takes for someone to forget one came from me and regift it right back.