Money Saving Christmas ideas! :D

Yes, yes, yes, I know. That time of year has come around once again and everyone is scrambling to let everyone on their list know how much they care, but you dont have to break the bank to give everyone a gift! also some great money saving gifts for kids too!


Make your office/church/aquaintance gifts!


This is so much easier than alot of yall realize! and is so easy on the wallet... it comes out close to $1-$2 per gift! here are some great ideas, and go from there!

• make scented bags that they can keep at their office, in their car, sock drawer, whatever! there are sooo many ways to do it! these are my two suggestions: [Quick and Easy] take tulle circles (you can get a pack of the at dollar tree that has I think either 10 or 15 circles in it) and place a small handfull of potpourri (approx 1/4 cup) in center (they also have a good apple cinnamon at dollar tree, and they have decently priced big bag of potpourri at walmart in many great scents.). Take the edge and bring it up and over the potpourri until you have it all bunched together at the top. tie the top with a pretty ribbon of a christmas-y color(s) (you can get a perfect thin ribbon spool at walmart for only $.47 in bright pretty colors). {A little more advanced} get some scrap or holiday themed fabric. cut a swatch of fabric 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. fold in half (3 inches long and 2 inches wide) with the wrong side facing out. Sew up both sides and leave the top open. turn right side out, fill with potpourri, and tie off the top with a pretty ribbon or sew top closed with a lace trim.
• make little hot cocoa mix bags. we did this for a church christmas party once and they seemed to really enjoy it. it is sooooo easy to make and the materials do cost around $20 but you can easily break this down into 2-20 units to pass out per batch and materials make about 4-5 batches overall. here is the recipie *2 cups of nonfat dry milk *3/4 cup powdered sugar *1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa *1/2 cup MINI semi-sweet chocolate chips *1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer *1/8 teaspoon salt *1 cup mini marshmellows (optional) Mix all ingredients together until blended well and makes 4 cup total. You add 2-3 heaping tablespoons to either hot water, coffee, or milk for one serving. you can use the little treat bags you find near the party favors and tie closed with a fun ribbon. we printed little instruction cards (about the size of a return address label) on white paper then glued on red or green construction paper an tied it on along with the ribbon for a fun touch!
• Make your own christmas cards! there are so00000000 many personalizable templates you can use on the computer and cardstock is only $6 a pack (white, at walmart) and you will have enough to print anywhere from 150 (full size) to 300 (half size, 2 cards per page) per pack! (save even more money when you refill your own ink cartrages. more info in a later post)
• make treat bags! who doesnt love yummies during the holidays?! you can get a pack of candy canes for like $1 and some fun hard candy fairly cheap too! who says it cant be homemade candy either? dont limit yourself! do fudge, cookies, candies, snack mix, peppermit bark... the possibilities are ENDLESS with this!!! just fill a treat bag with your yummy of choice, tie off with a ribbon and a candy cane! TA-DA!
• make candy cane reindeer. get green/red/brown pipecleaners, the little googly eyes, and the little pompoms in either red or brown. take either elmers glue or a hot glue gun (I like the glue gun better because of quick drying time) and glue a pompom at the tip of the shorter end of the candy cane. glue the eyes about halfway up to the curl (above the nose about 1 inch or so). then take the pipecleaner, fold in half til it makes a very narrow "U" shape and hook the pipecleaer to the candy cane where the top of the cane is resting inside the bottom of the "U" of the pipecleaner. twist the pipe cleaner twice right at the top (like you would a twisty tie) and pull the two ends outward like the arms of a "T" (you should be able to look at the nose dead on and see the eyes right above it and the pipe cleaner endssticking out on either side. Take each end of the pipe cleaner and crimp each end until they resemble antlers. (here is a link for a picture www.craftelf.com/Crafting_with_Food_Candy_Cane_Reindeer.htm )
• bake cupcakes, mini cupcakes, or cookies for your workplace.
• take it from here! get creative!

money saving ideas for kids

there are always gonna to be the big this toy that kids are gonna be huning under that tree for, but these are tips for some of the "filler" gifts.

• halloween clearance. if you have a little one that plays make belive or dress up... this is the perfect time to cash in on a really epic gift! accessories (crowns, wings, hats, ect) and generic costumes (pirate, princess, faerie, fireman) are clearance right now all the way down to 60-90% right now. some stores even have them at $1 right around this time. To add a whole new dimention of fun, get a old trunk froma thrift store or consignment shop and fill it with all these fun items and call it the "imagination trunk".
• Consignment shops and thrift stores. locally owned consignment shops are popping up everywhere along with some big chains like Once Upon A Child and Plato's Closet. Thrift Stores you can find some great books, easiliy washable toys and even gently worn/brand new (yes you just have to really look) clothes and even fun kids funiture. Goodwill and the Salvation Army are usually brighter and more organized. My only advice with these is to wash what you get because you cant be too careful. :)
• Clearance. Always check clearance for boardgames, certain name brand toys, and even accessories to current toy sets they own (do this throughout the year). also around New Year, get those clearanced out stocking stuffers, wrapping paper, decorations, and ornaments! im just now pulling out the stuff we got from last years clearance and we are good for NEXT christmas too when it comes to bows and wrapping paper!!!
• Party favors make excellent stocking stuffers.

Dont hesitate to get creative! a difficult economy is no excuse to leave anyone out of the Christmas Cheer! get to craftin' and shoppin'!

Awesome Coupon tip of the Post: there are coupons right now for baking goods (like the chocolate chips and the powdered sugar for the hot cocoa mix) and there are sometimes coupons in store's sales ads for things like XX% off a total purchace (of $XX amount or more)! and I have seen toy coupons before in the inserts. :D