The "Holidays on a Budget" tips thread

[Crankyshank]

Great thread!

I actually make a list of the people I need to buy for and make decisions early as to what I'm going to get them. It helps me hit the sales and not struggle last minute to find things.
I hit the Christmas Tree Shop whenever I can during the year for cheap stuff to make homemade gifts with. Also baskets for under $5, wrapping paper, cards, etc... That saves a bundle. I make homemade alcohol for gifts. This year I'm learning to crochet so hopefully that will be a budget helper

 

[barbeml]

I make homemade alcohol for gifts.

I am trying to make Limoncello for the first time this year! Recipe is just vodka, lemon peel and simple syrup. I am going to check out the dollar store for small bottles.

I have been saving up jars (soaking labels off and "descenting" them with baking soda) for packing my "famous" snack mix and southwestern beer bread mix for the gift baskets. I checked what I spent last year (I keep a detailed list) against what I expect to spend this year and I have cut the gift costs almost in half. I am getting many more ideas for the gift baskets on this thread...thanks!

Now I have to figure out what entertaining will cost. We have the additional challenge of divorced & remarried parents (mine), so we have to spread out the holiday meals that much further. (Having them all at once is not possible...not everyone gets along).

 

[happybratpack]

I love this idea! Hope you don't mind my borrowing it.

a great gift to give a family is a christmas morning basket..this includes a pancake mix, pancake molds, syrup, etc--maybe some mugs and tea, coffee or cocoa-- you can customize it to the family your giving it to--I am doing this for loads of our family friends this year!

also..Homemade Gourmet mixes make great gifts--these are inexpensive and always appreciated by those reciving them--they are also great mixes to have on hand to make for parties etc...

 

[LynnTH]

I too shop the clearance sales all year long. (mostly for my DS6 and DD4 - as they are easy to find stuff for). Just the other day I was at JC Penny's and found some clearance summer mens shirts that were regularly $34 each. I got 2 for my brother and 1 for my husband @ $3.00 each. Toys R Us has some great clearances through out the year also so I buy toys when I see a good deal and keep it in the closet for Christmas or Birthday Parties that the kids get invites too.

As another poster also suggested - I also am a member of rewards club (from Dealpass) They have a variety of different clubs you can join for a fee. (mine is $10 a month) But I get gift cards at 20% off. So, I just stocked up on gift cards from Target, JC Penney, Sears, Circuit City, Kohls and Home Depot. I bought $600 worth of cards and it will end up costing me $480. I then put these away for some great sales and use these to do my Christmas shopping. I am already 20% ahead of the game plus whatever the sales are at the time. Anyone interested in this type of club should check out the following website with lots of info about the ins and outs of these clubs and how to join and the different costs (make sure to read the fine print).

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=24&threadid=468926

Any questions you have on these let me know. Some can be a good deal and some can be a rip off. But, it sure can be a savings. In most cases you can only buy 4 gift cards a month from each retailer - limit of 20 per retailer per year. I also bought some gas cards - great to get 20% off of gas. They also have restaurants and travel discounts too.

 

[RadioFanatic]

I have really used the deals on this board quite extensively for Christmas and have saved a bundle. I had to buy for 28 people for work, friends and family. I only have 2 left to buy for and have only spent $331 - less than $12 a person - but it looks like I haven't, getting amazing deals with Disney Direct, Reebok, Lane Bryant, Yankee Candle and Overstock.com.

 

[Crankyshank]

barb, I make my own limoncello a few times a year. It's very simple (aside from the pain of zesting all of those lemons). and since a lot of people don't know what it is, it's always a popular gift

 

[barbeml]

barb, I make my own limoncello a few times a year. It's very simple (aside from the pain of zesting all of those lemons). and since a lot of people don't know what it is, it's always a popular gift

I have a microplane, so that should help! Do you leave a "decorative" strip of peel in, or not? I'm good at zesting, not so good at peeling, LOL!

 

[Crankyshank]

My bottles are green so I don't bother with the decorative peel. I do make my own special label though
I make DH do the zesting

 

[elaine and the boys]

A few years ago, our large family decided to for go the adult gift giving, except for parents, and pool our money to give to charity. We just buy for the youngsters

Last year I found a great deal on snuggly blanket/throws in all sorts of great designs suited for boys and girls. Each child (ages 2-10) received a snuggle blanket and a book. They were the hit of the Christmas gift exchange. I work in the school library, so the idea of snuggling up with a book really worked out well!

This year, as I've been in the Disney mood, I will be giving all the kids Disney watches. I got a great deal at Overstock.com. Everyone gets a different watch, and I saved a boat-load of money. I also got my neice a great fleece sweatshirt for "free" through a gift deal at Chadwicks. Can't beat that!!

Since we'll be at Disney for Christmas, I already bought disney jammies and pins and jerseys for my sons and husband when they were at least half off at disneydirect.com.

I'm a real sale hound, so it's been great fun shopping this year!!

 

[PatriciaH]

No flames please... but this comment kinda rubbed me wrong. C'mon...Christmas is for kids! This... to me is the best part - seeing the look on their faces when they see what santa left them. I could care less if I get any gifts (except of course the homeade treasures my DD and DS make me in school!) And as for gifts for the rest of the family ~ every family has their own "way" drawing names, kids only, family gift... whatever. But ultimately, in my book.. it's all about the kids.

Christmas is for everyone. No kids in this family and I love Christmas

 

[MrsPete]

Actually, I think we're on the same wavelength as I don't believe in over buying for whatever reason. I stated I also have a shelf full of clearanced items that I collect throughout the year to be used for gift giving . . . I don't go to Target much for markdowns as gifts as much as I used to.

Yes, this is pretty much how I do things too. For example, since I have two daughters who are frequently invited to birthday parties, I do purchase clearance-priced little-girl gifts when I see them. When one of my daughters is invited to a party, there's no need to scramble for a gift. On the other hand, I don't purposefully go to Target just to search for clearance stuff -- when I was younger, I used to do that, and most of the stuff just sat.

 

[MrsPete]

1) Get someone the "same thing" every year. Example, you always give your sister a Christmas ornament. . . . 2) Get everyone the same thing.

I like these two ideas because they're about making things SIMPLE and EASY.

I'm interested in how to have a meaningful, simple Christmas that's satisfiying for all involved. I'm not interested in how to have a giant Christmas with fancy parties and gifts for 100 people -- for less money.

 

[Cindy B]

Here's some pretty radical advice:

I've been known as a pretty radical Black Friday shopper. I had storage piles of previous years BF papers, maps of stores and comparison charts in Excel. However, the past two years I have not gone, but saved the sale papers. of the previous years. I then input this info into Excel and compare the previous years list to current sales before and after Black Friday.

When all of this is said and done, sometimes the better deals are BEFORE or AFTER Black Friday. I find myself overspending on BF, even if it is 'deals'.

If something is radically different (radical to mean means a significant price difference) price, I will go out on BF to get it. If not, I will just wait and get it later.

I never buy things on clearance ahead of time for a few reasons.

1) My neices and nephews tend to change their interests very quickly. ONe likes Bratz, one doesnt like Disney, one hates Barbies, etc.. well, you get the idea. I don't see them often, so I don't know what they have adn don't have. There is also custody issues, so they may have an item but it may be at the fathers house permanently and not at thier moms house.

Because of this, I stick to craft type items or books.

2) Storage. I have enough trouble hiding and wrapping stuff for my own kids, let alone others.

Office type things: We had a gift exchange with all our workmates last year. We tried to keep it a small amount(we all didn't get paid highly), so I did some creative things to make it look great. First off, I do surveys and marketing campaigns for companies. Some of these marketing sites have great gifts for incentives. I got some Ralph Lauren perfumes/lotions for the work exchange for nothing with some incentives. I coupled that with a Thomas Kinkaide book that I also got as a freebie (gorgous book too, BTW, but I'm just not into his art) and the person loved it.

Total cost to me: FREE and it looked like a million bucks

Check also near the holidays when Kohls, Macy's, or Hecht's and Sears when they give out gift cards to the first few customers every year. These stores near me consistently give out either $10 or $20 gift cards on alternating Saturdays AFTER Black Friday. I don't use these cards (and I get up early for ALL OF THEM) for a large item, but an inexpensive item that usually cost the same as the cards. I've also been knowns to go to a few Kohl's as well!

 

[Jenn]

Regarding gift giving at work. Let's face it - everyone has family they have to buy for and no one really wants to get a gift for some random person at work. If you have a close friend at work, you can exchange gifts on your own. However, for the general grab bag, swap, etc. we finally put a stop to it. We were discussing the holidays and we just said, How about we don't exchange gifts, lets do lunch in the office one day and have that be it. Everyone was in agreement, and honestly, it is a relief not to have to find a neutral, office appropriate gift. We also don't do birthdays. It was getting to be way too much. We will however, do a group or a marriage, new baby, etc.

 

[barbeml]

Regarding gift giving at work. Let's face it - everyone has family they have to buy for and no one really wants to get a gift for some random person at work. If you have a close friend at work, you can exchange gifts on your own. However, for the general grab bag, swap, etc. we finally put a stop to it. We were discussing the holidays and we just said, How about we don't exchange gifts, lets do lunch in the office one day and have that be it. Everyone was in agreement, and honestly, it is a relief not to have to find a neutral, office appropriate gift. We also don't do birthdays. It was getting to be way too much. We will however, do a group or a marriage, new baby, etc.

Luckily, I am not in that kind of a work situation now, but buying that $5 or $10 grab-bag or whatever gift for the office thing used to drive me nuts. It was the hardest thing on my list.

 

[MrsPete]

Check also near the holidays when Kohls, Macy's, or Hecht's and Sears when they give out gift cards to the first few customers every year. These stores near me consistently give out either $10 or $20 gift cards on alternating Saturdays AFTER Black Friday. I don't use these cards (and I get up early for ALL OF THEM) for a large item, but an inexpensive item that usually cost the same as the cards. I've also been knowns to go to a few Kohl's as well!

The only store in my area who does this is Kohl's, but they do it the weekend before MOST gift-giving holidays: Mother's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas . . . They don't care if you get a bunch of cards; they just give out one card for every $50 spent (or whatever -- it might vary from holiday to holiday). To maximize my cards, I'll wait until these "card weekends" to buy things like towels for myself. That way I'm spending money I'd spend anyway, but I'm getting a free card for it.

That particular promotion is a great deal for them. Usually the cards aren't valid until the NEXT weekend, so they know I'm coming back.

 

[Leader of the Club]

How about a nice card to everyone that you usually exchange or give gifts to saying:

In liue of purchasing gifts this year, we have made a donation to the (Charity of your choice) to cover the cost of .....

Wishing you a rich and wonderful holiday season.

See, that way one donation would cover everyone, give you a tax deduction and help out someone else. Maybe a donation to the local food bank to puchase turkeys or hams for food baskets or something.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We stopped buying for anyone but family a few years ago. However, I have a BIG family & drawing names isn't an option. The idea of drawing names for the adults & buying a gift for each of the kids came up once, but my oldest sister said that if we drew names for anyone it should be the kids. You can imagine my 1st thought, but her reasoning made sense. We all make sure our kids get more than enough, but what Mom & Dad get depends on the budget. Without us buying for adults, some of my sisters & BILs wouldn't get anything. All of us would forgo a trip, etc. to purchase gifts for each other, but not for ourselves. Fortunately, my DH is an only child, so we only have to buy for his parents.

Tip: We also buy stocking stuffers for everyone in my family. I have decided that this year I'm going to buy a bag of Christmas candy & put some in a small, clear bag for each of the adults & tie it with ribbon. I'll pick up a $1 holiday, lottery ticket for each person, put a hole in them with a hole puncher & let them double for name tags. This works particularly well for me, because they live in NC & don't have a lottery. Now I just need to come up with a nice, cheap stocking stuffer for the kids.

Solicited Advice: I have 5 BILs to buy for & never know what to get. We try to stay in the $25 to $30 range, but I'm not above getting something that's usually in this price range, but now on sale. None of the men drink alcohol, & wouldn't really want a basket of any kind. FWIW, I think gift baskets are great & love it when I get one. Anyway, I'm open to suggestions. Please!!!!

On a side note, those of you who still have small kids to buy for are fortunate. I used to be able to get some really nice gifts for a good sale price, when all the kids were younger. They're now all preteens & teens & getting nice gifts for a reasonable price is quite a challenge.

 

[canwegosoon]

Another idea I am trying this year is making note cards. I have taken tons of scenic photo(flowers, plants, water, seaside etc) I am going to print out a few and put them on plan stock cards from AC moore(40% off coupon) and give like 10 to a person. I think it would be something people would use or they could chose to frame the picture using the card as a mat.
I might also do the calander this year for my MIL and my parents.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I just posted this on another thread, but I thought I'd put it here, too. SOrry if you've already seen it.

One thing that I have gone to doing (and asking others) is to get my kid/family non-clutter type of gifts. Let's face it, when you have kids, you have tons of "stuff."

My kids are 3, 4, and 6 and the last thing they (or I) needed last Christmas was yet another plastic toy. So, I asked my parents to get them a year long membership to the aquarium. This was GREAT! No clutter and an awesome gift that we enjoyed for the whole year.

What do you have near you? A children's museum or science museum? zoo? aquarium? If you have an entire family to buy for (for example, your brother, his wife and their 2 kids) this is a way to buy something for the entire family. Done in one gift.

This year, we are doing similar things. My mom is giving my dd 3 or 4 gift certificates for them to go out to lunch together just the 2 of them (she LOVES restaurants). How cool is that? One on one time with Grandma, and no clutter!

For those on a budget, you can try similar things that cost less. That sister-in-law with the 2 kids that I just mentioned? How about gift certifiactes for you to babysit for her so she can have some time to herself? Cost = FREE!

Happy holiday shopping and planning to all!