Would this still be a 'budget' gift?

[la79al]

At ACMoore, they have a wooden tree shaped thing with little drawers in it, to be used as an advent calendar. Using a 50% off coupon, it would be $15. I am thinking about getting it, letting DD4 and DD2 decorate it and then fill the drawers and give it to my mom for an early Christmas present. My only concern is that it might turn out to be one of those expensive in the end projects. We have some sandpaper and maybe some paintbrushes but I would need to buy paint of some kind, maybe some decorations and then whatever we would want to put in the drawers (ideas?). The girls already have a few other presents for grandma so not trying to go overboard here.

 

[ngchiro]

Not Sure, myself?

 

[poohfriend77]

Craft paint is pretty cheap. I don't know how big the tree is, but I've done some pretty big projects with only a couple dollars' worth of paint. Embellishments (stickers, gems, etc.) can get expensive. Maybe look at Walmart, for a pack of plastic/wooden ornaments meant for those little table-top trees. You could hot-glue some of those onto the tree for decoration.

To keep costs down, you could have your girls draw little pictures for Grandma, fold them up and put them in some of the drawers. Other drawers could be filled with a single piece of candy. Then maybe put something a little nicer in just a couple drawers.

It sounds like a fun project!

 

[Mom2Ben02]

What a great idea! Stealing it!!

I think I will have my kids (10, 8 & 2) draw pictures and make up coupons for my mom and dad. Wash a car, help clean up the yard, etc.

 

[Marionnette]

At ACMoore, they have a wooden tree shaped thing with little drawers in it, to be used as an advent calendar. Using a 50% off coupon, it would be $15. I am thinking about getting it, letting DD4 and DD2 decorate it and then fill the drawers and give it to my mom for an early Christmas present. My only concern is that it might turn out to be one of those expensive in the end projects. We have some sandpaper and maybe some paintbrushes but I would need to buy paint of some kind, maybe some decorations and then whatever we would want to put in the drawers (ideas?). The girls already have a few other presents for grandma so not trying to go overboard here.

It's budget if it fits in your budget. But why would you give someone an Advent calendar after Advent is over? Sure, it would be nice for the future but it will sit in storage for almost a whole year before it gets to be used.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

She said early gift.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

These types of projects can end up costing a lot more than you think they will. It depends on what you get to fill the drawers.

It could become a fun tradition; have Grandma give it back to you after Christmas and have your girls refill the drawers every year with little things they make or things they have collected (little rocks, seashells, etc.).

 

[LJSquishy]

I love the idea. Fill half of the days with small individual candies (like Lindt truffles, Dove chocolate, etc) and/or tea bags, a budget pair of earrings if she would wear them, a $5 Starbucks gift card (or a "coupon" for a beverage if that wont fit) and fill the other half with small drawings and notes from your kids. Ask your kids what they love most about Grandma, etc and write that down.

It definitely can turn into a pricey gift depending on what you fill the drawers with. You could fill all of the boxes with little notes and pictures and she would love it so either way you should do it.

 

[pixiewings71]

That should be budget and fun!! I would do it for sure. Craft paints are pretty inexpensive (especially with the holidays coming), I pay around $1 for a small bottle and can paint a lot of projects with that bottle. lol Do your kids see Grandma regularly? If so have them put "coupons" for a day with Grandma, or them doing chores for her, or baking cookies with her in the drawers as well as pictures they've drawn and small pieces of candy. I like the tea bag idea as well, and maybe mini lotions or lip gloss/chapsticks. Nail polish might fit.....you know your Mom and what she would like, I think this would be a really neat project for you all!

 

[wvjules]

What is a budget gift?

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Paint it cheap, ill fill it with little candies she likes.

 

[Zhoen]

DO THIS!!!!

Grandma will adore it now and treasure it always... someday, it will probably come back to you. I have one of these that came from Hallmark pre-decorated and my girls take turns each year opening the doors (one gets "odds", the other gets "evens")

AC Moore has a brand of craft paints that is only $.59 a bottle and frequently goes down to $.33 on sale. They have packs of paint brushes for $5, and you can use the coupon (split your sale) to make that 40 or 50% off as well. If you use a 50% on the brushes and get green, silver, gold, and red paint (green tree, gold "garland", gold/silver/red blobs for the ball ornaments), you'll be out $20, total for the whole project.

Alternately, you can find a pretty Christmas picture, print it out 11X13, and decopage it over the whole thing. You'd need to take off the knobs from the drawers first, then put them back on through the paper after, but it would not be too hard. You might need some kind of trim to go around the edges if it's bigger than 9x13, or you could just leave a dark green border.

You didn't mention how old the kids are, but if they are young, that will be about as much art as they can handle. When they are older, they could offer to re-decorate the tree with more detail (don't be surprised if Grandma refuses, she'll love it however it already is...), or you could buy a pack of mini ornaments on clearance after christmas each year and add them on the next year.

As for what goes in the drawers, I know the piece you're talking about, and the drawers are about the size of a ring-box, so that is your limit, gift cards won't fit... but I *LOVED* the PP's suggestion of notes.

-Maybe each drawer has a note/picture from one of the girls (alternate on odd and even days) telling/showing something she loves about Grandma, or recalling a special moment of the past year.

-Over the coming year, you could collect trinkets from memorable moments for inclusion next year "Dear Grandma, here is an acorn from our nature walk, I will always remember it and hope you will too!"

- In the drawer you mark "24", hide a little thumb drive (they make them small enough) with all the pictures from the past year.

-One year, you could hide her special present somewhere, and write the clues to the location on a piece of paper, glue it to cardboard, and cut it into 24 puzzle pieces... she has to open all 24 drawers to get the pieces, then solve the puzzle to find her present... (you'll have to make sure the "giveaway" pieces are the last drawers to be opened.) (oh, you can also buy pre-cut puzzle cardboard blanks... but we're being budget-y, after all.)


Again, DO THIS!!! I wish these had been available before I spent $65 on my Hallmark one years ago.

 

[crisi]

Craft paint is pretty cheap. I don't know how big the tree is, but I've done some pretty big projects with only a couple dollars' worth of paint. Embellishments (stickers, gems, etc.) can get expensive. Maybe look at Walmart, for a pack of plastic/wooden ornaments meant for those little table-top trees. You could hot-glue some of those onto the tree for decoration.

To keep costs down, you could have your girls draw little pictures for Grandma, fold them up and put them in some of the drawers. Other drawers could be filled with a single piece of candy. Then maybe put something a little nicer in just a couple drawers.

It sounds like a fun project!

I'd fill every drawer with a piece of Dove chocolate. Short of finding diamonds in the drawers, personally, there isn't anything nicer than a small piece of good chocolate in my life every day. I like the picture idea too. And the coupon idea (although at 2 and 4, coupons might be hugs and cuddles and not car washes).

(Probably two pieces, so when the grandkids are over they each get a piece).

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Now I know what I'm going to be shopping for this weekend. Love the idea of writing notes in each one. My mom will love that.

 

[StephMK]

Thank you for posting this! MIL would LOVE something like this and we'll be there at Thanksgiving. I don't think we have AC Moore here but hoping to find this at another craft store.

I don't know what your budget is but paint & brushes are cheap and you could easily fill it with some homemade stuff that wouldn't be too pricey. That sounds adorable and I'm sure your mom would love it coming from your girls. Have fun with your project!!

 

[la79al]

Okay, I went and got it. Didn't want to wait for a 50% coupon since we had to run to that part of town today so I used a 40%. Plus they had little sponge brushes 20/$1 so we got some of them. We got 2 bottles of green paint so we can at least get started until the girls want to decide what else they want to do with it. I was hoping to find some rub on Christmas things or at least numbers but there were none of either. Luckily, we have a Hobby Lobby right next to Five Below, where I'm going on Saturday, so I'll check there. Thanks for all the suggestions. I think the girls are going to have fun coming up with stuff for each drawer. I think candy and a cute drawing will be in each, since DD4 loves both .

 

[Dish]

Thank you for posting these. Love your ideas.