Holidays
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Gifts on a budget
My husband and I are having to budget about $300 for our families. This is 2 dads, 2 moms, 2 sisters and 1 brother. My family usually goes ALL out (since I am the only child-and they make good $$$) and spoils us... however my hubs and I are not so flushed with cash and have $300 to spend on everyone. And we have no ideas. 2 Questions, gift ideas? And two, any ideas on how to relieve the guilt and not feel like a chump on Christmas?
Re: Gifts on a budget
The Dogs and Us
Ditto PP. Your families should understand. And don't feel like you should keep up with lavish gifts from parents. They're parents for goodness sake. They're in a completely different financial place than you are.
Food is a great gift, and it's also something you can give to the couple instead of a separate gift for each person.
Is there a special hard to find treat you could get for them?
Would they appreciate some home made goodies?
Buy a case of something they love- even if it's M&Ms.
What kind of things do these people like? I would combine the parent's gifts.
Harry and David has nice gift baskets for under $50, their pears are delicious. But, they have fruit, cheeses, chocolate, coffee. Great for parents.
Any movie lovers? You can do a movie package. $10 gift card to Blockbuster(or the like) popcorn, popcorn topping, movie candy (Twizzlers, Hot Tamales, Cookie Dough Bites) all in a plastic bowl from Target.
For the parents: Is there a recent family photo you can have framed? Otherwise, contact local photographers and price out what a 1 hour family session would cost and make a gift certificate from an online template like this one: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT010104321.aspx#ai:TC010243223|
Do your sisters like pampering? Manicures, pedicures. They are relatively inexpensive and you can probably get a certificate from a local salon.
There are some great ideas on here! I think our budget will be about $150-200 for family (7 adults, 1 baby on the way) BUT that also includes 2 holiday birthdays so...9 adult gifts total. We'll probably spend 100 or so on each other as well.
I've always been a super bargain hunter for gifts. It's really the thought that counts. Once I bought my dad an out-of-print book he'd been dying for, but couldn't find, for $2 on Amazon. I usually get the title of best gift giver on my side, always on a budget!
This year I'm inspired by the ornament exchange on the Craft board and plan on making ornaments for everyone
I'm in the same boat. With baby on board, I don't want to spend a lot. I never usually do, about $500 for both families (and that's for 14 people!). I don't shop on Black Friday, but I do watch for sales & never pay anything full price. I am a 'sentimental' person and like putting lots of thought into the gifts I give & the wrapping makes something small feel even more special.
Every year I pride myself by giving my 'golden gift award'. This is for the gift that I feel is the most sentimental, or I scoured the ends of the earth & finally found the perfect gift, whatever. It's just my excitement to give a gift that I'm super excited to watch get openend
When I tell that person they are about to open my 'golden gift award' they get all excited too. lol
a huge hit with the men in our family (the gift that keeps getting stolen in the grab bag game) is the car wash kit. Go to the $1 store and get a bucket and fill it with window cleaner, armoral interior cleaner, wax, big sponge, etc. Super cheap, practical, and your brothers will love it. If you want to spend a little more, you can add a local car wash gift certificate to the bucket, too.
aprons for the sisters/ladies. Go to Etsy.com and there's lots of sellers and you can choose your fabric. You can also go the $1 store (or JoAnn's has holiday ones) and buy a spatula, wooden spoon, recipe cards, and spices.
For the kids, depends on their ages. What about a goldfish for them? If there's a family of 3 kids, get 3 fish in one bowl. My brother gave my nephew (age 6) a little terrarium with a couple of frogs last year, and he loved feeding and watching them. Again, super cheap & a little different.
One year I got big stockings and filled them up, one for each couple. This was great for the parents especially since they don't usually need a lot of gifts. I filled them with a bottle of wine, a pretty wine stopper (TJ Maxx), yankee candle votives (Bed Bath & Beyond had 5 in a tube), a pretty ornament (again, Etsy has great ones if you want to personalize them with family pets or people's names). I also added chocolates (World Market), mixed spiced nuts (homemade), DH's homemade cookies everyone loves, purse sized perfumes I knew the ladies wore, etc. Endless possibilities and since it's per couple, it doesn't add up to that much money.
I also saw a site last year (personalization mall?) that you send them a picture of your house, and they transfer it onto an ornament that looks hand painted. This was nice since my in-laws just bought a house that previous year.
Kohl's has these cool small iPod speakers that you slip your iPod into. They come in different colors. I got this for my brother one year, and an iTunes gift card. He loved it so much, he actually played it out till it broke. I'm getting him another one this year.
For FIL, I am taking a photograph of his hometown (in Europe) and converting it to a watercolor painting through Michaels or JoAnns. I think I can use the 50% coupon, too.
At an antique flea market, I saw these really pretty oil lamp burners for $20 that I'm going to get for the moms. That + a few oils is cheap & really pretty. Their website (in Illinois, but there's other companies - check e-bay too) is www.aromasintheair.com so you can see what they look like. very pretty.
I also already bought a couple of $100 restaurant.com gift cards for only $8!!! This was about a month ago I received an e-mail for some promotion they were doing. I'm sure they'll do another one for the holidays. Talk about a major score!
Our budget is cheaper than that. Christmas isn't about the gifts to me. Hit up the after Thanksgiving sales. That's where I get all of our gifts. Plus, I shop year round, too.
Here's a list of things I have done or suggest:
- Date night basket (movie theme w/tickets or movie and popcorn holders, etc or restaurant gift card and movie tickets)
- Home baked goodies
- Framed pictures. (these are always a huge hit) Can you have somebody take pics of you - even just a friend? Those are great gifts blown up and framed nicely.
- For kids, I spend less money by buying art supplies instead of toys. Our nephews don't need any more toys. Art supplies actually get used and are much cheaper. (think basket full of all kinds of fun crafts - hit up your local craft store!)
Hope this helps or at least gets your creative juices flowing. I don't know a single person who doesn't have a Christmas budget. Join the club.
Target has an AMAZING dollar section. I always stock up on pens, note pads, socks, etc for the kids (they have Cars, Toy Story, Princess' etc) put it all together and you've got a great gift for less than $10 (my kids LOVE this kind of stuff)
Another idea is to get fleece material when it goes on sale or with a coupon at Hobby Lobby or Joann's and make blankets for the kids, or the adults. I am making one for both of my nieces and my youngest son. If you get the character prints they run about $15 with generic characters/patterns around $10. I was able to make one in 1 hour (do it while you are watching your favorite TV shows at night)
There is also a website called Seizethedeal.com it is a site that has deals for local restaurants, spa's etc. Like yesterday (in my area) was $40 Gift certificate for a tanning place for $12. The day before it was $75 gift certificate for $25. There is a new deal everyday.
Family pictures are always nice gifts. Pick up an inexpensive frame from Michaels (with a coupon of course) and put in a recent pic of you and hubby, or you and your siblings. (walmart has great photo packages)
Hope these Ideas help! Good Luck!
You Grew in My Heart instead of My Tummy
Proud Step-Mama to Clayton- 11/8/03
Proud Step-Mama to Amelia- 11/16/04
Proud Step-Mama to Brennan- 6/10/06
TTC OUR first
BFP#1 10/8/11, Blightened Ovum 10/17/11, D&C 10/18/11 @ 7w4d
BFP#2 6/10/12, EDD 2/14/13 ~Team Green! Grow baby Grow! Stick baby Stick!! IT'S A GIRL!!! Abbigaile Mae 2/21/13 7lbs 6oz 21inches 4:15am
I have to say, I'm loving these date night ideas! I went home last night and told my hubby all the ideas! We were stoked!
I also, never even thought of the dollar bins at Target! I just checked that website.. Seizethedeal.. which is AWESOME, but unfortunately we don't live in any of the areas. Major bummer.
Thanks again everyone!!
There are a lot of great ideas on this board. Baking, treats for the movies, and the mani/pedi are my favorites. I will definitely have to give these out this year and will definitely help stay on budget. If you do have to venture out and do some online shopping remember to use coupons, cash back and shop when the deals are happening(Black Friday/Cyber Monday).
A little more on cash back, this may be new to some but this is where sites offer cash back by simply using their link to shop at your favorite stores. Cashreporter.com compares all the cash back sites and lists their cash back offerings. Say you are shopping at Walmart.com, search for walmart on cashreporter.com and you will get a list of sites that offer cash back. Currently you can save an extra 6.4% on your total purchase. They have a video that explains it better. http://www.cashreporter.com/video .
Hope this helps you stay on budget.
Try groupon.com. They have LOTS more cities. And you can buy something in any city, which makes great gifts for out-of-state relatives, getting them something in their own hometown.
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Do you guys have a cause or charity that is important to you? My Huz and I volunteer weekly for our favorite organizations and donate monthly to causes that we love. We are donating money in each family's honor to buy goats and chickens (for milk and eggs) for families in underdeveloped nations. We're making cards that let them know the donation has been made in their honor and we're putting them in a gift basket (or box, I haven't decided yet) with homemade Cupcakes in a Jar, Hot Chocolate on a Spoon, and Fudge.
All of our family knows that we have three rescue rabbits (we are the Crazy Bunny Family) so from Hef, Holly, and Jude (our Buns) we are donating to the House Rabbit Society and baking Gingerbread Bunnies and including them in the basket as well.
Good luck! There are some great suggestions here!
Here are some inexpensive gifts we have done in the past, We buy those cute present boxes and fill them with the following:
Adult - Mini Bottles of Booze, Dark Chocolate, $10.00 I Tunes gift card. Total Cost - $15.00
Teen Boy - Gum - Football Cards - $10.00 McDonalds gift card - Total cost $13.00
Teen Girl - Mini bottle of perfume (Wal*Mart/Target/TJ Maxx), Bonne Bell Lip Gloss (No matter how old you are you know you love these) and a "fancier looking" chocolate bar. Total cost - $15.00
Little Boy - Race Cars - "Fun Candy" - $5.00 Bill - Total Cost $10.00
Little Girl - Barbie/Pony/Polly Pocket - Candy Jewelry - $5.00 Bill - Total Cost $13.00
Baby Boy/Girl - Cute Pacifier - Bib - Little Socks - $10.00
All the boxes are a hit and they love them. The contents change but the theme is usually around the same.
I REALLY like the charity idea. I also LOVE the idea of the mini booze bottles for the adults.. I totally forgot that was one of our stocking stuffers form our parents last year. It was awesome to try all the new drinks. (And you are so right about the Bonne Bell Lip Gloss, I still love that suff!)
Thanks ladiez!