Ok you live frugal but Christmas is right around the corner. Now what.

[HeatherLynn]

Thats a great price on the fabric. Will have to pick some up.

Its that tricky time of year for most of us. With all the temptations pounding at everyone. Its great to get ideas and support from others who celebrate a bit more rationally.

I hope others post what they are doing personally to avoid the holiday money trap and still have a great Christmas.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Another idea -- my oldest received a homemade throw pillow from her preschool teacher. Not sure of your kids' ages, but maybe you could make them a simple pillow. My daughter's was in the shape of an A, since that's what her name begins with. You could easily do a heart shape, star shape or even a simple square. She loved that thing!

Another item that I remember from my childhood. For some reason, I loved it! It was so simple -- just a solid colored small plastic box. Slightly larger than a pencil/crayon box. It had my name painted on the top along with some balloons. Just another do it yourself idea.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

I've saw alot of people upcycling old crayons. Melt the pieces and either make new rainbow crayons or use one color. You could use a mini muffin pan and make disc shapes. I've also saw people using those candy forms, too, which I think are inexpensive to buy at a place like Michaels, especially if you use a coupon (can be printed off their website). The Dollar Tree has some nice coloring books for $1.

How about some homemade scented playdough? There are lots of recipes online for that, too.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Why embarrassing? That store has some really awesome stuff. 99cents store too. Nothing everything is crap. In fact, a lot of the baby stuff I bought for our daughter there, I saw at Target the other day!!!!

 

[urban escapee]

For the last few years we gave bags of oranges from our own tree. It was way more than we could eat and the family loved them. However, with the drought and our recent move we have to come up with something else...not all of my ladies are laying eggs yet so unless they get real busy between now and Christmas, its going to be cookies (slice n bake) for the hordes of people that comprise my husbands family.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Quote:
Why embarrassing? That store has some really awesome stuff. 99cents store too. Nothing everything is crap. In fact, a lot of the baby stuff I bought for our daughter there, I saw at Target the other day!!!!

Very, true fattie! Don't let this embarrass you! Our society can make one feel inadequate over material things. Keeping food on the table is more important than where you can afford to shop for Christmas. As long as you are a good and loving parent that's all that matters.

 

[HeatherLynn]

For those with little girls I found this http://judisdolls.com/babybows/babybows.html. Its a free doll pattern. Adorable. Pretty sure its in my skill range too.

We did some shopping at Dollar General. Those stores many times have some really nice items for the kids. We all do the very best we can for our families. In this economy that seems to be balancing our giving spirit with our frugal souls. Its a good thing and nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Actually, I think you can do some good things with Dollar Store stuff. Years ago I discovered that you can get a box of Sea Monkeys at Walmart for $2-3 so I would get a glass vase/bowl from the Dollar Store and a bag of the colored rocks/marbles for another $1 each and for around $5 I had a gift for a boys' birthday party that was really appreciated. For kids under the age of 10, it made a pretty cool gift. When my daughter's friends got a little older (12 and up), I would go to the Dollar Store and get a basket and then a bunch lotions, shampoos etc in coordinating patterns. Arrange them nicely in the basket and for $5-7 have a really nice gift for a young lady.

In my house we eat mostly healthy food so "junk" food is a treat of sorts. For stocking stuffers I still go and get a few boxes/bags of candy and chips from the Dollar Store. A bag of Doritos is $3-4 at the grocery store, but I can get a bag of a mostly equivalent product for $1 at the Dollar Store so guess which one we get.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Quote:
Cute!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Why embarrassing? That store has some really awesome stuff. 99cents store too. Nothing everything is crap. In fact, a lot of the baby stuff I bought for our daughter there, I saw at Target the other day!!!!

Very, true fattie! Don't let this embarrass you! Our society can make one feel inadequate over material things. Keeping food on the table is more important than where you can afford to shop for Christmas. As long as you are a good and loving parent that's all that matters.

Society - that is it in a nutshell. Everyone needs to remember that expensive toy they bought only to have the child want the box instead.