Wednesday, November 3, 2010

$5 Christmas Gifts - Works For Me Wednesday

***This is a repost from last Christmas time. Since it's that time of year I thought I'd repost to hopefully inspire you to get frugally creative in your gift giving.



Gosh, it just feels tacky to put a price tag to a gift. But in an effort to get your creative juices flowing (and mine) I thought I'd post a thrifty gift giving idea since we ARE getting close to Christmas and most of us ARE aware of the cost.

And if I know you in real life I might at some point post YOUR Christmas gift. Do me a favor and act surprised when you get it. OK?

If you have co-workers, secret sisters, hostesses, neighbors, or friends on your gift giving list this year then this just might do the frugal trick.

I got the cookbook off paperbackswap.com for free. (if you decided to join please use my e-mail address as your referral gaylebryant4@gmail.com) It's called 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix. I found a simple recipe inside and bookmarked it so the receiver would be able to find it.

I had a basket stashed away so the cost was again free. You could use any sort of container...a garage sale mixing bowl, a decorated box, pretty Tupperware. Then I decorated it with a star Christmas ornament that I found in my craft stash.

I purchased a wooden spoon for $.25, a holiday towel at the dollar store for $1, a cake mix for $.99, and a bag of M & M's for $1.99. The recipe was for M&M cookies.

I laid the towel in the bottom, tied a scrap of ribbon around the wooden spoon and arranged the ingredients in the basket.

And the fun doesn't stop there. If you have lots of people to give this kind of gift to then the possibilites are endless. Each cookbook can be different, each basket will have different ingredients, different colors, etc.

So there you have it. The grand total was $4.23 and I have a nice gift for my friend who constantly has people over at her house and needs to have a quick snack ready to put together. And I didn't break the budget or need a credit card to pay for it.


32 comments:

SavingSomeGreen said...

Great idea! I have that cookbook and I love it. I'm sure the recipient will too. :)

Anonymous said...

That is such a cute gift! I love making gift baskets, Thanks for the idea ;o)

Tara K said...

I LOVE this idea Gayle. My husband is deploying in the very early part of next year and we are using the time he is away to save, save, save, and be in a better place financially. I've been going through ALL your old and new posts for ideas and this is definitely one I can use for Christmas gifts. My husband is one of a HUGE family so it gets tight fast. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Ummmm...Nothing about the article in the Daily News? ROTFLOL

~Jason

~ said...

Great idea! It just proves that we can all be more frugal with our gift giving if we just put some thought into it.

Patrice and Higgins said...

Great idea! I am always excited to get new, CHEAP and creative ideas for Christmas!

Amy said...

That is a great idea! As is every idea on your blog. Thank you for sharing all of these things with us. I have showed my husband your blog several times now, and just yesterday we ordered "used" copies of the books you recommended on your sidebar. I am especially excited about the Depression era cookbook.

I am also working on my grocery "list," and trying to keep it at $60.00 or less...Crossing my fingers.;)

Thanks again and God bless,
Amy:)

WendyDarling said...

I love this idea! :-) Also, have you ever done the "Snowman Soup"? It is a very inexpensive gift to make as well. :-)

Snowman Soup

Put everything in a holiday mug and add the poem, put in a cellophane gift bag tied at the top with a ribbon, and there you have it, a cute gift!

You'll need:
1 package hot chocolate mix
3 Hershey Kisses
about 15 mini marshmallows (in a baggie)
1 candy cane

Add this poem:
SNOWMAN SOUP
Was told you've been real good this year
Always glad to hear it
With freezing weather drawing near
You'll need to warm the spirit
So here's a little snowman soup
Complete with stirring stick
Add hot water, sip it slow
It's sure to do the trick!

Rhonda said...

Adorable! This would be a great gift for my "girlfriend birthday dinners" I go to occasionally. I just love it.

Lynn said...

Awesome idea!!!! Thank you so very much!

Gidget Girl Reading said...

great idea! for my 2 girls and my niece and 3 nephews i'm making book bags! if your interested when i blog about it i'll give you the link! its cute its a canvas bag, a book, and then some neat homemade activities i made to go with it total cost for each book bag with book extender activities: $5.00

Cyndy said...

Hmmm, I'm going to be checking out the paper back swap!

Let me know how your dishwashing detergent experiments go, I'm curious to see how this recipe does with different water types and so is my friend.

Thanks for being such an inspiration!

Katie said...

Great idea! I have that cookbook and it pretty much rocks:) The recipes are so simple, fast and easy! Thanks:)

Unknown said...

This is awesome! I do gift baskets with freebies, but themed is even better.

Unknown said...

That's a wonderful idea! I have fun trying to put together gits like that.

Betsy O'Donovan said...

Excellent idea; I love PaperBackSwap already, and now I know exactly what I'll do for hostess gifts this year.

Cheryl said...

I found your site at Rocks In My Dryer and I have to say I just read through all your posts back to the beginning.

You are now one of my favorite blogs. I think it helps that you are my age and we have similar senses of humor too. I am going to try the homemade syrup and dryer sheets.

Maddy said...

Gayle, that is super clever!

Mom2fur said...

What a beautiful gift! I have 2 of those cookbooks, except one is for ground beef and one is for tortillas. I sure didn't get them for free, LOL!

Frosting & Thread said...

This is such a great idea. I've been trying to come up with some cost cutting Chritmas gift ideas. Some things I'm doing is making pillow cases and a blanket as gifts.

But I love the book swap website. I just joined and put you down as my reference. I love it I'm always wanting to buy new books but they can get so expensive. Thanks for the great hint!!

Rachel@just another day in paradise said...

cute gift! thanks for sharing!

Tara said...

What a cute idea! It looks like it cost way more than five dollars! Great job!

Rachel@just another day in paradise said...

signed up for the paperback swap. make sure you get your credits!

Wanda said...

My kinda gal! I love these sorts of gifts.....not only to give em...but to get em.

Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

First of all I have to say I love your blog!! I don't know how I stumbled accross it, but I have been a follower for a few months now. You are truely an inspiration. Secondly- I have a frugal tip- if you need a 5 gallon pail consult your local bakery. Many times the frosting they use comes in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. They make great storage bins for lots of things and since they are food grade you can use them in the kitchen also. (I use them to store huge bags of flour.) The best part- they are free!!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! I could really have some fun doing this with kids books!

Angie (mighty-nice) said...

This would make a great teacher's gift, too! Fun idea you clever, clever girl!

Anonymous said...

Very Clever. Thanks!! =)

The Meal Planner said...

What a great idea Gayle! I browsed through my cookbook shelf and discovered a couple brand-new cookbooks I never use. I'm thinking of re-gifting them and using your idea of the basket and cheap 'fixin's' to go along with it. Thanks again!

Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans said...

What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing it!

Ben and Maryann said...

As always.....you have awesome ideas111

Mandi said...

Hey Gayle,
I did a fun list of low-cost ideas a few years back at my blog: http://homeschoolblogger.com/underhisconstruction/437827/

Enjoy your holiday preparations!
Mandi