By Lisa Barthuly
Looking for frugal gift ideas? No matter the occasion, with a bit of imagination you can give special gifts without breaking the budget!
Does Aunt Mabel love coffee? How about a special coffee mug filled with a cellophane bag of her favorite coffee beans, tied up with a pretty bow? How about a framed family picture for a long-distance relative or family friend? Do you have a child in your life who loves to draw and create? What about a nice set of colored pencils and drawing paper? There are just tons of frugal ideas that you can customize for the recipient, who will love to receive them!
Just about anyone would love a jar of home-canned jam and a batch of fresh biscuits. How about a pair of movie tickets or a gift certificate from a favorite ice cream parlor or a pound of candy from a favorite confectioner? Ever thought of making up a “coupon book” for a loved one? Your coupon book could include coupons for meals or baked goods, housecleaning, babysitting, or animal care; the list here is endless!
I love to do up “gift mixes” in a canning jar. These can range from bath products (bath salts, a milk bath mixture, bath oils, etc.) to dry baking mixes for cookies, soups, coffee drinks, muffins, trail mixes, or a homemade bread mix. You could even do homemade chocolates, popcorns, or nuts, topped off with a cute piece of fabric cut in a circle, to cover your jar lid. Secure the jar with your lid ring. Add a cute recipe card with instructions, if needed, or a note card with a greeting for whatever the occasion, tied on with a pretty bow, and you've got a nice homemade gift!
It’s fun to put together customized gift baskets for loved ones, and you aren't limited to “baskets”! You could purchase a nice pot and fill it with pastas, sauces, and a wooden spoon for the pasta lover, or give your favorite athlete a baseball hat or football helmet that holds a ball and a favorite team T-shirt. Fill a golf ball basket with balls and tees. Fill a vintage tin with a favorite anything! Do you have a gardener in your midst? Purchase a nice flowerpot and fill it with seeds and gardening gloves! Do you know a candle lover who has a special occasion coming up? How about a gift of hand-rolled beeswax taper candles and a cute candle holder? We offer these at our Homestead Originals General Store (www.HomesteadOriginals.com).
Need a few more ideas? How about a pound of favorite nuts or candy, a sample of your child’s artwork in a frame, or a pound of favorite coffee? (I love that one!) What about homemade soaps and a handcrafted washcloth, teas and a teacup, disposable camera and a frame, pretty stationery and pen, recipe cards and a blank recipe book, a board game, a hand-sewn apron, napkins and napkin rings, or hand-knitted slippers (my grandmother used to make these for us and we loved them!). How about a magazine subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine for all your homeschooling family members and friends? With a little thought and ingenuity on your part, you can come up with your own custom ideas.
Wrap your special gift frugally too. Have the children take old paper grocery bags, turn them inside out, and decorate them with their artwork: rubber stamping, coloring, or nothing at all. Tie them up with pretty ribbon and you're set! Use inexpensive cellophane wrap for gift baskets, or make your own handmade gift bags.
When it comes to cards for whatever the occasion, it is both fun and frugal to make your own, and this could be a great homeschool/family project. (Have you priced store-bought cards recently? Yikes!)
Homemade gifts are always special. Take time to really think about what would especially delight the recipient; demonstrate genuine thoughtfulness. You are limited only by your imagination. Give frugal yet heartfelt gifts—with bunches of love!
Lisa Barthuly is wife to Marc and Mama to four blessings! They live a lifestyle of learning in the foothills of Mount Rainier on their little homestead, with Shalom the Great Pyr, some Nubian goats, a flock of “chicklettes,” and lots of wild critters. They run Homestead Originals (www.HomesteadOriginals.com), where they specialize in All Natural Soy Candles and other goodies for the homestead and those in it! Come on by and visit our blog for great ideas, tips, freebies, and contests too!
Copyright 2008. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Fall 2008.
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