ideas needed for a cheap christmas presents

[butane123]

hello
well as the title says really struggling at the minute and looking for cheap gift ideas for my 5 year old .really worried im not going to be able to get him anything as after rent and council tax were left with not much still waiting for wtc to be sorted out hoping its done pretty soon and that they wil backpay in the meantime im planning ahead so any cheap presents that would be suitable for him please let me no last year xmas was awful we was on benefits and couldnt afford much thought this year would be different but just incase its not all sorted i need a plan so any ideas please tell me :)
were reusing last years xmas decs and tree so we have them its mainly gifts were struggling with everything hes asked for is not cheap lol all ben 10 and hot wheels

xx

[butane123]

thank you for all the fab replys they are all really helpfull thanks xx

[Snazzyfeelingfestive]

Just looked at Ben 10 stuff and Argos have a few things , one is 7.49 and another 12.33 but with these you also get a free DVD if you buy online which would be another present and bump up the value for money a bit. I have seen lots of cheap Ben 10 bits in toyshops too, may not be exactly the things he's asked for but at least it would be the right theme.

[theancientmarinator]

When DS 1 was 6 I put a jar of cookie mix like this in his stocking labelled Mrs Clause's Special Cookie Recipe. He was utterly thrilled and it had only cost me a few pence for the ingredients. He no longer believes in Santa but still asks each year if Mrs Clause will be putting a little something in his stocking... Homemade playdough is ridiculously easy - this candy cane playdough is a nice festive version but I am quite excited about the glittery version upthread too!
Try Pinterest (there is a thread on MN somewhere where people have posted their pinterest boards) for inspiration of simple but lovely things to make. There are just loads of things you can make yourself. Last year I was flush with inspiration from pinterest but not with cash to buy fabric etc so I just used clothes the boys had outgrown and made back-packs, wallets, pencil cases, bean bags, soft toys, crayon rolls, etc - effectively they were free but the boys were thrilled with them.
Good luck - at your son's age he will be delighted with whatever you give him I should think!

[InNeedOfBrandy]

Credit union is really good, you would have to make an appointment to take money out so it's not easy access.

Playdough is a good idea. Cheap crafty stuff and a few dvds. Do you have a games console? The cash for games pawn type shops are really good for second hand games. My nan bought the dc a wii game and a ds game for under a tenner for both.

I promise dc do not remember the amount of stuff they get all they really remember is the lead up and doing things like baking cookies for santa, going for walks at night to see all the lights. Don't bother buying reindeer food it's easy and cheep to make it's oats glitter and a carrot. Your ds will remember spreading the food outside for the reindeers and making cookies for santa or whatever traditions you want to do a lot more then a huge pile of plastic tat. A good present could be a a trip to somewhere in January when your WTC have come through. Your ds won't know if it's not already paid for and I bet he would be so excited counting down the days to the 15th say to go to the zoo.

[drummerswife]

poundworld have some great bits in i got
a really nice teddy shaped tin which i'm putting chocolates in for my dd
pack of 3 toy story/disney princess glasses which i'm going to wrap individually with sweets in for nephews/nieces
some great books/colouring books/sticker books
grafix puzzles [quite chunky ideal for toddlers]

[butane123]

hiya oh yes might be best to steer away from them then i havent actually payed anything yet so im not obligated to it .was thinking of a credit union think you can save with them cant you .might be a better option thanks :) will look into post office savings aswell and the building society

mignonette .thats sounds brilliant i think he'd love it will have a look if i can find it .thanks
xx

[mignonette]

It might be better to open a little savings account with a building society or the post office. Make sure it 'locks' the money in so you have to give at least a month's notice to withdraw the money. You'll get interest on it and it will 1) be safer than Park type schemes, and 2) you'll be able to use the savings to take advantage of money off deals. Park items are more expensive and you have to buy from there. You'll not be able to take advantage of a cheaper price in another store for the item you want to buy.

Please avoid 'Park' and other similar schemes if you possibly can.

[mignonette]

Butane

There's another thread on here about making up a Hot Chocolate Hamper. You might like this as it need not cost the earth and you can buy the different items week by week.

Buy a suitable wide, shallow drinking mug/cup (plenty of places sell inexpensive child-appealing mugs or cups then get some little sachets of different flavours and types of drinking chocolate. You can add the chocolate stirrers; lumps or balls of chocolate on a stick that melt into the drink, some marshmallows, chocolate buttons or other mini chocolates for dunking/decorating, some chocolate flakes for sprinkling, some of those striped chocolate wafer sticks and package it all together.

Art shops/Poundland sells acetate-stiff plastic that can be used to make templates of cartoon heads, logo's, little animal designs which you then place over the top of the drink and scatter chocolate flakes/cocoa/ thick cream over it. The cut out design produces a shape on the drink surface like barista's do.

Your son would adore this I am sure.

[pussycatsruleok]

whats park savings? be careful, remember Farepack where subscribers lost their savings when it went bust.

[butane123]

my ds school is having a christmas fayre next week

on the other hand this week we wont be able to get anything my partners wages have gone in this morning and theyve gone with charges and direct debits im so worried now about food and everything else .spoke to working tax again yesterday they saying they need more information and have sent us another form out !!.just spoke to the bank they wont refund the charges as they did this for us a few weeks ago and wont do it again.and the direct debit was council tax,talk talk have still took there money even though we dont have it on a direct debit and we had to get a loan of cash convertors at the begining whilst we were waiting for wages to come through we cancelled the direct debit and theyve took there payment.so worried about how im going to get through the week now was relying on that to pay sons trip,school dinners and get food its total nightmare :/ xx

[sweetkitty]

Look out for schools and churches having Christmas Fayres, people donate their own books and toys. I've had great bargains at ours.

[elvisaintdead]

lots of the ideas have been said but I find great bargains on bigger items at car boot, especially near the end when people just want to get rid so as not to have to take stuff home. Got DS2 some skates from a car boot last year, good condition and cost £5, also got DD an ironing board and iron (toy obv) and dolly highchair all for £4, gave them a clean up and they were fine. Wilkos and poundland good for stocking fillers and craft bits. Also get plai T-shirts and buy iron on patches or transfers on ebay to make your own ben 10, star wars etc T-shirts for a fraction of the price....

[butane123]

that sounds really good lala hed love that xx

[LaLa07]

Get hold of a huge cardboard box, fill it full of blown up balloons and then wrap it up. When he opens it he will love it and he can then (with help) spend the rest of the day occupied making a castle or den or similar out of the box.

[butane123]

had no joy on freecycle so anybody have any cheap websites they no of .dp gets paid again friday so will no what i can spare then .quite thankful he gets paid weekly would be so much worse if he didnt .also signed up to start saving with park savings for next year so this never ever happens again xx

[butane123]

thanks for the replys everyone
xx

[blackeyedsusan]

morrisons do a small pack of pencil crayons for 15p

asda had cheap felt tips. (something like 26p?)

wilkos do colouring books far cheaper than a printer could.

tesco and asda do wind up bath toys that were a pound I think.

[russiandolly]

Butane, I have sent you a PM (I hope).

[russiandolly]

Thank you v much.

[inmyheadimthequeen]

russiandolly, you will see these options on the bar at the top of the post: add message/report/message poster - press the 'message poster' one then type your message in the box that appears and press send. The poster will get an email to say they have a PM and/or they can check their messages in the 'inbox' which is at the very top of the page (logout/inbox). HTH.

[russiandolly]

Could someone let me know how I send a PM please?!

Thank you.

[inmyheadimthequeen]

I've PM'd you

[Actuallylookingok]

Saw a fabulous idea in tescos mag via martins money tips i think. You fill a large box with inflated balloons and wrap it. Prob suitable for younger kids but my 5 yo ds would love it!

[Violet77]

Good luck, you can make your town.

[butane123]

thanks for the ideas violet will have a look on google and see what i think i may be able to make lol never made anything before :)

car mat sounds fab will definately look into that x

thanks x