Skint Christmas for three children

[Wellyscooterwalk]

Please help me with some DIY/ very very cheap ideas for Christmas.

We are in the ‘both working full time but barely scraping by’ bracket this year.
We can only find £100 to cover Christmas for our three children - stockings and gifts and other- and I’m trying to make the most of every penny. (£100 all together not each). I’m willing to spend every spare evening making/baking/searching for things.

I’ve already put together an advent calendar using Christmas themed books we own/craft activities we already had the materials for/‘activities’ such as a walk to see Christmas lights.

I will try to bulk out stockings with primark socks etc. and toiletries such as toothbrushes/bubble Bath which would normally fall within our groceries budget.

Any ideas of age appropriate gifts/stocking fillers that I can make please? Or things to buy cheaply which would be worth while?

Children are 8,6 and 2.

Thank you.

There's a group on Facebook giving kids items away free for just the cost of postage. Lots of people are having toy clear outs before Christmas. Its called preloved to reloved for postage uk

I bought loads of great secondhand toys for my DC that age. TK Max often have great discounted toys as well

Don't forget school/charity Christmas markets and jumble sales. They're great for children's toys and are much cheaper than charity shops or ebay.

How close are you to woodland? Mine used to love gathering fallen pine cones etc and making Christmas decorations out of them (and copious amounts of glitter...).

Definitely look at the Argos 2 for £15 and 2 for £30.
2 gifts for each child, a smaller one from Santa and a bigger one from you - if you do two £15 gifts for the 2yo and one £15/one £30 for the older two you'll only spend £60 on all their main gifts.
Then you've got £40 left for stocking fillers, second hand stuff, Poundland and books or craft sets from The Works.

We had one Christmas like this - admittedly only one child. Most of his presents came from gumtree but we got some great things for not much money. It’s really hard, but I think that year Christmas was more magical as it wasn’t about the stuff.

I hope things improve soon for you.

Vinted has some good toys OP, I was suprised I thought it was just clothes but I got a like new Vtech garage worth £60 for £10 including postage, and some bundles of cars and things really cheaply.
I've actually found it cheaper than charity shops.

What sort of things are they into? Might help posters give you specific ideas?

Tesco has some light up balloons which are fab and might add a bit of magic!

B&M have £2.99 light projectors which are fun - they shine rockets and stars across the walls, you can add some bubbles and christmas songs for a christmas disco - my little one loves this and goes nuts with excitement whenever we do it.

We've had more than one bare bones Christmas. The Woodlands Trust have some amazing printables, if you have access to a printer/paper can print and put in a folder.

Mine loved (and I mean loved) weirdly a book of raffle tickets and a date stamp from the 99p shop. Could even do a raffle style thing for some bits and bobs presents.

I also have 3DC who are really close on age and it's always been really important for them to have their own things -ie bubble bath, gloves, socks etc. Primark does multi packs really cheaply and then could you saw/embroider to make them their own?

We also realised we could buy snacks cheaply so they got a lot of rubbish food (youngest v excited by his own pot middle).

I always used to volunteer to run the toy stall at the school Christmas fair, meant I could but a few bits and bobs (always got others to set the price) plus could scout any other good things on stalls

Look at Facebook pass it on sites.
Have a local around for local charity groups who could help with some gifts.
Definitely spend only £10 on the youngest - make playdoh (imagination tree recipe), Hey Duggee or similar cake make box, selection box, quick milk magic chocolate strawers (69p at home bargins), bath crayons or foam, cheap note book (wilko) and then wrap a giant box (ask on Facebook as everyone will have one soon) and fill with balloons, sticker book or spend a large amount of the budget on a ceebies magazine which comes with toys on the front £3.50.

Definitely look in home bargains for 6 year old - snowman bath bomb 79p, body glitter gel £1.29, wilko craft sets for £1 or £2.

Definitely focus on activities- going to look at everyone’s Christmas lights and then having hot chocolate, carpet picnic and ceebies panto, making salt dough decorations, staying up late to watch a Christmas film.

Definitely check out the Christmas threads, OP. Sometimes posters discuss Lancôme, but other times there are massive chocolate bars for a fiver and board games for sale!

I'd suggest board games, by the way. Get suggestions for some that can be played with only two players and hopefully your two eldest can give you some quiet times. Definitely spend less on the youngest now - a nice, cuddly toy in a massive box will have them thrilled and won't cost much.

Keep an eye on Black Friday sales, and second hand websites, too. Good luck - experiences make Christmas!

The Works have £1 kits to make 3 little baubles (I got the snowman and the reindeer ones for mine). Gift sets can be opened and the items wrapped individually rather being just one box. I did a treasure hunt for mine when they were little with a chocolate coin at each clue. They were completely at fever pitch by the end and would have been ecstatic with a tin of beans A favourite activity was making and decorating biscuits/ gingerbread house- we still do that now, and salt dough versions for the tree. Then you can eat them in pjs & blankets with a Christmas movie.

Can you sew? You could maybe cut up an old dress or shirt for this.

Free sewing patterns

Stuffed cow doll:
www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Tilda-Friends-Cow-free.pdf

Stuffed doll:
www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FiaDoll.pdf

Stuffed cat doll
www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tilda-Friends-Cat.pdf

Santa doll
www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Pyjama-Santa.pdf

Stuffed mouse doll
www.tildasworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Angel-Mouse.pdf

Theres more on their website:

www.tildasworld.com/free-patterns/

I can't work out how to inbox you OP. I'm on the app. Where in the country are you? I have got some toys that were going to go to the charity shop, in great condition (and some never played with), that my girls (8 and 5) have either lost interest in or just outgrown. Are your children boys or girls? If girls there might be some things they would love. Your post made me feel so emotional, you sound like such a lovely mum, I would love to send you the toys if I can. Then you can take a look and anything you don't want can go in the charity shop near you xx

Definitely join Facebook marketplace, I was looking for something else recently and saw some great bargains like £100 dolls houses for £5-10, garden slides offered for free etc

I've got my 7 month old some toys off a Facebook marketplace group. I paid £8 for 3 toys that would be more than £85 new!

I've also got a 2 year old. Im planning of wrapping a banana and orange in her stocking. I know she'll find it funny.

How about

Home made vouchers? A trip to the cinema is January? A day at the swimming pool? Etc. Something they can look forward to, but the coat be spread over coming weeks.

Skint Christmas? I know everything about it, and it definitley doesn’t have to be miserable.

Things I do with my kids:

1. Letter from Santa to your Children - write something sweet and personal that will cheer them up

1. Treasure hunt for Santa’s present - Santa gives first clue in the letter, and then you have 10-12 clues around the house. There are wonderful ideas on Pinterest. My son swears that is the best part of the Christmas.

1. Activity ideas in your advent calendar - free things you can do together.

1. If you have old christmas puzzle, do it one day when kids are asleep. Then put 4 or 5 pieces into each day of advent calendar and it wiil be finished by Christmas Eve.

1. Make a castle from pilows and blanket and read a story with a lamp or christmas Lights. I do it under the kitchen table and my kids love it. I put blankets all around and it looks like a tent.

1. Amazon usually has good deals on board games. I bought rummikub for 9 pounds and ticket to ride for 20. Great for main gift for older Children and you’ll have hours of fun during Holiday.

1. Make a movie ticket and have movie christmas night with popcorns

1. Make mince pies or biscuits on christmas Eve for Santa.

1. Check charity shops and freecycle pages.

10. Lidl has wonderful epidemija toys for your little one. You can get 3 for 10 pounds without problem.

OP, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful christmas. It’s really not about money.

Wooden toys, sorry

My adored getting the mini cereal boxes at Xmas.
It was a cheap thing but they really enjoyed the difference.

We had a few years like that when my eldest was quite young...

We still do essential stocking fillers of things they need

Pants, socks, toiletries, gold choc coins, etc

We also make our own crackers which the kids still love doing, I save kitchen roll tubes, and Christmas paper etc and little chocolates to put inside, but they have to write the jokes out... one year I bought a cheap bag of fortune cookies and popped those in kept them entrained for an afternoon.

Like other posters we also did a treasure hunt, although using ten pence coins, with a chocolate bar at the end.
With the excitement you would have thought they were finding the Crown Jewels.

Honestly OP at those ages it will be fine. A few second hand presents and lots of (free) fun activities in the run up will make it really special.
Re dinner, is there anything that they like that they aren't usually allowed? Something like Pot Noodles, that are really cheap but they would enjoy and it would be a treat?

If you can sew and can get access to some offcuts or leftover material you could make them an apron each and print a little recipe each to make at a later date. A small string of bunting to hang above/along bed is another good one. Good luck 👍

We normally donate (new) toys and food to a couple of local charities - our local church and another charity who advertise on the local community Facebook page. They make up hampers to give (anonymously) to local families who are struggling a little. You could see if there's anything like that nearby. Good luck - I'm sure you will have a lovely time with your family

When I was a kid, my parents were hard up tho we weren't aware at the time.

Every year in our stockings we got a satsuma, packet of crisps, chocolate coins, sellotape, a toothbrush. No idea why those things! Couple of other things too like a pen or stickers or something but I can't remember those. Still got them as teenagers. My siblings and I still talk fondly about those things like they were really special Christmassy presents!!! Then we had one "main" present from Santa downstairs which was always amazing, but looking back now was actually just a random toy and a big bag of sweets - big jigsaw, new doll etc.

I do same for my kids. Every year their fave present is a £1 bath bomb and a bag of sweets. They love Christmas but we don't spend much.

Basically if it's in a stocking it's fun and the actual content is not the important thing. If the mood and atmosphere is right in the house, any old tat can be fun. Good luck.