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.

One year when I was skint I made vouchers for my husband eg I promise to make you a cup of tea or I'll leave you to watch the football alone that sort of thing. Perhaps you could make vouchers for their favourite tea or what film to watch on movie night or even a play in the park.

Do they have any particular interests we could keep an eye out for?

I really like the Argos 2 for £15 or 2 for £30 offers. You could probably pick up a main present each in the 2 for £30 category for the two older DC.

I agree with others re focussing budget on the older two. My DS is 2 and his favourite thing at the moment is mini monster truck cars from Poundland. Hand on heart, he'd be happy with five of those and a box of Kinder bars wrapped up for Christmas. We've actually just got him a train set for Christmas and that's it.

Morrison's have Cadbury selection boxes on offer for £1 at the moment.

Home Bargains also have some great offers on toys.

Someone mentioned it already too, but there's an online store called Pound Toy. They have offers on things for 1p with any orders. At the moment, it's a bag of chocolate coins and colouring books which are great wrap ups. There's a rubix cube for £1 too. I bet you'd get lots on there for all of them. www.poundtoy.com/

www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/mum-rents-christmas-presents-children-6196458
I read this article the other day, about a teacher who rents her kids toys and thought it was a brilliant idea. I've heard of whirli on social media but never used them, I checked on their website and you can join for £15 a month and cancel any time. Some fab suggestions from everyone on this thread, your children will have a lovely Christmas, your such a caring mum. Like others I've had some skint Christmases, both as an adult and a child, and I've loved every single one. The Christmas that stands out to me as being the most special was when I was 8 and money was very tight, we spent the day watching movies, making paper chains and mum did a treasure hunt for our gifts, I received a Broons annual, selection box and a soft bear that smelt of talc. That was a great Christmas.

Christmas bark individually wrapped would go down soo well.

Fluffy socks each

And I've printed out 'experiences' before such as

• a trip to the petting farm
• cinema pass for 2
• beauty voucher

They are too little to understand the admin behind it so you can book it in later in the year perhaps if finances allow

Pin the nose on Rudolph is a great idea.

Cheap cookie cutters and spend 90 min baking basic sugar cookies; you may already have the ingredients. Or just buy a couple jars of those sprinkles for stocking and let them cut out own designs with a plastic knife.

Popcorn.

Rubber stamps & paper.

What sort of area are you? I'm SE. we will be clearing out toys pre Christmas-lots are like new. I would gladly give to you for your two year old if you were near enough?🙂

Hi
Re charity shops. If you're able to, some charities post online on Facebook and things.
There's a help the hero's woman near us that does this as she doesn't open everyday. Maybe you could ask for things you see online to be posted to you like in Facebook marketplace.

Love the homemade felt food idea.

I would look out for School and Church Christmas Fairs and Libraries and Museums sometimes do free Christmas activities.

They look great @Listener2021 I’d love to have a go at doing something like that for my youngest two.

When I was skint one year I made my 3 kids pillowcases with their names sewn on, was very cheap as used 3 white IKEA pillowcases £1 each and cut out scraps of fabric for the names to applique stitch on and I put an old pillow in each. Bulked out the present pile well as at that age the bigger the present the better

Fidget toys for the older two from the £1 shop are always a hit too.
If your in the NE pm me, I think granddaughter still has an immaculate asda wooden castle and figures you can have, I'd have to check they still have it, I know they'd tried to gift it to a local charity shop but ours didn't have the space.

What area are you in?
How old is your youngest? I have some toys that I could give you.
I'm in Newcastle

I am lucky to now be able to spend a little more on gifts but my teens DC still love things which are really personal to them. I intend to create one of these each for my children (shamelessly copied from Etsy but could easily be made for £1 each)

I did a dressing up box. Cheap chest and all of those charity shop buys - scarves, glasses, hats, costume jewellery and an array of different clothes.

I also did a den building kit, old sheets, ropes, pegs/bulldog clips , netting and poles. Added old pans, spoons etc with logs for a 'campfire'.

Wow. I didn’t expect so many replies and fantastic ideas.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to provide such lovely suggestions- I’m now very excited to put all the ideas into action.

I’ll go through the thread and respond properly in the morning (when I’ve had some sleep and stopped sobbing about how lovely strangers on mumsnet are).

Thank you all, for all the lovely tips, and for reassuring me that it will be a memorable day for the right reasons.

Just adding, I also asked friends for free unwanted items for the above. A sparkly shirt and donated coloured curly wig were a great hit!

Definitely agree re the Argos 2 for £15 - there are some quite “big” presents on there for little ones or 6 y o - sweet shop, garage, 250 piece giant art set that looks massive, electronic dinosaur. For the 8 y o you could get a couple of sets like the FabLab things which are great craft sets, or Lego. Then I agree with pp, make a trip to The Works for books, fidget toys, bubble sets, craft items and kits and so on.

Buy a bunch of packets of sweets in Tesco etc. and mix them up in cellophane cones for stockings - same with cheap hot chocolate powder and marshmallows - they look really great. Balloons too - blow up loads.

And ask around friends and relatives if they have any bits and pieces their DC have grown out of that they are liking to declutter. Have you got family that might help out?

Same with FB marketplace - if you haven’t already, join a Life Is A Gift or gift / eco economy type local group or Freecycle - people start decluttering around now for Christmas and I can see a fair few free trees, decorations and toys on my local FB groups coming up every day at the moment.

Walks to see lights, Christmas stories and films, hot chocolate, local church services if you like - all are great activities that are lovely and Christmassy :) :) :)

Have skimmed through the pages and you have already had loads of fab ideas. When mine were younger I did lots of joint presents, duplo, playmobil, lego. Looked for 3 for 2 offers on sets (tesco, argos, boots) They would then spend hours christmas day building it together. I think people spend far too much on gimmick presents anyway. Your children will have fond memories of family fun, won't remember the presents.
My children always get new pjs (primark) and a large selection box, these look nice and big under the tree) Books are always a winner in my house too. I haven't even started christmas shopping yet 😩

You could make a look (some wood and nail), pick up some wool from the works and have the kids make themselves a scarf

Hi OP, earlier this year a lovely poster @TellMeDinosaurFacts passed on a gorgeous bracelet kit for my DD that she had spare. I said I would pay it forward and I have a few little bits (new) that I’d like to send to you for stockings. Please drop me a PM if you’d like them, it would be no trouble and as I said it’s just paying it forward.

Aldi and home bargains etc do amazing card board playhouses/castles/shops etc. that the kids can colour in and decorate. I'd have one of those built in the living room for Christmas morning, surrounded by balloons and wrapped craft kits and colouring pens etc. as a big joint gift that everyone can do together.
Aldi had Santas Workshop the other day, with a bonus Buddy the Elf cut out for about a tenner!

If your kids like crafts, sock puppets are great you can use any odds and ends and some odd socks and create some great characters. Make a sock puppet theatre out of a old cereal box and you have a great activity. You can make dolls really easily too if you are good at sewing? Or even if you are not like these great little pioneer rag dolls...

@HalzTangz

You could make a look (some wood and nail), pick up some wool from the works and have the kids make themselves a scarf

*loom not look

Not quite coal in their stocking but some stones can go a long way... add some paints and ask around for any boxes or gift boxes being chucked out...