cheap/free/non-tacky present ideas needed...

[treacletart]

We're stony broke and as my work contract runs out Dec 10th - I need some inspiration for Christmas present ideas. I like the idea of making presents - but as DS is only 16m I can't employ his child labour much.. Figure if I start now I might have enough time to put together a selection that wont look like Peter Purves made them. Any ideas?

I have jus saved 16 kitchen rolls and 20 toilet rolls and brought three tins of chocs (wools are doing 3 for 2) rapped up the rolls like crackers and filles them with sweets.... thats for Eid though but still same present wise dd 3 have done since she was born (you know what i mean)

£1 shops are always good pick up nik nacks and put them togther to make great presents... hope these help.xx

How about making calenders? You can then use photos, your DS's first 'paintings' and/or hand/foot prints. You could even do them on the computer, by scanning or taking digital images of them first. Then print them on decent paper, and maybe have them ringbound or stapled at the top.

Some people on MN have done plates and mugs. They buy cheap white ones, and ceramics paint. Get your DS to help if you want. Or do them yourself.

I'll think about this. For the time being, my first thought is sweets. You can make really lovely truffles very easily, and making attractive packaging shouldn't be too hard. I'm off out now, but I'll think of some more ideas!

You could also try making biscuits and boxing them up nicely too.

If they are for close family, grandparents etc , how about making a tile shape out of Das clay (the self hardening sort) and making a handprint which you could decorate or use playdoh cutters to imprint. dd and ds (3 and 6) did decorated tiles for my mum's birthday in June and she loved it. Or a nice photo of ds in a cheap frame which you could decorate together with little crafty bits or coloured pasta shapes.

Jams or chutneys? Always go down well in our house.

the best presents i got last year were a hamper and a cushion cover:

the hamper was a shoe box painted by friend kids and then varnished with yummy things like chutney and biscuits which my friend had made cheaply - ie chutney using cheaper nearly over veg from local fruit and veg shop etc

cushion cover was made using remnants of material printd with an image drawn by one of the kids (any squiggle looks great repeated a few times) she colour photocopied it and then used 'image maker' which you get from craft shops -its like a white paste that transfers the image - is about £5 but one tube would do five or six cushions - hope it helps

i am buting things like dolly cribs and buggies from charity shops - which i really prefer to mass produced toysrus kit

have fun
xxx

Home made jams, pickles, chutneys, biscuits, sweets, cakes - people love to receive things like this. Do you sew? Lavender bags, soft toys, wall hangings or applique pictures made from scraps cost nothing but time if you have fabric lying about.

We did the painting of mugs/plates last year - it went down really well.

Another really popular one is roast herby/spicy nuts. Save jam jars and ask Glitterfairy for the recipe!!

OOh yes I'm with you on the roast nuts thing. I tasted those at Beety's.

Glitterfairy, would you please post that recipe? Pretty please?

Flavoured oils in pretty bottles. Get the bottles at junk shops, fill them with good quality olive oil and a selection of whole spices (chillis, garlic cloves, cinnamon and lemongrass etc) stopper and sit in a dark place for a month or two. Decorate with pretty ribbon. You can also do this with vinegar. Trawl through the cookbooks inyour local library for ideas.

Photo montages in cheap frames always go down a treat with grandparents, especially if the pictures are of the grandparents with their beloved grandchildren.

Are you any good on a computer? How about getting together a handful of really old family photos, scanning them in, printing them out a little larger and framing them. That would work for family at least.

Oh, a morning of thinking and all (both) my ideas have been used. What about:

marinated olives (get fresh herbs, olives & olive oil, chop up the herbs & stick 'em in a jar with the olives & oil)

make your own cards kits (for toddlers/young children). Get some blank card, envelopes and then any off cuts of paper, shiny stuff, buttons, fabric, stickers etc. - either that you have lying around, or from pound shops, they always have loads of that kind of thing - and put them all together with some glue in a box/bag with some instructions for making cards. You could even pre-print outlines or words onto the card. I make cards & my son (22 months) loves making cards with all the offcuts (and grandparents/friends love receiving them)

I once made masses of mincemeat and put it in pretty jars with ribbon and a label listing ingredients. They were hugely successful. The dried fruit is quite cheap if you buy the large bags.

If you can knit or crochet, how about making woollen balls? If you can sew, what about making hand puppets?

HTH

Blimey what a creative bunch

Thanks for these they're great. Keep'em coming - I know there's loads of us trying to save the pennies - these are really useful - I particularly like the Das clay idea and the photocopy cushions - All the foody ones sound scrummy - these will be great for mates, but I have a problem in that MIL is a WI obsessive drowning in jam and chutney. I'm also yet to find a food substance she actively enjoys...

Scour the charity shops for interesting old picture frames, paint them up with nice colours or gold paint etc and frame some photos. You only need some packing tape to seal up the back. Could get the kids to decorate them with some nice glass beads etc

Dh's boss's wife makes her own chocolate truffles every Christmas and we get a beautifully decorated hand made box with them in. I look forward to them all year!!!

The photos idea is a fab one, I do this every year whether I am broke or not. I have never thought of personalising old frames, off to hunt charity shops this afternoon.