Christmas is Not About Money, Get Creative

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Christmas is Not About Money, Get Creative

Submitted by: Gale Osborn 06/16/2009 11:10 AM

I am SO proud of the tipper who wrote her family does thrift shop or garage sale Christmas. I really get irratated at people who say they can't buy anything for Christmas. They have a whole year to do something for someone they love.

Once I bought an old prom dress at a yard sale for 10 cents. You wouldn't believe what all I made with that fabric! It was a beautiful burgandy. I covered yard sale purchased notebooks for scrap books and photo albums. I covered vegetable cans to make pencil and pen holders. I cut it into 6 inch strips, fold into the center and mad beautiful fabric bows.

Learn to make things out of what you have. Any fabric is perfect for Christmas Stockings. Old clothes are perfect. Don't forget to save the buttons and cut out the pretty scenes for an applique.

Take a paper tube(paper towel or such) cut into 4 to 6 inch pieces and fill with anything that will fit, roll in a pretty fabric or paper and tie off the ends.Get busy and THINK. Look around and see what you could do AND START NOW!!!!!!!!!

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Wonderful advice. Last year we shopped thrift shops for book collections for family members. These were truly treasured gifts.

Posted by anonymous on August 05, 2009 7:16 PM

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I used to love shopping for Christmas, it was an all year event for me, I would look for that special gift at book sales, garage sales, thrift shops.

One year I went to a dollar a bag book sale and bought my aunt and cousins two large tote bags full of books: fiction, cookbooks, gardening. They were thrilled and had a lot of fun digging thru the piles of books. It cost me $3 for the books and 50 cents for the tote bags, I let them keep the bags too!

I enjoy the thought and effort of finding a perfect gift. However, the rest of my family doesn't feel the same, to them Christmas shopping is a bore. So now we exchange homemade gifts only: bread, applesauce, jellies, mixes, a plate of Christmas cookies. No one expects store gifts and we don't buy for each other's kids as they have way to much already. I think it says something that our family can get together and have a good time without all the store bought stuff.

Posted by anonymous on August 06, 2009 7:32 AM

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Family gift baskets work for us. Nothing big. Coloring books, homemade food items, a puzzle, video etc.

Posted by anonymous on August 20, 2009 10:52 PM

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An idea for little ones....I saw something like this online and it cost $20.00. Take a blue oven mit and turn it into a whale puppet. Stitch a mouth and eyes, and blue and or white ribbon to form a spout of "water"...I got the oven mitt at the dollar store, so it cost about $2.00...The kids love it.

Posted by Michelle on November 08, 2009 1:43 PM

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If you have book lovers on your holiday gift list go to library book sales which are usually held twice a year.The hardback books generally go for a buck and paperback books are only 50 cents.Many of the books are brand new and the money collected from the book sale goes to buying computers for your local library.There are thousands of books offered at these sales in all categories...I know because I have attended the library sales for years.

Posted by a reader on November 09, 2009 8:53 PM

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Some of our gifts this year...
*Hostess Gifts and Neighbors - a jar of apple jelly (Recipezaar - Apple Peel and Core Jelly) we added red hots to make it special and it is really good. Use something you might throw away. Wrap with towel from the dollar store that you embelished to fit the person...a little red rick rack, a bit of lace, a ruffle...

*Son (21/2 years) - a card table tent. Sew four sides to a top to fit over a card table. Cut out doors and windows. Add embelishments. Get ideas online. I've seen them go for up to $500. Mine might be a little more simple...but once I get going, maybe not. I am making a barn, using a red sheet, and gray extra large towel I got at a thrift store. I'm making it to fit over our kitchen table so it will be a little bigger (and a rectangle, because barns aren't square), next Christmas my daughter will get the house to match. Since most of this will be done using recycled materials it will cost very little...mostly time after the kids go to bed.
I also have a pile of 10 books I got at garage sales for him for about $3.00, and an activity box that retailed for $100 that I got for $2.00.

Daughter(11/2 years) I have a beautiful doll I got for her that would have gone for about $100 for a dollar, just needs a nice outfit (more recycled fabric), more books, and I'm making her slippers out of an old wool sweater I felted...she LOVES shoes. Out of the same sweater I will make a pair of pants (sleaves)and a skirt (bottm part of the body). The pants and skirt go for about $30 each online. I also made a soft fluffy dog puppet. Dog puppet plus funny daddy equals hours of laughter. I also made her a beautiful quilt for her bed (used the fleece baby blankets that I had never used from the baby shower, and an old fleece robe that I just felt way to dowdy in to wear except when I was pregnant)...to add a bit of warmth between the two layers of fleece I used another twin sized fleece blanket that is getting a bit worn.

Mom and Mother-In-Law - They both need a new skirt for their tree, and bath salts with lavander from the garden, and some candles from the dollar store.

*Sisters - scarves and mittens I made.
*Brothers - homemade junk food. Requested forever until they die (hopefully not from heart attacks...and yes, it came in a letter that fudge was fine for all except for one brother who just loves a good pie).

*Dad and Father-In-Law- Homemade junk food, and tools....their request. I also have two pairs of brand new (tags still on) jeans for my dad that I got for $1.00 each at a garage sale.

Maybe this will give some others good ideas.

Posted by Michelle on November 24, 2009 2:37 PM

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