As the holidays approach I am budgeting for gifts and gathering idea's. We really only buy for the children in the family, but we also have a small list of people ( teachers, neighbors, coworkers etc) who we want to recognize during the holidays, but not break the bank doing so.

We just tested a recipe for homemade caramel popcorn and it will definately be one of the things we give out. Here is a link to the recipe http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2005/05/i ... _fina.html
Put this in a holiday tin from the dollar store and a pretty ribbon and you're done.

Does anyone else want to share some good idea's?

I'd say be careful about food gifts, especially for teachers. They may not be allowed to accept those. Also make sure you're aware of any allergy issues. However, for neighbors and coworkers, these can be great. My wife crochets snowflakes and we give those as small gifts. We also make our own Christmas cards. Last year my wife crocheted blankets for our parents as well. This year we're planning on making casts of the molds of our son's handprints for our parents. For friends, we frequently just get something small, and have a good gathering rather than more junk to keep in our houses.

Handmade Christmas cards are a lovely idea. I'm not a big fan of home made / crafty things as gifts so they would be wasted on me (I don't craft myself, and its not really my style).

However, I haven't had to do generic gifts for a while, I'm in that fortunate stage of life where all my Christmas gifts are for close family and friends, so I get them particular things that I hope they will like. I usually shop in discount stores (like TK Maxx) and in sales. For women, I've found that the best inexpensive generic-type gifts have been bath things, candles or pretty notebooks.

Homemade Hot Cocoa and Spiced Tea went over well with our friends a few years ago.

Spiced Tea

2 cup Tang
1 cup instant tea
2 packages powdered lemonade
1 cup sugar
1tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

Mix all ingredients well. Store in airtight container. Use 2-3 tsp. per mug.


Hot Cocoa Mix

8 qt. pkg. Carnation nonfat milk
6 oz. Coffeemate
1 lb. tin Nestle's Quik
1/3 c. sifted powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and store in air tight container. When a great cup of hot cocoa is needed.... put 1/3 cup of cocoa mix in mug and fill with hot water.

You can use flavored creamers for a variety of different cocoas. You can also crush candy canes into a fine power and mix that in for peppermint cocoa.


I put these in cheap little tins from the dollar store. You could use simple holiday ziplock bags.

Taking the OP from a different angle, a paperback of The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing just came out. Obviously not appropriate for everyone, but it's such great advice for about $12. I'm planning on ordering a few for different friends and my brother and his wife.

Crocheting and knitting gifts always seems like a great idea to me... until I remember how much yarn costs. A blanket can cost between $60-$100, and requires so many hours of labor, so I tend to stick to small items if I make anything for gifts. That said, I did make a TV colorbar themed blanket for a filmmaker friend of mine for his birthday last year. It was small and probably cost me around $40 and hundreds of hours of my time.

what would be the ideal anniversay gifts ? we are going to celebrate our 5 anniversary coming sunday. so i want to present something interesting to my partner -- thanks ....

The gift lists say that the fifth anniversary is either wood (traditional) or silverware (modern).

So maybe you could give him/her a little something that he/she really likes inside a lovely wood box. And then he/she can keep the box for keepsakes.

I think we're doing ornaments this year. I'd like to do a Texas-shaped cutout, with salt-dough, and then paint them, or something. Last year, I spent a bit too much money and we're trying to save this year, so...

Also, honestly, I'm so tired of the hype around Christmas. It sucked to be away from my family, but the Christmas I spent in Iraq was one of the most oddly non-stressful from a consumer standpoint. Other stuff stressed me to the max, but honestly...not seeing the constant ads, and pushing of "buy buy buy or they'll think you don't love them!" was so nice.

I'm just worried about folx thinking we're too cheap to actually go shopping.

Jethro's frugal holiday gift idea:

Everybody give everybody else $20 and call it good.

I'm thinking of giving some coffee beans I brought back from a trip to Central America, although that obviously doesn't help most of you. Coffee beans are a great stocking stuffer, as long as there aren't any other food items in the stocking!

We got a catalog this year from Heifer International (www.heifer.org/catalog). They are a not for profit that gives animals (pigs, chickens, cows, llamas, sheep, etc.) to people in impoverished nations, and then teach them how to use that animal as a long-term solution to hunger and poverty. I'm giving a bunch of donations in peoples names. You can give as little as $10, and you choose what it goes to. $10 can buy you a "share" of a llama, and they will also send your recipient a card with a picture of that animal on it and an explanation of what Heifer International is.

My wife cooks up holiday treats and most of the neighbors around us do the same and we all share these with one another ,then we have a few older folks that we usually buy baskets of fruit or some such thing or other and take to them,doesn't take a lot of money but I think these older folks really enjoy the gifts

This year we are planning to all donate to a great charity together (like Heifer International! I also love Kiva - www.kiva.org ) and also to pick a name out of hat and get that one person something special, instead of getting a bunch of generic gifts/small gifts. Everyone in my family has everything they need already. We are so privileged, there is nothing that will make me happier than just sharing the wealth and spending time with my favorite people.

No offense to the commenter above, since this is obviously all situation dependent, but I am not in favor of buying cheap generic gifts (such as the candles, bath oils, etc. for women). I have a huge bag in my closet of this kind of stuff and every so often I clean it out, either by giving it to Goodwill or by re-gifting the stuff to other people. Unless you know the person actually loves candles or lotion or whatever, this stuff is just going to be unused. Save your money and spend it on something meaningful. I think for most people, it is really the thought that counts. Who knows, maybe there are people out there who really only care about counting the number of gifts they receive or getting upset that you didn't get them "something". You can go to Goodwill and pick up my recycled gifts for them nice and cheaply!

More ideas:
- Burning a special mix CD for someone and making a cool CD case from scratch - costs only pennies!
- Doing something you know the other person has been meaning to do forever. Last year I organized my Dad's desk for him. Sometimes I do something like clean the car or the garage.
- I have to pass on this great idea from my brother. He knew I loved to buy a doughnut at Dunkin Donuts when I was on my way in to school. So he got a bunch of change, counted it out into exact change needed to buy a doughnut (at the time, it was 53 cents), then he taped up each little bunch of coins with a little label that had a picture of a doughnut. Then he put all the little taped coin stacks into a jar that read "Doughnut Fund". I thought this was unbelievably cute.
- Making a photo calendar: you can buy or make a calendar (depending on how much effort you want to put into it) and then print photos for each of the months. You can also just purchase a custom photo calendar from online photo printing sites like Kodakgallery, but I presume you can do it more cheaply if you make it yourself.

Not to be the bah humbug in the group, but you may be overlooking the obvious. There's no rule that you have to get gifts at all.

Often the quiet company of friends and family is more than any gift I could ever hope to receive. As my parents get older I find they have all that they really need, and I live a simple life. I usually request that no one get me anything. Some people still get a gift, but once you've said it enough (and not bought them a reciprocal gift) eventually people give up, and that's just the way I like it. Too much of the season is built on the idea that you have an obligation to me and I have an obligation to you, etc.

This philosophy of course completely breaks down if you have children.