Dianne-TX Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) We are on a tighter budget this year and I've been anxious about Christmas which got me to thinking about making my list earlier so that I can have an idea as I go along instead of waiting until Nov/Dec. and then possibly buying more than I should (which I can't this year anyway). Sigh. When I get anxious and overwhelmed, I shut down, so I have no ideas running right now. :-/ So, how about a Christmas list thread with ideas? :) My kiddos are 15, 13, 6, 4. Edited July 30, 2016 by Dianne-TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 Boys are 15 and 6 Girls are 13 and 4 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Last year when my dd was 17, I bought her a spirograph. She loved it. If your teens like to cook, a cookbook is fun. I got my oldest dd a cupcake cookbook one year and we had fun making them. They make cookbooks for teens. I also got my youngest a ramen pan and cookbook one year. The pan is totally unnecessary but it was under $10 and made a funny present. She actually uses it. It's better than any microwave bowl we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmamatx Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Following - I need ideas too. DD is 10, but I also have an nearly 13 and nearly 12 yo to buy for. My budget is tight too. Right now I'm planning on one big ticket item, but I'll be saving up Swagbucks gift cards to pay for it I think. I'll have to see what I can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meena Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 What are your kids' interests? What is your budget? Some hits in our house the past few years: Ukulele, guitar, digital camera, Lego sets, board games (King of Tokyo, Carcassonne, Forbidden Island, Blurt), Perplexus puzzle ball, sports equipment, art kits (DD's favorite is a Klutz clay sculpting kit) The bigger budget items (guitar and camera) are shared between all three kids. Do your younger kids have bikes or scooters? That was my kids' favorite gifts at around ages 4-6. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 Following - I need ideas too. DD is 10, but I also have an nearly 13 and nearly 12 yo to buy for. My budget is tight too. Right now I'm planning on one big ticket item, but I'll be saving up Swagbucks gift cards to pay for it I think. I'll have to see what I can do. That's what I'm thinking, too. But, it's so hard to not buy the little stuff, too and have more gifts under the tree. I'll have to get creative so it's not junk, but they have more than a few gifts to open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Would the older ones want a kindle? They go on sale for about 35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 What are your kids' interests? What is your budget? Some hits in our house the past few years: Ukulele, guitar, digital camera, Lego sets, board games (King of Tokyo, Carcassonne, Forbidden Island, Blurt), Perplexus puzzle ball, sports equipment, art kits (DD's favorite is a Klutz clay sculpting kit) The bigger budget items (guitar and camera) are shared between all three kids. Do your younger kids have bikes or scooters? That was my kids' favorite gifts at around ages 4-6. Yes! 4 year old doesn't have a bike yet and has been asking, so that's down for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 If you are looking for toys, now is a great time at Target. They have 70% off their clearance toys. Walmart is also having a sale like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 I like to do sentimental gifts as well as useful fun items that I know they would love and use. I've always tried to be really thoughtful about their gifts and make them personal not just get something quickly and spend more money, too. (which is overwhelming to me if I wait until the last minute!) :-/ Books and book series, art stuff, educational toys/games, clothes. I get my girls these yearly birthday figurines and I can usually find them on Amazon marked down. James Avery charm for 13 year old. I'll probably get my 15 year old son a photo mousepad with a collage of pictures of the family and special moments. Something sentimental for the 6 year old, too. These items can be priced between $8-15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Haven't thought about bigger gifts yet, but my kids have both just endured the pain of cleaning out their rooms, and I've been surprised at how many little former Christmas gifts have been purged. Instead of buying a bunch of toy-type things for their stockings this year, I've decided to do stockings with food, consumable things like iTunes gift cards, and things they need like toothbrushes, socks or T-shirts. Hopefully that will cut down on the clutter and avoid more purging this time next year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Here is my list of Christmas gifts to make: Bookmarks (either out of material or knit or - if you have a laminator - a special paper design that is then laminated) Create a homemade game - again, if you have a laminator, you could make cards for this Knit scarves and ear warmers Baking supplies for teen boy Gifts in a jar Framed pictures Knit washcloths More Frugal Ideas for Gifts Look at the library sale cart (books for $1) and see if there is anything of interest Same thing with a thrift store Download audio books from www.librivox.org and burn to CDs Homemade coupons for special treats/events Favorite candy bar(s) Kid apron (or T shirt) - you can get plain ones at a craft store and then tie dye or use fabric markers etc Make pillowcase Nightlight or book light Magazine Special ornament Fill a (fun container) Pens, crayons, fun school supplies Movies (either dvd or a coupon for streamed movies) Mommy and Me Bake Set: homemade recipe cards, mixing bowl, whisk, mixing spoons, kitchen timer, cupcake liners, hot pad, measuring cup & spoons, dry ingredients for recipes included Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Do your girls color? Can you sew? My girls were enjoying my Enchanted Forest coloring book about a year ago, so I made a mental note to get each of them a book last Christmas (they got Secret Garden and Lost Ocean by the same artist). We just got back from a vacation where I knew we would have extended coloring time (plane/train), so I made us a fabric colored pencil roll (check Pinterest) to hold 24 colored pencils and a sharpener. I got the basic idea from Pinterest but sized it for our own needs. It was free to make since I had enough fabric lying around from previous projects, and it turned out to be extremely funcitonal--no spilled pencils! While we were coloring on the train a dad came by to borrow our sharpener for his daughter's colored pencils! I have a little time for projects like this in summer (took one day to make). I have zero time once school and activities start, so I say it's good to be thinking about this now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 I probably won't be much help with the older children, but with the 4 year old I would keep an eye on the art supplies section of your local stores. Last year I found some really cheap stuff. $1 for Color Wonder books. I just ordered some Color Wonder markers on Amazon for like $5 for a pack of 10. They have an 8pk of Sharpies on sale as well if your older child(ren) need any. Browse bargain book displays. Clothing is usually pretty easy to find on sale. The Children's Place is one of my go-to stores (usually the website during a free shipping time which they have pretty often). I'm actually thinking about making one shirt for my nephew. There's a pumpkin stencil online I can print and use. I've been looking up cross stitch items as a possible inexpensive gift. I figure if I start soon I may complete something lol. These could be hung from the tree as Christmas ornaments if they are the small, round ones. Some ideas to help (I saw at least one mentioned above) are Swagbucks cards, Shopkick gift cards and/or cash back if applicable with your credit card. Last year I got a bunch of misc stuff at TJMaxx with their website. I got a lot of things at Kohl's as well. For the younger kids if you have a Tuesday Morning I'd look there. I've had good luck with discounted toys/puzzles/etc. Check out Living Social and Groupon. Last year ds and I got a Groupon to a craft place and made ornaments very inexpensively. We had enough time to redeem the coupon so we weren't super rushed, but the place did require a second step to finish the items so I had to go back later to get it. If I had known I would have timed it a bit better, not when she was super busy with orders. I also look at tanga and some other sites. I do mostly online shopping. Constantly check retailmenot and the like for coupon codes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 We've had very lean Christmases every year except the year our oldest was 2. I use clothes, food, a bit of candy, used homeschool curriculum, and used books as filler presents, all picked up and stashed months before when prices are good. I get copies of public domain classics and load them on their (gifted from a generous relative) kindle. I have done as Ethel suggested and made many a CD of librivox audiobooks. We usually give one nice gift to each child, but even those are inexpensive (under 30) because I start looking months ahead. Last year, my then 4 and 7 year olds were wild over their remote-controlled cars. This year, I'm contemplating some used Wii games (the benefit of having an old system is cheap games). My kids go nuts over any art supplies. I buy those when they are clearanced/back to school and stash them. It's also fun to do the seasonal crafts at clearanced (because I bought them last year) prices. Inexpensive, timeless games. Uno. Skip Bo. Monopoly. So fun. Also, watch sales for the new, hot games like Ticket to Ride and Catan for your older kids. If you can sew, could you make some simple costumes for your youngers? My boys still think that a rope and a cape are the greatest. Water guns are clearanced right now and can be used (without water) year round for pretend play. I love going to consignment shops to find old costumes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 What is a tighter budget? I spend about $200 or so per child. So some already think I spend too much, most tell me I spend way less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 For the oldest I'd keep my eyes open for deals. I usually do groupon, local flavor, and living social deals. I've bought $20 worth of food for $5 (with a coupon), pedicure deals, bowling etc. For youngest I'd keep eyes open for Amazon daily deals (sometimes when they have board games, building toys etc for sale) For all I'd try Goodwill once in a while?? It's such a hit or miss! I recently found a brand new NFL puzzle and a cap, our local team, for $1.99 each (they each retail for over $12) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 What is a tighter budget? I spend about $200 or so per child. So some already think I spend too much, most tell me I spend way less. Our tight budget this year is $300 total. That includes our 4 kids, fil ,mil, dh's 2 grandmothers, a niece, a nephew, and 2 young cousins. Our kids, aside from the youngest, will get one shared gift and then their stockings. I picked up a great gift for my nephew and one for my youngest on prime day. I will likely get my niece and 2 cousins their gifts via Amazon(because u have hundreds in credit) on black Friday. The adults are always the hardest and I usually have a hard time finding clearanced things for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) I am finding a lot of stocking stuffers in back to school supplies. Target is having their toy clearance sale getting read for christmas. Edited July 30, 2016 by lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 What is a tighter budget? I spend about $200 or so per child. So some already think I spend too much, most tell me I spend way less. Our goal this year is no more than $25/person except for our own children. For them I think dh wanted us to do no more than $50. But see, I don't know if he was talking about Santa or not. Dh has a tendency to spend more than I would so it's kind of like that Buzzfeed video ( . Really I think our family has too much stuff so downsizing Christmas would probably be good for us. We have at least 14 people we shop for. This is niece, nephew, sil, bil, one of my sisters (other lives out of country so we agree to not bother), mil, fil, our two kids, my parents, my grandma, two close friends to the family (they spend the day with us at mil's). Sometimes another set of relatives depending on if make it over there. I agree with a pp, I think it's harder to shop for the adults. I've lucked out some years with one good item on sale. I think budgets are all relative. And I know lots of adults opt out of exchanging gifts with each other so that probably affords them more to spend on the children. You just gotta do what works for you and your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Let's not forget about camelcamelcamel. It seems to just be for Amazon, but I think it's a good tool to help me determine what is a reasonable or typical price for said item even if I buy it on another site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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