Frugal Gifts for Hard Timesby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 14 Oct 2008 05:48 PM
Of course, it is nice to get someone what they really want, but you can often accomplish this frugally and responsibly. Here are some more ideas for responsible gift giving choices. If the gift recipient is close to you, ask ahead of time if they don't mind second-hand items that you can purchase just for them. You can broach the subject in a hypothetical sort of way, such as, "Would you rather have one brand new shirt, or five shirts that look new but were actually second hand?" Stick the question in with a bunch of others and call it a game if you are uncomfortable. I find that people are usually more open to used baby and children's clothes than used adult clothing. Make the gifts a little more personal and a bit more practical. Think of things that might be useful to the whole family. A video might be nice, but is it really a hammer that they need so they can do their own repairs? Homemade and service gifts by be especially appreciated this season. Forget the cookies though and make a freezer meal instead. Gift gift coupons to paint a room in their house, mow the lawn, do some mending, etc. Not only will these gifts cost you less, but they may really be appreciated by someone who has to give up eating out, extra services such as lawn maintenance or home improvement this year. What are some of your ideas? Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans. Naughty and Nice Snowman Gifts Inexpensive Gifts You Can Make Frugal Random Acts of Kindness 3 Ways to Save Money at a Garage Sale The Recession and Garage Sales
Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Frugal Living Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now! Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  Julie Gentry (5915) 14 Oct 2008 10:12 PMWe're heading practical / frugal this year, too. Found a great deal at Office Depot clearance -- 2# bags of specialty coffee for $6. They're in cute, decorative bags. A pair of coffee mugs from the thrift shop (.50), a repainted basket (free in the garage), and some candy canes (.79) to round it out. Less than $7.50 for a great gift! Love reading your blogs, Mary Ann! Thanks for adding a subscribe button. StBridgit (322) 15 Oct 2008 11:27 AMI have been canning apple pie filling, apple jelly, and applesauce with free apples from my neighbors' trees. We will tie a bit of red velvet ribbon around the tops, attach a gift tag made with scrapbooking paper, and voila, Christmas gifts for our friends! I have some blackberry jelly for our friends and neighbors who don't like apples. This year the total cost per quart jar is about $1.50, because I had to buy the jars new. Next year it will cost us pennies. Frugal and useful! FrugalFanatic (20) 15 Oct 2008 11:50 AMI've already begun knitting (from a huge bag of yarn given to me by a coworker). I'm a beginner, so no fancy sweaters this year, but I can personalize even easy projects, such as hats, with embroidery. The result is something that looks like it came from a boutique! (can you tell I'm pleased with the results of my first project?) Last year my family was fortunate enough to take a big vacation. I plan to create a scrapbook of our travels and wrap that up as a gift to the family. Other thoughts - look for second hand decorative items and spray paint them to update - they look great! I've seen a $.50 thrift store find look like something you'd pay $50 for in a department store. All it took was a can of black spray paint!  Mary Ann Romans (26876) 15 Oct 2008 01:23 PMSt.Bridgit, I would love to learn how to can! Mmm, you have lucky friends. StBridgit (322) 15 Oct 2008 06:50 PMIt's actually very easy to can. This is the first year I've done it myself, but I grew up helping my mom to make jams and jellies with the fruit from their trees. You can either buy a new canning kit for about $40-$50, or you can keep an eye out at thrift stores for a used one. It's basically a big stewpot with a lid, so any very large pot will do. The Ball Blue Book of Canning is a great book with recipes & tips. And you need a pair of jar lifters, and a magnet for fishing lids out of hot water. Otherwise it's pretty straightforward. Jams are a very easy place to start, because you mush everything up with sugar, cook it, add pectin, and can it. If you want to try it next year, I suggest looking for a secondhand canner in thrift stores, and also keep an eye out for jars. Any jar which has no nicks or chips around the lid will work, and you want to use new lids each time. You can buy the lids now and just keep one in the car to check for size on used jars in thrift stores. Expect to start seeing them pop up early in the year as people use up what they were given and dispose of the jars. HTH! Mary Ann Romans (26876) 11 Nov 2008 04:36 AMThanks for all of the tips. I haven't had any luck finding anything yet, but I'll be keeping an eye out!  thequeenofthecastle (413) 01 Dec 2008 09:13 AMI love books and non fiction cook books, game books, craft books, ect.. are easy to find really inexpensively on clearance and bargain book sections in lots of books stores. They make a really nice gift if you pair them with some appropriate accessory from the dollar store. For example: a book on coffee drinks paired with a dollar store coffee cup, or a cookbook paired with a whisk or wooden spoons, or a craft book paired with some dollar store craft supplies. This works great for kids too. I am always seeing expensive activity books that you could create yourself with an inexpensive bargain book paired with the supplies. For a tweenager- maybe a jewelry making book paired with some inexpensive beads. For a husband- a home repair book paired with an inexpensive useful tool. For a sibling- a card book paired with a deck of cards. The possibilities are endless and you can really make it personal and thoughtful by playing to someones specific interests. Community Tags christmas, frugal, Gifts, Holiday, presents Discuss this article
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