Is the "miser" in you or the "cheap skate" coming out due to the economic climate that we are currently weathering? Frugality is an art and many a millionaire have been credited for their thriftiness. However, t'is the season to give, to share and to skate. If you have limits as to what to give for a mere $10.00 - what would you give to bring some holiday cheer? Love to hear your ideas that fit into my budget.
Monday, December 08, 2008
cheap skate
Is the "miser" in you or the "cheap skate" coming out due to the economic climate that we are currently weathering? Frugality is an art and many a millionaire have been credited for their thriftiness. However, t'is the season to give, to share and to skate. If you have limits as to what to give for a mere $10.00 - what would you give to bring some holiday cheer? Love to hear your ideas that fit into my budget.
Adorable drawing.
ReplyDeleteBouquets of scented oranges, pinecones and dried flowers wrapped in beautiful netting, tied wih irrdescent bronze, gold and coppery ribbons as sachets to hang on doornobs. I think these could be done for around $10.
ReplyDeleteSomething about homemade goodies is really tickling my fancy this year. I'm making my own Amaretto for all my neighbors and work friends. Delicious and festive!
ReplyDeleteThe bottles cost me $4 at Container Store and I know I'll be able to make it in large batches for less money than anything store bought.
My idea is very similar to Karena's...
ReplyDeleteoranges + cloves + mesh bag + red ribbon = delightful gift for anyone's table. Just take the cloves, insert them all over the orange, put them in the bag and tie with the ribbon. They smell delicous. Most people will display them in a bowl, outside of the bag... Try to buy your cloves in bulk, they can be expensive.
Hope that helps!!
I love the drawing!!
ReplyDeleteFor everyone in my family I have "wooden nickels" printed up and Paloma Nest (etsy) made me the pouches. Some pouches will say Grandpa's Nickels, Daddy's Nickels etc... for my mom's pouches I simply had xoxo printed on it. This is symbolic for us because my dad use to say "don't take any wooden nickels"
For friends I'm decorating small boxes filled with homemade cookies or chocolate covered dried cherry scones.
Also, since my dad had 5 grandchildren and one great grandchild a donation will be made to Mercy Home for boys and girls in memory of him.
Breaking everything down does come to gifts around $10- Yahoo...
For the nature lovers, collect pine cones from the park or your yard...roll in suet and then in wild bird seed, let dry and harden, tie a red string at the top for hanging in a tree and wrap in clear celophane...These treats for the birds look like ornaments when hanging from a tree..very inexpensive to do.
ReplyDeleteKarena,
ReplyDeleteAh, lovely scents for mere cents to make. Great idea to adorn a door as a gift!
pve
Courtney-
Thanks for raising the bar, with home-made Amaretto. Sounds really delightful! Hope you will share the recipe with us and show us your gifts.
I did find some great boxes at the container store for home made treats. Home made things really are the best!
pve
Milly -
I have tons of cloves and love to do this during the holidays.
pve
Joyce -
Love the ideas you always bring!
pve
Ivy -
for the birds - how sweet!
pve
Hmm, $10 IS a challenge, but how about some home-baked shortbread in a little basket with ribbons? You could make it look like a million bucks, I know!
ReplyDeleteAnne-
ReplyDeleteOh, shortbread in a basket, now that is a tasty idea!
thanks-
pve
Hey are you trying to get ideas for a certain challenge? Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteLove the drawing!
One thing I have done in the past is paint and decopage a terra cotta pot with old world Christmas paintings, then fill it with coloured shredded paper, clear cellophane bags filled with cookies, moss and flowers. It takes some time, but costs very little.
ReplyDeleteLove the skates!u
If your a knitter like me. Make someone special a sweater. You can purchase bulky yarn when on sale for $3-. A good 3 balls of yarn can make a lovely shrug. This is what I did this year. If not a sweater... maybe a scarf or hat =)
ReplyDeleteI am so frugal most of the time, but I tend to go overboard at Christmas. This year I'm doing a lot of crafting, which makes it easier to be frugal without feeling cheap. I'll be sewing placemats and aprons mostly, but also making homemade candy if I get around to it. Will you be sharing your gift ideas with us?
ReplyDeleteFunny you should bring this up. For a bunch of friends, I gave away teacups from ebay that I already had (and had gotten for a steal!) a tin of loose-leaf tea and a strainer (in case they didnt' have one). It's a really inexpensive and nice gift I think - Just a bit above $10!
ReplyDeletelove the "cheap skates." wonderfully clever, as always. my suggestion? BUY HANDMADE. shop www.etsy.com.
ReplyDeletesupporting artists directly not only helps them eat, but also cuts out the middle man meaning that the price is much lower than in a retail shop.
and you can find art, gifts, crafts, whatever, from all over the world and even find products made locally. it's amazing. and there's loads of beautiful items for under that $10. limit.
I love receiving hot chocolate as a gift. What if you sketched a picture of something festive [one of your chic masterpieces], copied it and put in on tins of home made hot cocoa? Wrap with red twine and you're set. What a darling gift.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. You could just frame a copy of any of your beautiful art (40% or 50% off frames from Michael's) and sign it. Done.
ReplyDeleteFor me? $10? An ornament, probably. Or pumpkin bread along with the recipe and the pan. I made kickass pumpkin bread. Or a picture frame with a meaningful photo.
Or a heartfelt kiss and/or hug. Especially this year. Priceless.
THANKS to each of you for all your ideas for giving!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!
pve
$10...hmmmmm, Seeing as we have HAD to be very resourceful this year, I think I would get someone something they wouldn't buy for themselves... like a makeup that's not necessary or something like that.
ReplyDeleteLove the ice skates:)
I went to a crafty fair this weekend, and bought really lovely (in my eyes :-) leaf-shaped pottery dishes. They were exactly $10 and it all went to the artists, which I love. (I found tow different ones with different vendors). I'm planning on making truffles and packaging them with the dish, though a bar of soap would sit nicely on the dish, too. That brings it a bit over $10...so the dish is nice on its own, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteA bar of chocolate would satisfy most of my peeps!
ReplyDelete