We Recommend - for the super thrifty

The year we got married we were pretty broke at Christmas time. We'd both just finished studying,I wasn't  starting work for another 6 weeks and The Atlas had only be working for 2 weeks before we got married. This was about 3 weeks before Christmas. The only finances we had to our name were student loans.

So the Christmas presents for family members were frames from The Warehouse and photos from our wedding.....

the other night I remembered that and I thought I'd like to share some ideas for people who'd like to give something but really have to watch every cent. I know that for present givers and lovers (me) your desire to give isn't always supported by your bank account.

So here are my super-duper cheap ideas. Less than $5 a pop.

Wallet photos - for parents and grandparents. I got this set of 8 passport sized photos printed for 35cents at Warehouse Stationery - and because I paid cash it was 30 cents. That's a new photo for Dad's wallet, one for Mum's wallet and 2 sets of grandparents. Slip them inside a heartfelt card and they'll mean a lot to the recipient.

Posting Game - take one empty coffee, milo or quick tin. Make some little discs from plastic containers or cardboard. Cut a hole in the lid of the tin and you have a super sweet posting game for a little person who will play it for hours and won't have any idea that it cost you nothing. You could draw pictures or use the photos above and coverseal them onto the disks if you wanted to put in more effort. Photos super cheap and durasel/coverseal is about $2 a roll. Use an empty cereal box. I know my boys would have loved posting photos of their relations and photos of things from around the house.

Dated Voucher - I love the idea of making people vouchers but I think people don't cash them in, so why not write a babysitting voucher for a busy friend and date it with a Friday night for some time during the year? Write the date on your calendar and ring them the week before to remind them to plan a night out.

Tealight Delight - Buy a cheap pack of tealight candles and split them up. Wrap each in washi tape. Wrapped nicely this is a gift that looks beautiful for little effort and cost.

Treasure Hunt - Write all the clues for a treasure hunt and put them in a sealed envelope. Write on the front you can give me 1 (or 2) days notice and this envelope and I will set up a treasure hunt for you with a prize at the end. Pop aside 2 (or however many kids you have) mini chocolate bars or chup-a-chups or whatever cheap treat and pull them out when the kids come to you. All the creative work is already done you just need to hide the already-written clues and prizes and they get to anticipate the fun.

Super Simple Jewelry - I made this necklace for less than $5 and I love it (so do most of the little people I come in contact with). If you live in Chch Warren Agencies is where I got all the bits. The necklace was $1.80 and the plastic train was 20 cents I think. The whale might have been 40cents.

Wheatie Bags - if you have a fabric stash you really can make these for very cheap too. Some good tutorials around the interwebs if you want one.

Do you have any ideas for those days when the love is there but the money isn't??

We Recommend for Christmas 

our posts about genuinely lovely things

Thanks for your recommendations. Button code on the right.

What are your go-to ideas for those days when the love is there but the money isn't??

Love you more than finding $5 unexpectedly in my wallet xxxx

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