A frugal mom's Christmas gift giving guide

With all the commercials and toy books that come out this time of year its hard to stick to a budget. My first recommendation.. CASH ONLY.. make out what you can AFFORD to spend. Take that money and use it to shop.. I cannot fathom going into debt for Christmas gifts.. It makes absolutely no sense. Maybe I need to market Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas, I used my car payment to buy your gift"..

There are may ideas that a frugal and/or cost worthy.. so here's my little gift giving lowdown

Make it. If you are crafty, or maybe if you aren't a personalized or handmade gift can carry much more sentiment than store bought ones.. Maybe a quilt, made of old family materials, ie old baby blankets and such. A scrapbook filled with photos of loved ones. A hand painted picture. Create a book, I "published" a book from a story Jacob and I made up one year. Maybe record a book on tape.. For the older generations, make your family a recording of old family stories.. I have heard many people say they wish they had the family stories after loved ones had passed.. Grandparents seem to love anything with grandchildren's hand prints/footprints.. I made my mom a t-shirt once with the kids hands on the front and feet on the back. She has requested and updated version ;). You can get plaster and little gems at the craft store and make decorative stepping stones for a flower garden or walk way. Salt dough can also be fun to make small things. Esp for kids to make. There are hundreds of websites that have ideas.

Shop Thrift stores.. some people can shop year round and hide things for Christmas.. I, Nicole, am a Christmas eve shopper LOL.. Mainly because I am terrible with those kind of surprises.. If I get something for the kids I want to give it right now! plus If I do manage to hide it it wont be found again till we move. But shopping thrift store is a wonderful way to save $.. With new resources such as freecycle.org and craigslist.org it has opened up thrift store shopping to a whole new level!

Sometimes a gift is worth the extra cost.. When we do buy toys and games we try to make sure they have some educational value and longevity.. One of our favorite it Leap Frog Games and Toys.. those have stood the test of time. Knex, if you havent seen these they are awesome. All my kids love to play with them.. To keep thier life they are stored in a rubbermaid bin in my bedroom.

Other things that we like to buy are science project type gifts and books.. My kids LOVE books.. Craft projects and supplies are excellent.. and good for most kids of all ages.. Magazine subscriptions also make great gifts. Deseret Book has some great scripture related gifts for kids and aduls..

A tip I try to share with new parents is dont focus on the baby.. Its easy to get wrapped up in Baby's first Christmas.. they generally dont need much and are more fascinated with the paper and boxes! If you really want to go out for the baby, skip the baby dept and find a photographer, or DIY! .. $100 ( or less) worth of beautiful baby photos will be one of your best investements.. I mean how cute is this!


Plan a family activity or trip.. A membership to the zoo or museum or a weekend camping package make great gifts.

Other unique ideas are tree's they can plant in the spring, maybe a coupon book of sorts. A"Me and you" day out package.. There is so much you can do!