Frugal Christmas Gifting

You don't have to break the bank this Christmas, give but give frugally. There are so many things you can do to come up with lovely gifts, suited to each person on your list yet still keep your savings intact.

If you are feeling the economy pinch here are some ideas for frugal Christmas shopping.

First of all, next year go to the after Christmas Target 90% off sales. You can pick up fabulous items and store them away. Many items are marked down just because they are red or green. I recently did the afgter Halloween sales , walked out with a wagon full of stuff and a sales slip showing l'd saved $89.00. (Obviously I'd only spent $8. This covered my grandchildrens' costumes and all the "tricks" for the trick or treaters I could possibly want, placemats, candles and lots of accessories as well as costumes for my dogs and a friends cats.

Last Christmas I picked up everyones ornaments, tons and tons of scotch tape, ribbon curlers, ribbon, wrapping paper, a neat clock, paper cutters and numerous boxes of tissue because the box had Christmas themes. I got some wonderful candies that would be fine if frozen, mints beautifully packaged that I could give out during the year, some centerpieces, table runners, gorgeous beaded placemats and more. Again I probably spent a total of $8 to $15 total for hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise.

Starbucks gives free offers for their coffee you can use them as stocking stuffers. There are many online places you can look at for free samples.

There are many Dollar stores that carry excellent items you would find in regular stores for much more. I picked up raincoats for my friends dogs for Christmas (they came in red, yellow or blue) and were on line for $7.99. I paid $1 each.

Garage sales are a major source of good gifts. People get things they don't want and sell them, new with tags for very little money. I just got a huge basket of fireplace items, pinecones, fire starter, decorated pan for the ashes and more in the cellophane, never opened for $5. There was so much stuff in the basket I could barely lift it. At the next sale I got a complete manicure set,nail polish, Dremel for filing nails and hand treatments for my grand daughter for $3 and a Embellishing kit for $3.

Borders. Borders or other book stores always have a discount table. You can get books for any interest. Easy to wrap or mail. Prices vary but are al very inexpensive.

Craft stores: Jo Ann's and Michaels have seasonal sales. You can also get items from their sales areas. Sometimes they have personalized things on sale. Another idea is personalize something yourself. Anyone can print or write in cursive. If you're handwriting is acceptable pick up a clear glass plate and paint on the reverse side. You can copy a picture through the glass or dot on snowflakes and make a stick figure snowman or just a stick figure with each person's name and give them as a set. Paint pens area available at these stores and both stores offer 40% coupons off all the time.

Online go to Half.com for books at extremely low prices. You can get new books and recent books, cd's and movies as well as wonderful old movies.

Handmade with love. Cookies, candies, jewelry can all be hand made if you are just a little crafty or good in the kitchen. Along with the fact that this is cheaper than store bought, it shows you cared enough to take the time to make something special for someone. Stringing beads is fairly simple and again, craft stores have everything you need. You can also purchase charms with a message to hang from the necklaces or bracelets you make as well as cellophane bags to wrap them in. Remember everything is always 40% if you cut those coupons. The coupons come in the week end papers.

Easy candy recipe:

You will need chocolate and broken candy canes (buy at that 40% off after Xmas sale, they keep forever).

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.

Pour onto a cookie sheet.

Mix in broken candy cane pieces.

Leave in freezer until hard

Break into pieces.

Put in those cellophane bags you get at JoAnn's or Michaels (40% off).

In gourmet candy shops this is pricey.

Wreaths are easy to make with all the pine cones or acorns in the area or if you live in Florida you can make a gorgeous shell wreath. You can make Christmas wreaths out of the tree cuttings. They can be found any place that is selling fresh cut trees.

For your own use: The Christmas Tree. My Dad and I always went out for a fresh tree Christmas Eve. They just about give them away by then.

So be creative, go to new and different sources for gifts this Christmas and still have some money in your pocket after the Holidays.