How to Beat the Expensive Cost of Holiday Shopping

The Holidays are fast approaching and everyone is thinking about their heating bills, food budgets and gasoline for their cars to go to and from work. These items are top most on people's minds during the holidays as well as giving gifts to friends and relatives. This can cut into your household budget in a considerable way if you did not plan a Holiday Christmas Club throughout the year. Here are some items that you can make at home for little cost and still be a "hit" when it comes to un-wrapping gifts on Christmas Day.
For co-workers and neighbors: Find out what their favorite meal is. Then when you shop for your own groceries include items for this meal that you can place in a gift basket that they can prepare for themselves. Baskets can be found at flea markets, yard and garage sale for as little as 25 cents and are great to re-use for Holiday Gift Baskets. If your co-worker likes to eat Italian, purchase pasta, sauce, Romano cheese and toss in some coupons for garlic toast or garlic bread that they can use to when they do their own grocery shopping to go with your gift basket. You can place a couple of kitchen towels or a pasta utensil into the basket. All of these items would cost you under $10.00. Place a holiday ribbon on the basket with gift tag and present it to your neighbor or co-worker. This basket idea can be implemented for anyone on your list, for any taste, or any idea.
Do you like to sew, crochet, do plastic canvas or any other craft? Those items that you make all year long can be wonderful hand made gifts for other people on your holiday list. Local dollar stores carry a wide variety of school supplies that you could fill a Christmas stocking with and give as a gift to grand-children, seems they are always needing pens, paper and pencils as well as crayons and markers throughout the year. Need something for grandma and grandpa? Why not some stationary and some stamps placed into a little basket wrapped with a holiday bow or maybe some fresh fruit which you can purchase at your grocery store and make a fruit basket for less than you can purchase an already prepared fruit basket. Does someone on your list like scented candles? You can buy candles for less than $10.00 each-throw a few tea light candles into the basket as well for an added extra gift.

The idea here is to give a gift that you construct or make yourself instead of spending 100's of dollars on gifts that will end up sitting on a shelf in someones closet for the rest of the year and finally being placed into their yard sale or garage sale.

Have some old denim jeans laying around and no longer being worn or used? Cut the legs off and sew up the leg area-cut out a strip from the left over legs and make a shoulder strap and sew this to either side of the top waistband of the jeans. The pockets make great places for cell phones, and other items. The inside of the handbag is roomy and sturdy for wallets and other items that ladies carry. You can thread a belt thru the loops and buckle it for a designer look--use a stud machine to embellish the pockets or paint a design with acrylic paints. Rhinestones and other beads and bobbles can adorn the jean handbag. The handbag is a great gift for a teen on your list. This handbag costs less than $10.00 to make but will be a hit with a teenager who maybe on your gift giving list.

Do you knit or crochet? Make a scarf, hat and mittens for all the children in the family. These take a little time to make but also each set costs less than $10.00 to produce and give as gifts.

Make your own gift tags-you can make them out of old Christmas cards. Cut out portions of the cards with pinking shears-use a hold puncher to punch a hole for the hanger-use yarn pieces of ribbon, etc. for the gift tag hanger-or just cut them out and use a fine line marker to write in the name of the recipient and who it is from and tape it to the gift. These type of gift tags will not cost you anything only your time in making them.

Making and giving gifts that you do yourself can be rewarding and easy on your holiday budget. Baking bread, cookies and pies can be gifts for shut ins and the elderly recipients on your gift giving list. They will appreciate a warm loaf of bread or a pumpkin pie more than any other gift that you purchase at a retail store.
Make your holidays rewarding for you and your family and beat the after holiday blues when you do NOT see those holiday bills coming in your mailbox in January.