Let's get started on Christmas...

[Mary Webber]

Yup, DistilledRose, it's time to start the knitting for the holidays all right! Good thing there's been lots of sales on yarn lately...

Ahhh, Lucille, I so wish we could figure a way to factor stress into the cost of Christmas and other holidays! We often give gifts to be in the following year (one such gift was a three-day surfing camp here on the coast of Maine if you can imagine such a thing) paid for when the dates were decided and the reservation made which turned out to be May.

[jenperron]

I have found that the best deals for decorations, paper, bows, cards etc. is after christmas. You can find things for as much as 80% off. This is when I stock up for the next year.

[purplefdu]

We're having an ornament swap at the Lodge this year (if I have anything to say about it). I got the idea from a Flickr group. The idea is to make a dozen ornaments and swap with another dozen people so you end up with one each of a dozen ornaments. Very cute and cheap way to get some cute ornaments for the tree (or gift tie-ons).

We pick up those cute Chinese takeout boxes in several colors and sizes on sale all year for custom baked dog biscuits (everyone on our street has a dog). We also pick up baskets from yard sales and Goodwill for gift baskets from acquired bits we've stashed away (we have an old dumb-waiter shaft thats now a cubby hole for this so they never get lost). We also pick up generic ribbon, gift wrap and gift bags after holidays at 75-90% off which is stored in an organizer and several huge gift bags with holiday cards and stickers. Also small decorative jars for powdered chai and cappuccino mixes we make ourselves. We determined for almost three pounds it costs less than $10 all together.

[Mary Webber]

I noticed that one of the national craft stores (can't remember which one) had a lot of China-themed items for the upcoming Olympics, so in a few weeks, I'm sure some of that stuff will go on sale. We, too, use the Chinese take-out boxes for lots of things, but especially for packaging home-made Cracker Jacks-type mix. It's fun to find the prizes -little and not-so-little - to go in them. I have a great recipe for the caramel corn if anyone wants it, a recipe that does NOT require a candy themometer!

The dollar stores - newly re-discovered in these tight times - are great places to buy small amounts of name-brand household products, health-and-beauty-aids, and various sundries to pack in any extra baskets you have. And with end-of-summer sales sprouting everywhere, there's tons of really cheap, bright and cheerful plastic
glasses, plates, containers, etc. on sale. And don't forget that summer sand toys can be mean snow-season fun for kids too!

[gt0163c]

This year I started shopping for Christmas about a week before last Christmas. I saw a great t-shirt on Shirt.woot that I know my brother-in-law will love. But I knew it wouldn't arrive before Christmas (or his birthday, 30 December). So I bought it and put in the the "prize closet" where I keep all of the gifts and other things that I buy for presents and donations throughout the year. I try to do a lot of gift shopping throughout the year. My mom loves TV shows on DVD, so when I see a good sale or a set at the used book store (she's fine with good condition used stuff) I buy them. Currently with Target's toys on clearance, I've been buying Lego and Playmobile sets for my nephews. These are their favorite toys and aside from having to coordinate with my mom and sister (who do the same thing) this makes buying for them really easy. I've got enough Lego sets for my older nephew for Christmas and his birthday next year already bought.

I also buy things for holiday time donations now as well. Toys go to Toys for Tots or sometimes the Angel Tree that my church does (if I happen to see an angel that has a match for something that I already have). We also do something similar to Operation Christmas Child (shoe box gifts) with a group we have a relationship with on the US/Mexico border. So I pick up little toys and things throughout the year that I know will work for that. Then I just have to pick out a child that matches what I've bought (we get names and ages for the kids).

And with school supplies being so cheap, I pick up what I can so that I can put together "college supply buckets" for graduation gifts for the high school kids at church (I'm a volunteer youth leader). Often times the $2 2 gallon bucket is the most expensive item in those gifts. I use towels (Target clearance) instead of tissue paper to "wrap" the stuff inside the bucket and that becomes part of the gift. So many of the kids have said that they love the buckets and find everything so useful when they get to school. A lot of it is stuff that they didn't think about (extension cords, hot pads, etc) in addition to the school supplies.

To keep from "losing" gifts that I've bought, I keep everything in big plastic tubs in a closet. When a "gift giving" event comes up, I go to the closet first. It's not unusual for me to be able to put together a great gift for a birthday or even a wedding for 75% of what the original price was.

[Mary Webber]

I've gotten so many great ideas from your post...THANKS! I'm going to stock up on the school supplies to make snow-day boxes for several friends with school-age kids. And I love the idea of such practical things as extension cords in back-to-school buckets. I can see a whole set of stuff here...laundry detergent, etc.

All of which makes me wonder if something like this - on the decidedly practical side - wouldn't be nice for some of the living-on-limited funds- seniors on my list. I always give stamps and grocery cards and such... Actually I think grocery cards make a great gift for the college kids too, as well as cards for one of the pharmacy chains. These stores tend to be in every small town where there may not be a discount store, and the drug store chains carry everything it seems!

Next week there's a huge craft show here in Maine. The crafters wouldn't want to hear this, but I always go and get scads of ideas for things I can make myself. Last time I saw a lamp whose base was beach rocks stacked on top of each other, drilled and the lamp rod inserted through to the base. TONS cheaper to make than buy AFTER I found out how to drill the rocks!!

[Myscha Theriault]

For people who are around that we can drop things off to, I like to go with homemade food gifts to help with all of the holiday entertaining that everyone has to do. Other homemade gifts such as bath scrubs can be fun too. I know as far as cards go, I am now leaning towards the e-cards option. The list is getting so long, and the mailing costs are going through the roof. How does everyone else feel about this? I know so many people are hung up on tradition, and yes, it is fun to open the pretty cards, but it just seems ecologically excessive, along with being costly.

[Mary Webber]

I've given up on sending cards except to that small number of people I only keep in touch with once-a-year. And I often use photo postcards instead of sealed-and-stamped cards.

I agree with you, Myscha, that food is a great gift for those nearby. But, this year, I'm thinking it'll be more helpful to share "real" food than party-makings. A few years ago all the rage was the cookie or bread mixes, all the ingredients layered in a bottle for giving. This year I'm thinking of making meal baskets... maybe some pasta, our home-made sauce, a chunk of cheese, and a loaf of home-made Italian bread.

I'm worried about the coming winter and am starting to think of ways each of us can help others get through it too. Anybody have suggestions??

[Myscha Theriault]

Yes. Let's all barter our asses off! Mending in exchange for cornbread, homemade pesto for some fresh eggs, food swaps where everyone makes a dozen of one casserole and brings eleven of them to a swap with eleven other other people. Everybody can go home with eleven affordable dinners. To keep everyone feeling in synch, make sure there's a per serving cap. You could also do this with side dishes to keep it even more affordable for people to participate. I know I've also started categorizing and posting affordable recipes on a blog so when people ask me for them I can send them there and have them use the search box. I'm in the process of making it a multi person blog where people share tips on recipes, non-cutsy craft DIY stuff, etc. I'm in hopes that'll help everyone have a great resource, and a chance to earn some cash via ad revenue. Still back and forth with the tech guy, trying to hammer out the last minute details. . .

But back to the bartering thing . . . to me, this is a great way to get things taken care of that we need and have everyone feel good about how they are contributing. Also, it's a nice way to make contacts that are of the "make it happen / get it done" category, rather than strictly techie / professional. Those are helpful too, but I'm feeling many people are also needing some real help on the old fashioned skill front, you know what I mean?

[Dani]

I also shop throughout the year. I buy the Bath and Body holiday stuff at their outlets off-season, I get hardcover books at the $1 store (usually only a few out at a time, but I build a collection per child I must shop for by X-Mas), etc. I also have a closet full of a few tubs, with some person-specific items and some generic ones. I use them for birthdays and Christmas, and replenish them throughout the year. Most of my shopping is probably done in the month or two after Christmas, and all of it was considerably discounted.

I also use the idea of saving money. My close family often makes specific requests of things they really want or need, and in turn they ask me exactly what I'd like. I end up buying a few gifts closer to full price.

At work, we had a discussion and created a gift exchange. I like the idea of adding a cookie or ornament exchange, too.