Frugal Intuition

Today is December 2nd.  That means we have T-minus 22 days to get our Christmas shopping and gift preparation completed before the big day.  If you’ve already finished your shopping, good for you (and go away–you make the rest of us feel inferior).  If you’re like me and only have a couple of gifts picked up or haven’t even started, well, I’m here to help you make it through sane and no further in debt.  The key to not going into debt at Christmas is planning.  From a long term standpoint, come January you ought to be starting a Christmas contingency fund and add $5 or $10 per paycheck to it all year so that you’ve already got your little Christmas nest egg ready.  I plan to do that for next year.  But for this year, I’m keenly interested in making sure no one is forgotten while not stressing myself out further over how much money I have to spend.

First up, sit down and make your list of people to give gifts to.  Start with your immediate family, closest friends, and work your way out to those you aren’t as close to but whom you may need to give something to (such as coworkers).  Okay now check your list again and prioritize everybody on there.  Put a star by everyone you absolutely cannot forget.  Keep that number in your head.

Now go check out your finances.  How much can you afford to spend this year without going into further debt?  In our case, we have about $100 that isn’t already earmarked to pay bills, go into savings, etc.  So that’s my budget this year, which is actually down to about $80, if I take out the 2 gifts I’ve already bought.   I’ve got two more gifts covered from the gift closet (here’s where I pick stuff up throughout the year for an absolute steal). But that still leaves 10 immediate family members to give to, as well as at least a dozen friends to whom I want to give a little something.  All that on $80 you say?  How?

Well, first off, it’s important to get your brain off of the idea that you have to give expensive gifts for people to appreciate it.  This is so not true.  The thing about it is, anybody can go out and buy something.  That doesn’t take effort, and it really doesn’t take a lot of thought.  But making your gifts takes effort and some time and says “Hey, I love you, you’re special.”  And best of all, they’re inexpensive and you don’t have to pay for shipping.  I’ve already talked elsewhere about inexpensive ways to packages such homemade goodies, so I’ll not belabor that point.  Instead I’d like to offer some suggestions.

Think consumable.  I’m talking cookies, candies, homemade breads, mixes.  They don’t have to be stored for long, are much enjoyed by all, and you can get them all done in a day or two.  The holidays are so often about decadence, so you can easily find recipes that will satisfy someone’s sweet tooth.  I’m leaning heavily myself toward making truffles this year.   Talk about decadent, and they only have 3 ingredients!  This would make a great small gift for anyone.  Package a few up prettily (they’re uber rich, think fancy chocolates) and you’ve made a gift out of half a dozen pieces of homemade candy.  Another annual standard in my house is sourdough bread .  I make it every year and it’s always raved about, and let me tell you, there is little better than the scent of freshly baking homemade bread.  Totally droolworthy.  A loaf of this wrapped nicely in foil with a pretty ribbon, possibly with a jar of homemade jam (if you know how to make it–I don’t) would make a marvelous and thoughtful gift.  If you’re not a jam maker, the bread itself is perfectly lovely by itself.  For those folks you would rather give more to, think of themes.  You could make some homemade hot chocolate mix in a pretty jar and make up a batch of brownies or cookies to go with it (either more gifts in jars or freshly made ones from your kitchen).  You could also make up a hot beverage basket with the hot chocolate mix , spiced cider mix , coffee beans, and some pretty tea.  Throw in a few pretty mugs (available on the cheap from places like The Dollar Tree) and you’ve got a lovely theme gift for cheap!

If you’re of a crafty nature (and particularly if you have kids), one fabulous idea for holiday gifts are homemade Christmas ornaments.  This is a gift that keeps on giving and will provide memories each and every year it’s put on the tree.  This is what I make every year for my numerous friends.  It started out because I took pity on some newlywed friends of mine who decided (I have no idea why) to only get one new ornament each year they got married.  So I started making ornaments for everyone every year.  Last year I managed gifts for 20 people made and shipped for $40 (and most of the cost was in the shipping).  The ornament making is something worthy of its own post, so check back in with me later this week for a collection of links to my favorite projects!

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