Give e-certificates electronically for last minute gifts

Christmas is almost here. It's a good thing that I can give e-certificates electronically for last minute gifts. They are always the right size, shape and color. Fortunately, lost of online stores are offering them. Here are a few that I found.

Gourmet coffee has never been more popular. I know that my daughters both enjoy  frequenting a local coffee house. So, I figured checking online may be a good idea. It looks like ROASTe.com may be the perfect place for coffee lovers to order online. An e-certificate from this company is sure to be appreciated.




Of course, when considering online e-certificates online few stores are more popular than Amazon.com Gift Cards. My daughters are both students who are taking advantage of the free Amazon.Com Prime accounts. I think either of them would enjoy an electronic gift certificate from there for the holidays.

Failing these ideas I can always make a quick run to a pizza place. Is there any student that doesn't live on pizza during finals week? If not an electronic gift certificate at least gift cards can be picked up almost anywhere. It's one last minute Christmas gift that I know they will enjoy.

5 Unique frugal gift ideas for Christmas or birthdays

Like a lot of people we are trying to avoid the after Christmas sticker shock this. We have been looking for unique frugal gift ideas for Christmas and have had success. The ones that I have found would also be good for birthdays or other occasions. Some of the frugal gift ideas are being recycled from past gifts that my family has received (and liked).

1. A frugal gift of food.
What kind of plate do you need for those baked confections?  Food is a traditional Christmas gift but it has to be placed on something. A trip to the thrift shop for a frugal set of Christmas dishes can solve the problem. The recipient gets a baked treat on a plate that can be used for many holidays to come.

2. Plastic bag door mat.
Recycle used grocery bags by creating a door mat. This crochet project is one unique example of how to recycle  plastic bags to create a doormat. Weaving the bags together is another way to create a frugal gift. Cleaning the mat is simple. All the recipient needs to do it take it outside on a summer day, hose it off and hang it up to dry.

3. Beans
I gotta 'spill the beans' on this one. (Yes, bad pun I know.) A glass jar filled with a soup mix of dried beans is another unique but frugal gift idea. Recycle glass jars that you already have on hand or buy some new but inexpensive jars. Layer the beans for color. Tie with a bow. The soup mix is a unique gift that is perfect for upcoming cold winter nights.

4. Create a calendar

Scary Christmas spending

I just read what the average family spends on Christmas. Forget Halloween and the boogeyman in the closet. This has to be the scariest article ever written. Why? Because it talks about how much the average family spends over the holiday season.

According to the article the average family spends about $800 annually on Christmas gifts. This doesn't count potluck dinners, parties and all those extra little curve balls that the season throws at us. Can you imagine how much the Christmas spending becomes when the extra costs are included? I can and that's where the spending gets even scarier.

Reigning the costs of the holidays is a big deal for us. Not only are we still repairing the car (and trying to get out of debt) but we can't afford an extra $800 for Christmas gifts. We've never gone overboard on gifts and plan to spend about one-third of that amount on all the Christmas expenses.

Don't get me wrong. I love my kids. It that I love them enough to teach them the same money handling habits that I'm just now learning. These lessons should last longer than the electronic gadgets that some people are buying.

Use free Christmas coloring pages for cheap kids gifts

The huge car repair and holiday season means that I have to be more frugal than ever. Normally, we purchase coloring books or other small books for the kids at church. This year, we are using the free Christmas coloring pages for cheap kids gifts.

I experimented with creating the coloring books today. Instead of looking hokey the coloring books turned out to look pretty cute.  

Searching the internet turned up tons of free Christmas coloring pages. Hubby had some red paper that we made into covers. We were out of staples so I decided to sew the books. 

To me, they ended up with a better look than stapling would have provide. We'll pair the books up with some crayons or a small bag of candy for cheap kids gifts.

In addition to free Christmas coloring pages I also found some word searches. We'll have to create a different cover but these are going to make good cheap gifts for older kids. You can also make your own search or crossword puzzles in a word processor. Just don't forget to provide an answer sheet.

Tomorrow, I'll be honing my new found frugal skills. There is a ton of fabric that is just begging to be turned into homemade gift bags. In addition to the Christmas coloring pages turned books, these bags will add another touch to the cheap kids gifts. Who knows? I may get the hang of this frugal stuff yet. 

Frugal holiday gifts; dollar tree hurricanes

Getting out of debt means being frugal is every aspect of my life. Even holiday gift giving is not immune. I found this blog article and look forward to giving it a whirl Decor Adventures: Dollar Store Decor. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. These hurricanes are made of a simple candle holder and vase plus a little glue. The glass items can be picked up for $1 each.

The only way that I can see to make this project more frugal is to hit my favorite thrift shop. They have all kinds of glassware. You have to pick and choose carefully. But, if the trip doesn't work out this frugal holiday craft can still be made with dollar store items. It would be hard to go wrong.

Plus, I used to decorate frequently with candles and have a stash of candle holders in the basement. Our current home is too small to use them all. There is no need for the candle holders to languish forlornly when they can be recreated into frugal holiday gifts. Give me a few days to make the thrift shop run and I'll post the results of my candle holders here. It should be fun. :)