The plunging economy and job cuts have taken their toll on many families and parents are worried if they will be able to afford Christmas gifts for their children. Here are some money saving tips to bring you some holiday cheer without lightening your pocket book :
1. Makes gifts. Home made cookies, a scarf from an old silk shirt or bed linen, a bow tie from the sash of a dress, a bracelet from beads leftover from a craft project…can you see the possibilities? Chances are people will love these gifts because you took the time to make them. What’s more, since you are making them, you can personalize it too. Gifts do not have to be expensive. Just creative, thoughtful and useful.
2. Gifts don’t have to be things. They can be activities. When was the last time your family spent time together actually doing something? It could be as simple as a walk around your block, stopping to admire the decorations in each house. Or a picnic in a park. Or volunteering for your community. Or even organizing a Christmas play with the neighborhood kids. In today’s hectic lifestyle, TIME is the biggest gift.
3. Drawing names of family members written on pieces of paper. This way, each member of the family picks out one other member’s name and they only have to get one gift for that person. So everybody still receives a gift, and nobody has to blow his or her budget.
4. Kids could make coupons for services you can offer. They could be ‘Mow Lawn’, ‘Clean Dishes’, ‘Fold Laundry’ that could be redeemed at a later time. What better gift can a child give a parent?
5. Use old magazine covers, newspapers, paper grocery bags for wrapping. Encourage kids to personalize them with art or poems. These make unique, inexpensive and attractive gift wraps.
6. Send free ecards. No matter how far or near your loved ones live, there is one gift that everyone can afford and everyone appreciates – heartfelt wishes. Sending free ecards is a great way to wish your loved ones with a personal message. Adding a picture and voice to the ecard personalizes it further. Select free Christmas ecards from gotfreecards.com.