Thrifty Thursday
The question of what to get my extended family for Christmas is always a perplexing one to answer. Michael and I have 13 nieces and nephews, all of whom we love dearly. We would give them each their dream gift if we had the money to do so. But alas, we just don't have the money to buy a gift for every member of the family.
We are blessed that all members of the family are Christians and have a proper perspective on the holidays and we have tried to find ways to show our love through giving without breaking the bank.
Last year, I experimented and found an approach that made everyone in the family happy.I made a movie-themed family gift basket for each of our siblings to share with their families. I did the bulk of my shopping at the Dollar Tree, our local everything-for-$1 store. I bought a red serving tray to use as the base and shredded paper to line the tray. Our Dollar Tree also sells a variety of animated movies based on classic literature such as A Christmas Carol, The Last of the Mohicans, and Don Quixote. They also sell books on c.d. We have added Wind in the Willows, Call of the Wild, and Anne of Green Gables, just to name a few, to our collection. I bought each family 3 movies and 2 audio books.
I added microwavable popcorn to the basket. I bought one large box and divided the bags so that each basket received an equal number. I also bought traditional movie theater candy like Junior Mints, Skittles, and Twizzlers. I found some of the candy at the Dollar Tree and bought the rest at Walgreens with coupons. If you have a Walgreens in your area, they offer great coupons and deals this time of year. I arranged everything on the tray and wrapped it in holiday-themed cellophane wrap (also bought at the Dollar Tree) and added ribbon and a bow for a finishing touch. I spent less than $20 per basket, well within my budget.
Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of my baskets to share. I wasn't blogging this time last year. I did, however, just hear from my sisters-in-law that they loved the baskets and want to do the same thing this year! They said that their families loved having a great movie night together, and the kids of course loved the candy and popcorn! Yippee!!!! A happy holiday solution!
Now, does anyone have a basket theme suggestion I could use this year?
3 comments:
How about a Family Game Night package? A deck of cards ($1), a book from Amazon called 101 Best Family Card Games ($5.99), one inexpensive card game like Quiddler, SET, or Flinch (each one is about $9), and some more snacks like you added to last year's gift?
Or instead of a basket...one really nice game for the family like "Made for Trade" or "Blokus".
Dawn, thank you for the comment you left on my blog. It was kind of you to take the time to read my comment on The Homespun Heart and reply to me.
I love theme gift baskets. The family game night idea is good. I have also done a puzzle basket with a couple of jigsaw puzzles, hot chocolate mix, and snacks for cold winter days. I do a 12 days of Christmas basket to send to our adopted soldiers each year. It would work well for a family also. A search will bring up the website for gift ideas.
I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with this year!
How about a Family Ice Cream Social basket? Obviously you can't purchase and put ice cream in the basket, but you could maybe include a small $ giftcard to a store for the family to purchase the ice cream and fill the basket with ice cream bowls/dishes/glasses (thrift store), a variety of syrups and toppings (sprinkles, chocolate chips, candies, etc.), long-handled spoons (thrift store), package of ice cream cones, and so on.
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