5 Easy and INEXPENSIVE christmas gifts for less than $15
I know, I know. Boy, do I know! This time of year (even in the best year), can be daunting. It is easy to get wrapped up in spending money, stressing about doing enough, and keeping up with everybody else. It is so easy to spiral down that rabbit hole and lose sight of our joy, the true meaning of Christmas, and the holiday season.
When my children were little, I would feel so overwhelmed. I was in nursing school, and my husband was working his tail off to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. There wasn’t always room for extras.
There was always a class gift exchange, and of course they love giving teacher gifts…times three kids, and don’t leave out the teacher assistants. Don’t forget the bus driver. And the scout leader. And their best friend. And the Sunday school teacher. Oh and coach too. While to some it may not seem like much, for some families it is huge. You don’t want to squash the joy of giving in your child’s heart. And you don’t want you child to feel left out when those days come. But you worry how to make everything stretch far enough, while slowly seeing your spirit fade.
This year I was inspired by the dear Brooke at https://www.re-fabbed.com. . She made some easy and inexpensive gifts to give as random acts of kindness, and issued a challenge to others to do the same. I knew right away that this was something I could handle. And even more so, something that may help others with gift giving too. These are things I wish I would have thought about when I was stressing about all of those little “extra” gifts years ago.
So here’s how I spent around $15 and made 5 gifts:
Everything here was either purchased at the Dollar Tree or I had in my craft stash.
Here’s a list of what I have:
3 oven mitts
3 bags of brownie mix
package of wooden spoons
2 reusable coffee cups with lids
3 chocolate bars and a few individually wrapped pieces of chocolate
hot cocoa mix packets
candy canes
treat bags
raffia or ribbon
note cards (actually cut a piece of scrapbook paper and used it)
gift/package stuffing
I simply put a package of brownie mix, a candy bar, and a wooden spoon inside of the oven mitt. The oven mitts came from Dollar Tree, and I am kicking myself for not getting the matching towels they had!
I bought the brownie mix at Dollar Tree but afterward found similar bags of brownie, cookie, and muffin mixes at Walmart for less than a dollar! Just my luck!!
It doesn’t have to be exactly the same, just have fun with it and use what you find the best deals on.
Put a little of that shredded paper package stuffing or even tissue paper in the bottom of a treat bag.
I did buy the package of treat bags at Dollar Tree and had many leftover to use later on. You can even just get clear ones that can be used anytime of year for anything your heart desires. The cups also were found at Dollar Tree, and they are super adorable! They even had the kind with lids and straws, imagine the cute gift bag you could make with that.
After putting some paper in the bottom, I nestled the cup (lid off) in there, placed the lid behind the cup. Filled the cup with a couple packets of hot cocoa mix, a candy cane, and some chocolates.
To finish it off, I gathered the bag at the top, and I tied some twine and raffia around it.
In each gift I included a handwritten note with kind words and wishes for a Merry Christmas.
Y’all it was so simple!
I only spent around $15, 15 minutes, and ended up with 5 simple gifts that will out a smile on most anyone's face. These would be great for those little extra gifts for teacher helpers, scout leaders, etc. Or, you can do what our family is doing. We are giving them as random acts of kindness. Maybe the mail carrier, the next package delivery driver, garbage man, crossing guard, police officer. You get the idea!
Just remember to keep it simple, and don’t let putting a smile of someone else’s face take yours away.
~Stephanie
