OT: Extremely budget-minded gift for DH and loved ones?

[SASM]

DH and I have a major budget crunch this year. We already have an understanding that we are not buying eachother gifts (or others for that matter) :( but I just cannot do that. A huge part of the holiday spirit for me is giving a gift, even if it a small one.

Can you offer me any suggestions for a no-cost, or next-to-nothing, gift for DH and our close loved ones? DH already gets therapeutic massage and tons of "wonderful" (ha-ha) cooking from me so those are not options. The poem thing is nice, but not me ~ my head's just not there right now. Any poem that I write would most likely contain the words "diapers", "I NEED mommy time!", "pureed sweet potatoes", and "laundry"...not really romantic.

Oh...I do have an idea for my parents! Picture people have a promotion right now. With the coupon that is in the mail and in American Baby, one can get a free 10x13 photo with a free sitting fee! YEAH!!! DONE with them!

Any suggestions...please! Thank you in advance. :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

[Tondi G]

I was going to say for DH to get a picture taken of DS and put it in a frame he can then have it at work! You could always go and buy a generic plain picture frame and let DS finger paint it for him! There are always those ceramics store (color me mine)... it isn't exactly free but you could make a frame or plate and do DS's footprints (or handprint if DS will cooperate) on it..... we did that with DS when he turned 1... we love just looking at those tiny feet!!!! then you just do a little more painting/decoration and it's a great gift! if that will be too much I heard a great crafty idea.... let your chikld finger paint in colors that go with the holiday (red/green xmas, fall leaves colors for fall/halloween, pastels for easter) then cut the painting up in shapes (trees/ornament shapes for Xmas, fall leaves for fall, easter eggs for easter).... use the shapes to make a frame with constuction paper (suppose you could use some poster board) and then put a pic of the kiddo in the center!

Maybe you could take the print from the picture people and scan it in a make another or go to one of those picture Maker things they have at Kinkos or Savon drug stores to make another print!!! Or just get out your camera and get snap happy.... chances are you will probably get a great shot to use!!!!

Good Luck
~Tondi
Mommy to Mason(2) and #2 edd 6/6/04

[newbelly2002]

I put together a shutterfly snapbook for DH using the text from a favorite book (in our case that was the Peanuts "Happiness is a Warm Puppy"). The pictures correlate with the text. At the time I gave it DH was sweet but lukewarm on the idea. 5 months later, I find him looking at it and smiling all the time. It was under $10 with shipping.

Also, a "coupon" book of certificates is another fun idea. You can include a pre-planned night out at the movies, a back massage (from you), etc etc, a baby-free night, a no-guilt all evening football marathon complete with beer (tailor it for your DH as tastes of both drinks and sports require). The hitch is, of course, that DH can choose when to redeem those coupons and you have to honor them. Doing the artwork can also be as much fun as coming up with the ideas. Only the cost of the paper and pens.

I know for us, post-baby, the biggest thing has been "no hassle" gifts. The idea of having someone else doing the planning is just heavenly and such a luxury. Add to that, the power to be completely and utterly selfish. For example, last year we had a pair of airline tickets given to us by the airlines for a delayed flight. DH and I then spent 5 months arguing over where we were going to go. Me, Sicily; him, Croatia. In the end, we knew we would have to compromise Finances were tight last year. Come Christmas day, his gift to me was to wrap up the tickets and include a card that said "you say where and when, and off we go." It was signed "Hassle-free Hubby."

Without an ounce of guilt or compromise, I got to be completely, absolutely selfish in my decision. DH then planned the trip so I didn't have to worry about that either. My sister (not married, without a family) thought it was a "cop-out" gift. For me, the thought as well as powers of observation it required (what does she *really* want?) meant more to me than anything he could have bought.

Sorry for the novel, this is a topic that hits home for me.
Paula
Mama to Dante, 8/1/02

[amp]

Ok, Tondi stole all my ideas, so I have nothing new to offer! }( :D

Really, I was going to suggest the picture for his office. Jacob and I gave John a picture frame with several spaces for pics for Father's Day and he *loves* it!

For Christmas we are planning to go to the hobby store to see what we can make. Perhaps something else with a picture or a footprint or handprint. Not sure yet. I do like the idea that was shared here (by Lori I think) to photograph the adorable baby feet, ears, hands, chubby legs, etc and make a picture collage. It was very artistic. I think it was under a thread called Homemade Gifts or something similar.

Also, your child is old enough to attempt some type of art or to enjoy having his footprint or handprint done, so that would be super cute and a nice keepsake to give.

Good luck!

[starrynight]

Homemade gifts are easy and often more enjoyed by the person receiving them :).

You can make little reindeer cards with your son's feet and hand prints. Use his hands as the antlers and one of his feet as the head. I hope you kwim, if not I can try and do one with my kids and scan it to show you. You can also make a turkey this way :).

Or you could make brownie jars, have you seen these? Youu layer all the ingredients in a mason jar and then attach a card to the lid with the recipe on it. It's a homebaked gift without you having to bake, this can be done with cookie mix also.

[August Mom]

I was thinking photos for your DH too. If you haven't already taken your baby's picture with the letters spelling out DADDY, that is really cute. A lot of us did that around Father's Day. If you do a search you can find some threads about it. If you do 5 separate pictures, frames are hard to find. You could do a collage, though, or, Kohl's had 5 wallet-sized hinged frames if you want something for DH's desk.

For others, you could give photos of the babe. You could even buy those acrylic magnet frames (I know Kohl's has them) for around a dollar and make ab instant magnet. Another idea is to make up flavored oils or powdered items in a canning jar along with a recipe and instructions. I've seen this done with cookies and with soup mix.

Good luck.

[justlearning]

As others have suggested, I think a framed picture is a nice gift for both DH and other relatives. (Your parents will love that 8x10!) I just bought this box of 10 frames of various sizes from Target that sells for $20 with free shipping: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=8-2/qid=1068052048/ref=sr_8_2/602-5951376-1790214?asin=B00007IP5Q The set includes one 8x10" frame, four 5x7" frames, three 4x6", and two 2-1/2x3-1/2".

My plan is to try to have a little fun with it and paint the frames and then use a paint pen to personalize them with titles on the bottom like "Ethan's 1st Christmas" or "Ethan and Grandma," etc. I figured they'd be cute little gifts for around $2 each.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

how do you do the foot for the head? Toes up or toes down? I can't picture it, but this sounds cute!

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Momof3Labs]

We do lots of homemade gifts in our family. This year, I am ordering Shrinky Dinks that you can use in the laser printer, and am making ornaments out of pictures of Colin. Luggage tags and key chains would work too.

Last year, we took a whole roll of black and white film of Colin's body parts and framed them, like in photo 21 of his album:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/momof3labs/lst?.dir=/BabyZ&.view=t

We did a custom frame, but you can get collage frames fairly cheap at Target and Kohl's; with film and developing, it would be under $25, and if you make one for a few different family members (grandparents love these), the cost goes down because you only pay for the extra frames and copies of the photos you choose.

[amp]

Lori - I thought that was you who did the collage. I mentioned it above (your name at least, but not your screenname). I'm still planning to *borrow* this idea from you. I just got the black and white film and had DH teach me how to use the big camera that will let me focus on DS's body close up. Such a great idea!

[Momof3Labs]

Oops, yes, sorry Andrea, I missed that you mentioned this! Oh, well, it was a chance to show it off again :-).

And don't worrying about "borrowing" the idea - you can outright steal it, 'cause that's what we did!

[C99]

FYI, we just had black and white photos done and this is one of the major sellers for them: http://www.classickids.net/images/babyparts.jpg It seems to be a popular choice for early baby photos as I've seen it elsewhere as well.

[justlearning]

The collage is such a wonderful idea! I love the way the pictures were shot and Colin is such a beautiful baby. Now I'm going to try to do this with DS--thanks for the example.

[Jen in Chicago]

You put this on my homemade gift ideas post and I am working on it now! I found a great frame for 9 pictures at Costco that will go with perfect in Grandma's house. It will be her birthday picture. Thanks!

[JulieL]

Here is an idea that I am doing for my DH for our 5th anniversary:

I have always kept a journal. Although not as well I would have liked. But I went through them and marked entries that I wanted to share with my DH. I am going to take pictures of every place we have lived together. Then in a binder/scrapbook I am going to place the pictures and write down my entries pertaining to that time in our lives. Then I am also going add my additional memories there as well. If you don't keep a journal you could do a different variation. As it is going to be our 5th anniversary I have really been thinking about our wonderful marriage and want to share my thoughts to my DH. This can be done as expensive or cheaply as you want.

[flagger]

I just want to say that we too have an agreement not to exchange gifts. Ms. Flagger would be very upset if I got her something for the holidays when we have this agreement. Doing something like that could make hubby very uncomfortable if he doesn't get you anything.

Just something to think about.

[khakismom]

I love this!! I am totally going to do this for both my kids this year--one for us and one definitely for my parents. Now I need to find some cool frames. What an awesome idea! Thanks guys!! :)

[elvisfan]

The gift ideas you have been offered are awesome:) We are having a frugal Christmas, too...
I also wanted to add something-I think many of us get a little out of control at Christmas with all the buying that we do. We try to outdo everyone because a)Maybe we as children did not get a lot of gifts or b)We feel compelled to buy really extravagant gifts for others because they buy for us....the reasons go on and on. \
I just want to say this-and I'm not trying to shove religion down anyone's throat but...
"Christmas is Jesus's birthday......not ours"
JMHO

[amp]

Lori - Don't apologize! I'm glad you saw this and posted a link to your collage. I mentioned it because it was such a good idea, but I didn't have the link (because I printed it the other time you posted the link ;-) ). It's a super idea. I started taking pictures today, but I don't think I'm getting exactly the shots I want. DS won't hold still and the camera (even the big manual one) doesn't want to focus as close as I want. I'll have to pull out the lens that zooms even more.

[JulieL]

I agree. Thank you for bringing that up!:)

[JulieL]

She said they weren't buying each other a gift not that they couldn't make each other a gift. Saying I love you shouldn't make the person you love uncomfortable.

Just something else to thing about.

[SASM]

Lori,

OMG...The photos look so professional! How beautiful is your Colin :) I LOVE this idea!!! THANK YOU! :) I was trying to find the post about homemade gifts, as mentioned above, but my computer booted me off mid-search. Thank you so much for posting this and your beautiful example. This will be for ME first, then relatives come second!!!! :) YEAH!

Oh...I hope that ths will not turn out like my endless quest for the perfect announcement photo that never happened :( I soooo want it to turn out like yours.

[SASM]

Julie,

This is such a beautiful idea :) During our 5.5 years of marriage, we have lived at seven different addresses, spanning 5 cities and 2 states :( Not an option for me, but I LOVE the basic idea :) Thank you!

[SASM]

Paula,

That was so sweet ~ and NOT a cop-out gift! Wow... :)

[SASM]

I am trying to figure this out, too. Sounds very cute and crafty :)

[jubilee]

I too am doing the "coupon" idea with coupons for favorite dinners (a full roasted turkey dinner and all the trimmings is his favorite) and special cookies... things that are normally too time consuming for me to do, but as a gift I am happy to do them. It's just to show him that I value him,