Hello moms! I am rather aching for money right now, and yet it seems to be everyone's birthday. From kids to adults! Males and females. I was hoping you all could swamp me with easy, cheap, but still nice craft ideas for presents. I have made boo boo bunnies, dammit dolls, and some bracelets, but I would really like more. My materials are rather limited. I have tissue paper, glue, beads, left over white clothes boxes from birthdays and christmas, some cloth, needle and thread, buttons, some little velcro circles, fishing line, tin foil, and wallpaper. That's pretty much it, though ideas with other things are appreciated as well. My biggest problem is coming up with things for adult males. Like in the 20 - 25ish age range. Thank you so much for all your help!
**** Lots of people were saying cooking things, which would be great... if they were local. >.< But most are rather far away. I will be mailing gifts.
Well, thanks for the advice. I do appreciate those of you who took the time to respond. I continued making the gifts. I have someone who mails stuff off for me for free, so that wasn't an issue. And while I am aware that gifts aren't always needed, I really wanted to do it, hence the request. I found some great things on the duct tape site, and I made more dolls, paper flowers, teddy bears (one very special one out of my baby blanket), home made cards (accordion ones using wallpaper are awesome), I printed off old special emails and made special memory journals, I did journals in a jar, sun catchers, made pillows out of old t-shirts, and even did some lava lamps and nifty stuff like that. Thank you guys for taking the time to read and respond. It was very appreciated!
The idea that comes to mind is a somewhat "manly" craft, like something made out of duct tape... I've seen some really cool duct tape wallets and more. Here's a link to instructions and it has more links at the bottom of the page. Good luck!
http://www.rpi-polymath.com/ducttape/index.php
Hi A., I have to say I agree with Peggy. Sometimes we just can't, for whatever reason, send gifts for every birthday. My children are all grown with children of their own, and so to send a gift to just all of them would involve over 30 gifts(excluding my own siblings), and that is just birthdays. I tend to concentrate on gifts for Christmas, especially for the children and send cards and even E-Cards for birthdays. They are cheaper to mail, also, and you can get some really neat free E-Cards, so not even the mailing cost. Or, maybe using some of the materials you have you could make the cards, even more special. Especially if they are for fond uncles or grandparents, have your two year old put in his bit. Believe me, grandparents value anything sent by a grandchild. My 8 year old grandson sent me a card (printed paper) saying "Happy Thanksgiving" on the front, which he colored with varied stripes. Inside he wrote "I love you Grandma" It is hanging above my desk this very moment and my daughter will probably find it there when I die. Your son isn't so old, but even a two year old loves coloring or painting a "picture". It really is true, it is the thought that counts. Just relax and enjoy those babies. G. F.
Hey A.,
Not sure if this is going to help, but every city has a freecycle site, at these sites in your city and state you can request items people are throwing out or getting rid of. You may want to go to this site and ask for any crafts people may have laying around and want to get rid of. Never ever meet these people alone and always in a public place for your safty. Anyways, here is the site, please read up on it. www.freecycle.org
when you get there look and find your city and state.
Welcome! The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,233 groups with 4,444,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!
Hi A., I'm not much of a crafter but you can check on DIY.com they have some crafts listed......Hope you find something that will work for you.
I use to do the gift thing all the time until I had children. Now I send a card or even better an email card! That way they know you are still thinking about them!
Please do check out my website for very affordable gifts, I personalize too!
It seems as if you have always sent gifts, but sometimes you just cant. And this seems to be one of them. The cost of mailing can be sky high and more if lots of weight!
Im sure your family and friends would understand you not sending anything big, as just a card w/ some heartfelt thoughts or a funny memory would go a lot futher than some crafy gift. Unless its done by kids for parents or in laws..different situation all together.
I hope this helps.. I can say that the card my Aunt gave me on my wedding day and the words there in are still a cerished 'gift' I have kept.
Good Luck and best wishes for an easier year.
My honest, if harsh, opinion is that your children come first. If your adult family members cannot understand that it taxes your household in a bad way to supply people with material things, then maybe they need a lesson in family loving! Send a small card, write a story about you guys that they may not remember. I always collect little things from nature from different trips and then you can add them a along with the story...
My family stopped with the grown up gifts quite some time ago. The kids are the ones who count the most! Take care of your immediate people!!
Hi, My husband is 23. For fathers day we made him a hat holder using a paint stick from Lowes(free) and two clothes pins. We decorated with his favoritte hobby stickers and put string on it so we could hang it from the wall. My girls painted it.
For Christmas we gave him a box, empty wrapped beatufully with ribbon and put a poem on the outside in an envelope.
It read: "We took an ordinary box as empty as can be. We filled it with a special gift and wrapped it carefully. But please don't even open it, just leave the ribbon tied and hold it tightly near your heart because my loves for you inside!."
These were the 2 greatest gifts my husbands ever gotten. I hope it helps
One thing that has been cute (and easy) for me is to make a flower pot of brownies. Sounds weird, but it looks really cute. Here's what you need: cheap flower pot, brownie mix, fake flowers, markers/pens/stickers to decorate the flower pot. Line the flower pot with something (e.g., saran wrap, wax paper) after you decorate it (write Happy Birthday or something if you're hurting for creativity :). Bake some brownies and put them in as the "dirt". Place the fake flowers in the middle of the brownies, so it looks like they are "growing" in the "dirt" and voila! A fun present! If you want to do it for a child, add gummy worms in the "dirt"...just make sure not to leave it in a hot area.
Definitely make some "man" meals. If nothing else, make a cheap bowl of tailgating dip and give it to the guys for the next big game. Cheese is cheap and so is an off brand of rotel tomato mix!
How about lunch gift certificates. You can get Arby's, McDonald's, etc.. any amount of money. I usually just put 1 or 2 $5 amounts in a card. Most of us just appreciate the thought!
Maybe a home cooked meal!
Have you thought about making a coupon booklet for them? http://www.youthonline.ca/coupons/ This is a great website and all it takes is selecting which ones you want to print, some printer paper & a stapler. I did this one year for my kids for Valentine's Day & they LOVED it, especially the 'breakfast in bed'. Another resource is http://familycrafts.about.com/od/coupons/a/couponbw.htm
There are probably blank ones you can fill in with whatever you'd like. For instance, one homecooked meal (48 hours notice required) or Free Carwash..something you'd think the 20-something guys would like.Make it something that wouldn't strap you but could be extended to include them, Movie Night at your House or Game Night, their choice of game...
Hope you figure something out, you're very sweet to want to do something for them all. Often things from our hearts or homemade go over better than anything Macy's has to offer right?
