Holidays with No $$$ to Spend

Last year my MIL was on a tight budget. My kids were 9 and 5 and really into playing teacher. She went to the dollar store and bought them all kinds of things to set up their rooms like a classroom. Markers, crayons, coloring books, ruler, alphabet, bulletin board stuff.....THEY LOVED IT. They had a lot to open and she said it was the most inexpensive Christmas ever. Plus being with her is always a plus. The kids were happy, we were happy and it was a great holiday. You don't have to be cheap to buy less expensive things that people will like. The bargains are out there, you just need to search.

my MIL was on a very limited budget. She like to make gifts for the grandkids. She made crocheted afghans & tied fleece blankets. But here's the kicker: at the time of her death, she had 14 grandkids & 7 g.grands. When she began the process of making gifts, she told the family that she could not physically make for all in one year. She began with the oldest & worked her way thru the kids.....& it was an honor to finally receive that special Grandma gift. The older kids totally understood her limitations & it helped that she always had a little gift for the young ones....always something from the $ store.

Another idea would be: how about starting a new tradition? We play the Dice Game with that side of the family. Each family kicks in a handful of $ gifts & the kids have a blast playing the game! It really takes the focus off of gift-giving & swings it around to having fun & playing games!

Here’s what I do = A few years ago my Mom called me and admitted that her and my step-dad were having a lot of financial difficulty. It was hard for her to admit but she swallowed her pride and was honest about it. That year without hesitation I told my Mom I would buy a toy for each grandchild and put her name on it. Then I suggested she bake them this dessert that had been in our family for years and wrap it up for each child with a special note from grandma.

Since we have done that every year and this will be the 4th year we will do the same thing. I’ll buy the toys and put my Mom’s name on it. Our kids don’t get a lot of toys just a few that they REALLY want so one of the most wanted comes from my Mom =-)

The toy that each child gets is nice but what makes it really special to me is the huge smile on my Mom’s face as she hands the toys to her grandchildren and the enormous hugs they give her. It makes me feel good to do it too. The yummy desserts are always a HUGE hit!!

Are your children and grandchildren all close to you -nearby? If so, have a special get-together or outing if you can afford it -or arrange it and have everyone buy their own ticket (maybe you'll buy the grandkid's tickets). If you have a party at your house, buy fun little things from the dollar store to give them or have an ornament making party with inexpensive stuff from Oriental Trading. You could have the grandkids use bakeable modeling clay (pretty cheap at crafts stores) to make handprints and bake in your oven and then paint them, frame them or something as gifts to their parents.

With 4 grown boys and grandkids, they probably all have some dish of yours that's a favorite. You could cook each of their favorite foods over the month of December and take it to them on different days.

Bottom line -let your kids know you don't have much $$$ this year, but that you want all of you to get together and enjoy some good food and good times. If you want to get gifts for the grandkids, let your adult children know that you'll only be getting them gifts and not the grown ups. If my MIL was in this situation or my Dad, I wouldn't have any kind of problem with that!

Children - young and grown LOVE a baggie of homemade cookies. It doesn't matter if there are just a couple in the bag or more. Either bake or buy some from a local grocery store bakery and fix them a goodie bag. It will be a gift from your heart and they will love it dearly. If you include a note to them about when they were babies or how they've touched your life would be a wonderful keepsake. My dad once gave me a personal note and if was the best gift from him I ever received!

What about getting personalized tree ornaments? My Aunt used to do this, and my son just LOVED it! You can find some really cute ones with good deals at lillianvernon.com or Orientaltrading.com

Another thought is a ton of cookies baked with love!

Write them each a letter telling them a funning story about their parent, or about how your felt the day your heard they were coming, etc.

Create a family recipe book.

personalcreations.com is another great place to get ornaments. My MIL got the Angel Bell ornaments when our son was born, including other things. It took 3 years to finally order early enough so we could get some with our daughters name. =)

In the past I've made home made trivets with a cheap picture frame, wine corks, and hot glue.

This year my mom and her husband are coming down for Thanksgiving and we offered to pay for gas for my dad so he can come down for Christmas. We'd rather have them here for a holiday, that is the gift, we don't need presents, just love and family together. =)

Hi,

Your question is a little broad.
As far as what to do about money you can always find temporary employment in dept. stores as they hire more people prior to the holidays.
This would help in paying for any presents you wish to buy/make for
your children/grandchildren, or even in hosting and celebrating the holidays.
If you do wish to get good deals on presents I suggest going out into the madness on Black Friday when you can buy toys and other presents at a more affordable price. I am a thrift shopper, I'm not sure what kind of stores you have in the area, but as far as buying food for the holidays it is always best to shop last minute when everything becomes discounted so it would not be left on the shelves. There is always an option of selling something valuable you can do without on craigslist or ebay to boost your budget.
Not sure this is exactly what you wanted to know as far as holidays on a budget, but I hope you can find some of it helpful.

Also I know you can find some free or discounted tickets at your local library to enjoy an outing with your family.

And babysitting coupons are also awesome, believe me, my mom is far away in another country by choice. I think the greatest gift from grandparents and parents is just being there for your kids and grandkids.

Since you are only dealing with grandchildren, I think it will be a little easier. Your GROWN children should be able to understand and should not be looking for anything from you. With the grandkids; make each a coupon book. Take some colored paper and write out coupons like "A Day Gardening with Grandma". "A Day WHere You Control The Remote Control of the TV" (meaning the kid); A Day where thy control the radio station in the car. A Scavenger Hunt with Grandma. A Day to McDOnalds with Grandma solo.... You get the idea. Kids even teenagers love these. Most time the kids treasure alone time with adults especially when it is an adult they have to share with other kids. You can do a day where Grandma takes you and only you to school. Grandma takes you to your dance class. Grandma takes you to the beach/park or any of those "free" places. That gives them a gift that gives the whole year. Make the books really cute and fancy. Even take your sewing machine without the thread and let the needle perforate the paper, so that the coupon can be removed like in a book of raffle tickets. Make the cover of some type of hard material and you can even place a picture of you and each kid or of the kid themselves on the front. Or make the cover with personal likes of the kids. I hope this idea helps. I love helping people come up with ideas like this; so message me if you want. I even plan birthday and graduation parties for all of my friends kids for free because I enjoy creating ideas of the such. Good Luck!

Potluck your holiday- it works well and saves money. Also for gifts, many times thrift stores have new/unused items that are a lot cheaper than dept. stores. You can find gifts if you do a little searching. Celebrate your family and being together- everything else is just stuff. Good luck!

M

How about buying a gift card for dinner and one for a movie for everyone? It would be a fun night out for everyone to share the gift!!

Do your children and grandchildren live close enough for you to offer a night of babysitting? Seriously... you could offer a Night (or weekend) with Grandma. Mom & Dad get some time alone and you get alone time with the kiddos. Rent movies, order pizza, bake, make crafts, let them stay up late and spoil them with your time and attention for the day(s) you have them!

You could also talk with your grown children (and their spouses) about not exchanging adult gifts and focus on the kids. Children's toys and books/clothes are less expensive. If you cut out the 8 adults you can literally cut your budget in half. You may be surprised to find them relieved to cut their spending too!

You know what i'm considering not going all out this Christmas with my in laws or my parents...I see gifts not being used (Yankee candles~photo holders~just a few items that I have purchased in the past)I feel they are wasting my $$$ I have always used a gift or put it up,as my decor changes i'll store it away if it's not needed any more i'll donate.
I'am going to make photo coasters this time for my MIL & parents it's easy to do less than $20.00 in supplies & I can make as many as I want to my 1st batch is for myself as a trail & error..It came off www.FrugalGirls.com
Buy something for just the grandkids my mom usually buys a $20.00 toy then the rest is clothing,shoes,winter coat,socks,undies,smaller toys,stocking stuffers tooth brush,DVD...
I'm so glad you wrote this it'll give me more ideas from the other posters.As far as i'm concerned if my kiddos are covered my 3 nephews i'm good hubby has 3 nieces that are preteen & buying for them is impossible so a $10.00 handed to them is what i'm doing no need to worry about my $ going down the drain.
Memories with the grandkids is more important than gifts...

A lot of people think that you have to go way out and spend lots of money at Christmastime. I don't think it is necessary to spend so much money...I think you can get by with spending little. How old are your grandchildren? If they are young, you can find inexpensive toys $5-$10...it doesn't have to be much, it is the thought and young children don't care; they just love opening gifts and being surprised by something new. Think about what your budget would be and go from there.
In my family, there are 6 children between my dad and stepmom, and 8 grandchildren. We brothers and sisters just buy for the children and enjoy watching them open gifts Christmas night after eating Christmas dinner. It is too expensive for all of us to buy for each other, and you don't always know what to get each other anyway. My dad and stepmom get something for the children and spouses, but they are small gifts; and they get something for the grands. And we buy our parents something. But we really don't have to even do that, if you don't think you can. You could just talk to your sons and decide to just buy for the kids, or something like that. Remember, the joy comes from the time you have together and the memories you make. I hope this helps.

My MIL always has gifts for my daughters and takes them shopping for their birthdays. My mom plays games, bakes and does crafts with my daughters. Guess which one they're closer to? If you have time to spend with your grandchildren, do it-- I guarantee they will eventually forget about all the little trinkets they got over the years, but they will never forget sitting down with you and playing or creating something. (My grandmother always taught me new card games. While I truly love both of my grandmothers, I'm closer with my card-playing grandma because I know who she is as a person and what she has been through in her life.)