I am in total desperation as of what to do. We haven`t had one of the best years; so far it has been one of the hardest. We have had constant money problems just one thing after another ,huge problems. I know it`s been a tough year financially for a lot of people;but it`s been unbelievabe for the last sixteen years. I love to give and lately it is even hard to buy for our one daughter. Ihave made myself emotinally sick over the holiday. I just need some ideas for family members. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Ihave never cried so much as the last few days .I hope what I wrote makes sense. I am so distraught Ican`t even think anymore.
Iwould like to personally thank every one of you for taking the time to give me some wonderful ideas for Christmas. I really appreciate the time you`ve taken during this busy and joyous time of the year. Idecided to start baking some goodies as gifts and Iwas in the middle of mixing a batch of cookies when I discovered bugs in my flour; and than my husband checked our online bank account and we were overdrawn. .we are so careful and of all times of the year; we had to be overdrawn. I am walking around in circles. This overdraft this week has taken all of our Christmas and grocery money. Idon`t mean to feel sorry for myself; Iusually can roll with whatever happens;but this is a living nightmare this week. I hate banks they take theirs over a couple of dollars overdrawn and they don`t care what happens to you. We have had hundreds of dollars taken from our account this last week. Ilove the holidays for what they are and I never ask my husband for anything . I like to buy for everyone else. Ifeel like crawling in a hole and staying there until everything is over. The look on my husbands` face is so sad. He was born with kind of slow moving hands and he works so hard. I feel like such a failure this season. I`mhaving my sisters holiday nightmare,she has every year; it`s a couple of days before Christmas and she hasn`t baked, shopped or wrapped anything. I`M SORRY I`m sounding so negative to all of you wonderful people out there; you have your own worries and family to take care of; it`s just that we have been on only one vacation in the time we have been married and Christmas is it for us. Blessings to each and everyone of you. Thank you for listening to me and giving me a chance to sound off.
Hi, I'm sorry you are having such a hard time this year. I know it's really late but I have a ton of ideas on my Christmas Theme pages on my daycare website. Recipes and arts and crafts and gift ideas. Maybe you can find something useful there for little or no money. http://stepbystepcc.com/holidays/christmas.html Good luck to you!
J.
I'm so sorry to hear about your trouble- this time of year is so overwhelming anyway and financial difficulties make it even harder. I agree with the other ladies that you should make your gift giving list as small as possible- people understand and this time of year is about alot more than spending money.
If you want to have something to give- think about homemade gifts- do you bake? I gave spiced pecans to my aunts and uncles for the past 2 years and they were such a big hit. Or there are alot of inexpensive cocoa or cookie mixes you can make to give. Or if it is a close friend or relative maybe even taking the time to write them a letter about what they mean to you would be a gift truly from the heart.
As for your daughter- so many things for teens are so expensive- but again think about giving of yourself- what about a little manicure kit and a bottle of nailpolish- along with a cupon redeemable for an afternoon of girly pampering with mom. If shes not into that- think of what she does love and if you can incorporate that somehow. You also might want to check your local goodwill store for great deals- alot of the things you can find are like new- or even new- clothes, accessories- purses, belts, etc for just a few dollars a piece. Or our dollar store has a great selection of jewlery- trendy cute stuff for only a dollar a piece.
There are alot of ways to make the holidays special and be thrifty at the same time- I hope I helped. Best of luck- and try to relax and enjoy this special time of year.
God Bless you. I was in your situation last year. I think you need to forego all gifts to other family members outside your husband & your daughter. Or atleast most of them. I know that's hard to even consider especially since you sound like a very giving, caring person. However, if they know what you've gone through this year, they will understand. Hang in there. It WILL get better. Happy Holidays.
Often times around the holidays when money is short, I make gifts for friends and family at a very good cost. And you don't have to be really crafty. I'm not especially craft, but I'm resourceful. I have a couple of sites I use, but you can google search or yahoo search for "homemade gifts" or "inexpensive homemade gifts" and it'll bring up many sites for you to explore and use. This year for my co-workers, I put together a small gift for each of them for less than $3 each. I went to the nearby dollar tree-type store and purchased plastic mixing spatulas and Christmas dish towels. Then, I went to Kroger and bought enough packages of the $.80 muffin mix for everyone. I wrapped each muffin mix in the dish towel, tied with a ribbon, and attatched the spatula to the outside with a candy cane and a card. Everyone LOVED them, and it made me feel GREAT to bring joy to their lives. And it didn't cost me a lot of money.
I hope your financial issues resolve soon, and you can get through this rough year and begin the new year with better luck, and prosperity. Merry Christmas and good luck.
S.
I agree with the other respondent. Limit your gift-giving to your core family. Everyone else will understand. If they don't understand, then they don't deserve a gift anyway - ha ha!
I've been there too. I lost my job shortly before Christmas one year, and was going through an expensive divorce another year. Now I'm a single mom who doesn't get any financial support from my ex-husband, so money is still tight, but it's gradually getting better.
You're not alone. Remember that Christmas is about being with family; it's not about the expensive gifts.
God bless you, and have a Merry Christmas!
D.,
Have you tried some of the schools or churches sometimes
they will help around Christmas time.They will give food
plus presents and gift cards.sounds like you are having
a rough year I feel for you because my husband lost his
job that he had for ten years and had to get a job and start all over.There is also a resale store called Plato
Closet the specilizing in teenagers.Hop that helps good luck.
C.
D.,
Just remember what Christmas is all about. Family, Love, Peace. Sometimes giving gifts just isnt in the budget. But dont let that ruin this wonderful time of year. Having children also makes it hard to buy for everyone else even if you were not in a financial strain. We have told family members in the past to just buy for our children and not for us because we are not buying for anyone else. Its not selfish to decide not to go into debt to buy gifts for others when you cant afford it. People will understand. But if you are determined to give them something... this is a great idea and its a memory that you can share with your daughter. Target has these adorable little paper bag sacks in their wrapping paper section. They are 25 cents each.. (and I think they are on sale for even less now). Buy one for each of your family members. Then you and your daughter sit down and pick out two christmas cookie recipes. Make the cookies and put them in the bags and tie a ribbon around it! Or take large marshmallows and dip half of them in melted chocolate and then roll them in crushed pepermints, or nuts, or coconut. THey look beautiful and are delish! Put them in a really inexpensive canning jar, tie a red ribbon around the top and tie a pretty ornament to that. Its creative, your daughter can help, and you made it yourself, which I feel is the best kind of gifts! Plus you can make a lot for very little money!
Whatever you decide just remember that this should be a time to try and forget all the hard times you had this year and be thankful for what you do have. Good luck to you and Merry Merry Christmas!!
One of my favorite ideas for relatives is a recipe book--- just get a 3 ring binder and some plastic sleeves, and print off some favorite recipes you've collected over the years. Organize it into categories. Decorate it to make it personal to the person, and include some extra plastic sleeves so they can add their own recipes later... It may even become an annual thing as people add their favorites and maybe even some stories about where each recipe came from.
Extra cheap if you do it for a few people, because then you can buy the sleeves & binders in bulk.
If you don't have a printer, you can also make nice books by getting photo albums at the dollar store with individual pockets for each photo, and handwrite the recipes on index cards. With this one, you can always include photos (if you have them)of whomever the recipe originated from, or people making or eating the recipe
A great last minute gift is to put the dry ingredients for brownies or cookies in a canning jar and tie with a pretty ribbon. Add a list of the ingredients and what they need to add to make the brownies - egg, oil, water, milk, etc. and you have a cute, inexpensive gift that everyone will like. Plus, you and your daughter can work together to make them, decorate, etc. I made these for my family this year, and even my 2-yr.old son liked dumping the ingred. in the jar and putting the ribbons on.
Hope your situation improves and you and your family have a Merry Christmas!
I went to Micheal's craft store and found wood picture frames for $1 a piece. I bought some different color paint, some brushes and let my son have at it with his painting. We added glitter and such to some, and they have other things you can buy to add to it. Then I got some fabric puffy paint, one color that goes with all the colors, and I wrote a little saying or something on each frame for each individual person. Like for my son's dad we wrote "I Love My Daddy" on it. For my brother it said "Bubba CoolWhip & ShootCat" (nick names my 23 y/o brother and 4y/o son have for each other.) It was less than $20 for all 10 people and turned out very personalible.
My mom adopted a family this year. At the last minute a senior girl in high school was added, she wanted a memory book for high school. It was too late to get her THE high school memory book, so my mom and I searched all the walmarts, micheals, hobby lobby, dollar stores, walgreens...everywhere...and found different stickers, scrapbook page kits, a black book with the word memory on it, markers and such for like $50. (We actually were able to get her a lot of cool stuff for that amount.)
If she's into clothes find a store like Plato's Closet that sells the gentle used clothes. They are name brands at very very good prices.
I know when I was a teen there was always one thing I really wanted each year, changing from year to year, and that if I got that nothing else really mattered. Does she have something like this? Is there a way you could get her just that one thing? Or like the scrapbook exam something very similar? Best of luck to you this holiday season!
We have found that almost everyone is begging for the gifts that we make that costs just a little. Every year, I go on Microsoft website and download the calendar for that year, generally the wall calendar. Then I put in Birthdays and Anniversary's along with the major holidays and holidays that our families and friends celebrate. Then we take the pictures of the kids/grandkids/great grandkids/nieces/nephews, etc (depending on who we are giving it to) and each month has a different picture. Then we print it out on the HP printer using the best draft. Then once we print the calendar, I use a little hole punch(I use a heart shaped one) and put holes so I can then use colorful string and string them through the holes and tie a bow at each hole.
In fact, my dad and step-mom, say that is all they really want from us. She loves having the dates, and they both love the pictures. Now I do use the picture quality paper for the pictures and slightly harder stock for the calendar to not make it so flimsy, but you could go without the picture paper, works on the regular paper too. I use the picture paper, so after the months over, if they really like the picture they can frame it. Another thing you can do for those that you by for, is make cookies, brownies, etc, put them in those holiday looking containers.
Have a great Christmas and hope this helps.
T.
Hi, D. --
I hope you were able to enjoy the simple pleasures of the season. It sounds like you have really been beset by trying circumstances. I just wanted to say that, just from reading what you wrote, I can tell that YOU are a gift to the people who know you, and especially to your daughter.
Teaching kids how to focus on what they HAVE in life -- health, love, friends -- and find contentment even in the absence of material prosperity is a major challenge. But your daughter is going to prosper most from seeing the love you have for her and from the example of how you embrace life. Please don't feel bad for not being able to buy and do. You'll get through this time. People who love you don't care what you can give them but what kind of a gift YOU are to them.
Take care,
H.
I love recieving photos of family members as a gift. If you have some photos around the house (old ones are really fun too) maybe you could make some cardboard frames and cover them with fabric (you could even cut up an old shirt or something) or you can usually get frames really cheap at thrift stores or Dollar stores which you could decorate or leave as is. Or how about coupons for things like babysitting, cooking or having someone over for lunch or dinner.
Contact your local churches as many have free food and gift programs for the holidays.
Hope things look up for you soon and may your holidays be merry!
Hi Debbie,
I know you already have received a lot of great responses that I personally have enjoyed reading. Since you are overdrawn to the point of not being able to buy ANYTHING, perhaps it is a time to take a look around your house and really GIVE something new. Do you have a sewing machine? Old scraps of clothing that you keep more for memorabilia than for the fact that you wear them? Maybe you could convert those into a neat patchwork pillow...Even if you don't have stuffing, you could make stuffing with something else like rice/corn/buckwheat/millet.
Other ideas:
What about revamping something that you have kicking around the house and adding that personal touch? Perhaps it is time to give your daughter something that is special to you that she can keep as a keepsake (special jewelry you own?).
OR,
You could make a IOU gift booklet - for things that she is always wanting you to do that you only want to do sometimes. Like eat pizza for dinner or, take her and her friends to the movies AND pay for popcorn, or, allowing her to have a sleepover with her 3 best friends ... etc. You simply write up different fun things that she can "collect" on separately at different times and then she has ultimate say over when she wants to take you up on the offer. You can even write in fun things like "This gift card is good for ONE GIGANTIC HUG!" or
"This gift card gets you out of doing the dishes one night."
"This gift card is good for one mama-to-daughter heart-to-heart chat where you can ask me anything and I promise I will answer truthfully and/or won't be mad about what you ask."
etc.
Totally free but probably fun for your daughter to receive.
good luck.
