In 2009, my friends & I went  frugal on the gift giving– not necessarily giftless, because it sucked the fun out of what we wanted to do – and gave ourselves a budget of $5 for the supplies we needed. Then we set out & made each other crafts.

Crafting

Crafts are fun and relatively easy. It doesn’t have to end up looking like a preschooler made it.

Crafts could be anything from making & painting your own picture frame, to creating a little scrapbook for the person, to making jewelry, wreaths, throw cushions (if you know how to sew), or soaps and body scrubs.

I made earrings with sterling silver & semi precious stones. I Googled a how-to, went to the nearest beading store, bought the (surprisingly inexpensive) supplies, & set off to work. They looked amazing so I made a pair for my mom & MIL as well.

When crafting something you’ve never done before, I urge you to use Google or Youtube to find out how to do the craft.

The best part about crafting, is that it can be a social thing! My friends & I got together with our supplies and some rum and eggnog, put some Christmas tunes on, and had fun!

You can comment or email me if you need any ideas, but this year I’m getting a ton of ideas from Pinterest (add_vodka, yo!)

Swap

The year before crafting, my friends & I decided to do a swap Christmas party. We all went into our closets, found some things that were nice and in good condition but we just didn’t wear anymore (around 5-10 items, as there were 5 of us), packed them up & brought them to a mutual friends house. We made appies, had some rum and eggnog (reoccurring theme), and spread everything out for people to “shop” from. We then made a game where whoever won – whoever could name 5 Christmas songs first, or whoever knew all the lyrics to one, etc – would get to pick an item first.
This is a great idea only if you have similar sizes as your friends (we all did) and similar tastes.

It was fun because, sometimes, with my group, we’d buy things on sale and never ever wear them, yet our friends could find something that we wouldn’t wear, that they’d wear all the time. This would work well with friends, but not necessarily family.

CDs

I have to accredit this one to my brother. A few years ago when he was broke, he still wanted to get us all gifts. He looked at his Itunes, looked at his friends’ Itunes & CD & DVD collection, & burnt us all CD’s & DVD’s that we didn’t already have.

This was great because a) it’s already been bought, so you’re not doing the artist any disservice and b) it’s free! Plus, its very personal.

This is legal in Canada, though I’m not sure about the States. I know you guys have pretty strict laws on piracy, & I’m not even sure if this counts as piracy, unless you download the stuff.

Photoshop

People love photos of their family and friends. I found this one on the internet, and there are many photoshop tutorials around. I did this for my mom last year.

I went and found a great photo of her dog that she didn’t have already in her house.

I logged onto photoshop – if you don’t have it, download a trial or use your friends – and got to work.

I made it so the dogs red collar stood out on the black & white photo. Her decor colour is red, so it looks fantastic, & it was super easy. Then, I’ll go & send it to Walmart to get printed out for $.20.

I’ll put it in her card so she can put it in her favourite picture frame at home. It was an almost free gift.

Volunteer

For a truly giftless Christmas, I would recommend volunteering at your favorite charity on Christmas day or Christmas eve. I know it is very cliche, and something I am sure everyone has heard before. But it’s a good idea to get your mind off of your giftless Christmas, and you’re really giving a gift to others. Salvation Army is a great cause around Christmas, and I’m sure they could really use the help.

Charities

If the reason you’re doing a giftless Christmas is not because of money – maybe you just want to celebrate in a different way in which consumerism doesn’t dominate, charities are the best.

I’ve wanted to do this for years, where we all donate x amount to each others favorite charities, or, if we don’t know each others favorite charities, charities that we believe the other person may be interested in.

Could you imagine the nice feeling you’d get knowing that your giving your gifts, which you really don’t need, to something bigger than you? To a child in a third world country, or to a women’s shelter?

I’d love for somebody to sponsor a woman in India, Africa, or the Middle East for me in lieu of a gift. I’d love to know that, because I “gave up” something I didn’t really need in the first place, a woman got to go to school, or educate her children, or start a small business, or move her family to a safer area.

Bake-off

When I asked about a giftless Christmas on my blog earlier this month, somebody emailed me about a new family tradition where they did a bake-off.

Their family would get together, & everyone either had to bake or cook something, & they all had fun sharing the food & comparing, etc.

Then everyone got to take home leftovers.

Just Stockings

My family decided, that instead of a 100% giftless Christmas, we’d do just stockings. We’d all get a stocking, & everyone else would put one thing in the stocking. It had to be under $10 (or a couple things for $5, etc). I gave lottery tickets, and assorted things for the rest of the fam. It keeps the cost down, since I have 6 people to buy for, that’s only $60. That, I can do.

What do you do to keep your holiday costs down?

8 Gift and Holiday Ideas to Keep Your Costs Down is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.