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That horribly saccharine season of gift-giving is coming up, and it's time to start thinking about what to get your loved ones!

Since I'm just barely scraping by money-wise (and I'm sure a lot of you guys are too) I thought we could discuss some frugal ways to show our friends and family that we still love them, even though we're totally cheap! I know for a fact that there are a bunch of crafty creative types hanging around here, so let's all brainstorm and share ideas together! <3

If your parents are the sentimental type (Pronounced "hoarder") and hold on to every card you've ever given them, a tricky way to get a lot of thoughtfulness without a lot of cash is to steal all of the old cards, buy some poster board, and make a big card out of all the old smaller ones. Got me some use out of it on a Mother's Day once, worked fairly well. Granted that doesn't do much for friends, but if they're friends they know you're broke and they just need you instead of stuff.

That said, most liquor stores have those tiny bottles of alcohol behind the counter for like, a dollar or two. Just saying.

That's a pretty nifty! Adding to the tiny bottle of booze thing, while I was digging through pinterest for ideas I found a picture of a mason jar full of hot cocoa mix and marshmallows with a tiny bottle of Bailey's attached with a ribbon. I though that would be a cute idea, but unfortunately most of my family members are too young to drink/have serious health problems and SHOULDN'T be drinking (though I'm pretty sure they still do).

Bailey's. Ugh. Skip the Bailey's, hand them mason jars full of thr stuff. Or better yet, make pasta, wash out the sauce jars, and now you don't even have to buy mason jars to fill up! A Very Prego Christmas or whatever.

Whaaaat? Bailey's is the BEST. Or Carolans! They make coffee like ten times better! A mason jar full of hot chocolate mix would be the cheapiest of cheap gifts. xD

you could do brownies in a mason jar or coffee filter flower bouquets or uhmmm home made chocolates uhhhhh cookies. . . .perhaps. . . . hand made cards urm . . . i dunno D:

Handmade cards would be a cool idea! I have a lot of craft crap lying around going unused, and I have an unnaturally close relationship with my glue gun >]
Oh man, gluing fake poinsettias from the dollar store to a card! Brilliant!!

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend reading Hogfather. Death attempts to make a Hogswatch Day (Christmas) card and he can't get an actual bird to stay glued on to the card. It was not getting in to the spirit of things.

That's always a cheap route to go, and putting actual physical work in to it shows that you care, instead of some tiny thing that you give to everyone that is all really the same thing. And yeah, whoever mentioned cookies, do that.

Like, send me cookies.

Basically I just want cookies.

The oven in my apartment regularly butchers cookies. Otherwise, there'd be cookies all up in here. I'd kill for a snickerdoodle, and I'm the only person in the universe who knows how to make 'em right. (<--- Totally true)

My plan so far is to buy a bunch of tiny baskets and collect like 4 or 5 small, cheap things from shops in the area that are completely foreign to my home state and send them on home to my family. According to my calculations, that should end up costing less than a third of what it would cost to just send gift cards to everyone. (which is what I did last year, but apparently my whole family is totally offended by gift cards because they're impersonal, so they were super chilly with me when I called?? Like, you're welcome guys, I only had to break the bank to get you something, and only like two of you sent me gifts anyway!!)
/Frustrated rant

what poo poo heads.

Also.

We are from the same state soooo.

xD

You should totally like. . . give all of your Seattle friends finger steaks.

Oh yeah, I forgot that finger steaks were an Idaho thing! Same for fry sauce, kind of.
Only problem is that all of my Seattle friends are also my Idaho friends. And they live with me. =P

...Now I want finger steaks.

BF thinks we should start a food truck that sells finger steaks, fry sauce, and grilled peanut butter jelly sandwiches.

Add on Basque chorizos and I'll consider it.

ok we can make those too.

Sweet! Then the Rainbow Rumpus Partytruck project is under way! =D

I run my own Etsy store selling things I've made, mostly jewellery and and keyrings, but I always make something for my family every year because I'm flat broke and I have a big family, plus 3 birthdays (my mums, my baby brothers and my partners birthdays) within a month of the big day. This year I am going to be making home made luxury style chocolates (presented in mini wicker baskets) and jars of hot chocolate mixes (with the mini marshmallows) in their favourite flavours.For my nan I'll be making her a set of ankle chains to match the ones she commissioned me to make her in the summer, so she has all of the colours, not just a few. ^_^ I might make my sister another bracelet/necklace too this year depending on how much surplus materials I have left and how much time I have. ^_^;;