Readers Question: Practical Christmas Gift Ideas!
A reader emailed with this great question:
“With the holidays coming, can you or your readers please share some practical gift ideas that really get their kids excited? I really don’t want a houseful of toys this year, and would like to find some practical things that the kids can really appreciate?”
This is such a great topic to discuss! In the past, I’ve felt like some of the Christmas gifts I’ve purchased turn into junk right after being opened! My thinking is, even if you can snag a toy for next to nothing, it’s still NOT a good deal if it will be another item collecting dust!
With Christmas around the corner, lets help one another out with practical gift ideas! This will be a great topic to discuss. I’d also be interested to hear how many presents you purchase for each of your kids and what you think is a fair amount. And finally, if you have any frugal Christmas gift-giving traditions, I’m sure we’d all enjoy hearing about those too.
W don’t have kids, but my sisters 3 kids are spoiled rotten. I bring them to the mall and let them each pick a name off of the tree. These are kids that will not get anything for Christmas. Then we shop for them and wrap it up and bring it back to the mall. That is a lesson you can not buy anyone.
My boys are 12,16 and 21 and last year they just wanted money so I give them each $200 to put towards something that they would want. It was difficult to get used to the idea of no gifts under the tree but in the end it was much better than lots of little odds and ends. I will also fill a stocking for each with the stuff I’ve got from couponing. For my little ones from my in home daycare last year I made them each their own book with pictures of themselves. One of their favorite things to do is read books so I wrote them their own story by simply starting it out “You warm my heart when…” This is a treasured item still today so I will make it for them again this Christmas.
Last year we started a tradition, we had to “make” one gift for each person in the house. You couldn’t buy it you had to make it. My 8 year old Son made me a candle, and my other son made me a recipe book holder out of wood that we had laying around the basement. I knitted my husband a new scarf and made fleece hats and scarves for the boys. It could be anything. One boy made a poster for his brothers room. Write a poem,sing a song, anything that comes from the heart.
Last post. DS and I made pipe cleaner candy canes and heart ornaments. Very inexpensive and fun to do.
I make PJ bottoms for all of my nieces and nephews. They are super easy and they love them. They always rave about them and can’t wait for another pair.
I have a 2 year old and 7 year old. I love Holidays so my kids get a present for most holidays but I make them practical. Valentines is always a new short set since spring is just around the corner, a swimsuit I bought on clearance the year before,and whatever red or pink items I have picked up on clearance, usually underwear or hair ribbons. Easter of course they get a new dress outfit and 1 item for their spiritual growth (a new Bible as they progress in age, a Christian CD or book). July 4th I always get a family present: tickets to a musical, circus, theme park. Something we do together and make a whole day of. At the start of fall we spend a day decorating the house with scarecrows, leaves, and pumpkins and making fall shaped cookies. At the end of the day I give them a new fall outfit. We do an advent calendar the whole month of December. Most of the gifts are freebies I’ve stocked through the year. One pocket is always a “date with dad/mom”. Another is always a free coupon to sleep in our bed. One is always a new board game. And some are “gifts” to give like I have my oldest read her favorite Christmas book to the younger one. Sometimes they say “call a family member and ask them to dinner” “call a family member and sing them a Christmas song” “make a card for your teacher” etc. The advent is their favorite part of Christmas. And on Christmas eve they get a new pair of pajamas to wear that night. They get 3 presents each from us: one for the body, one for their mind, and one for fun (several years I have used hand me downs or garage sale items for these.) They also get one present from santa. Their stockings are filled with toothbrushes, books, etc, and always an ornament for the year that represents something from the year.
The most frustrating part of Christmas for me is buying for the adults. It feels like such a waste since most of us buy ourselves what we need. If you ask them what they want they always say “I don’t know.” But every year I suggest we buy for “angels” instead of each other but my husbands family always says no.
My family started a few years ago with the rule that all adult gifts must be homemade or garage sale items. This is more fun, more frugal, and the gifts mean more.
WOW I wrote more I planned!
Growing up…my parents always got us quite a bit of stuff, most of it was awesome but some of it was like um…seriously? As my sisters and I got older they would get us special jewelry (one year they got me an opal ring), watches, movies (my one sister LOVES movies), printer (my other sister wanted a fancy printer one year). Last year they got me a new set of pots and pans and Lucy watches (I collect Lucy stuff). One year they got one of my sisters a cube of dr. pepper because that is what she wanted. 🙂
Our stockings growing up ALWAYS had in them: favorite candy, orange, apple, banana, toothbrush, hair brush, book, cd, and hair stuff.
For our daughter, it is so hard to shop for her because she is the only grandchild on both sides so she gets SPOILED! By family and friends (our friends who have kids all have boys so they all like shopping the girly stuff for our daughter). So we get her Disney movies, cds to go on her ipod, books, a toy or 2, new Bronco clothes (she is a Bronco fan like her daddy). Her stocking has candy, book, hairbrush, hair stuff, chapstick, toothbrush with toothpaste she likes, and a neat cup or water bottle. Last year I think I spent $150 total on everything for her and that is from us and Santa. And throughout the year we clean out her toys and clothes and take it to kids who can’t go and buy new stuff. She loves taking her old stuff to other kids who can’t buy it.
I know when I was a kid I liked getting books and craft kits at least as much as I liked getting toys. Oh, and Christmas really isn’t Christmas (even though I’m 26 now) without a stuffed animal, whether it’s big or small. Christmas ornaments are nice too. When I have kids I’d like to give them one (fairly sturdy) ornament each year, so when they move out they have a collection started.
For stockings bath stuff and makeup is great, and I always liked dollar store toys in mine too.
My stepson is getting more expensive. At 13 there just isn’t much that’s cheap that he would like. We always give him 1 large gift then 3-4 small gifts and a stocking. Last year he got more than that but I found some major deals. This year he is getting the Blu ray player that was just on Amazon. That’s going to be about it. 2 Wii games that I got on clearance from Kohls and used a 30% off coupon and a stocking. So I guess my budget is generally around $150 but we’ve gone over that and way under that – just sort of depends upon what I can find. My 1 yo will be getting a fair amount but he has 0 grandparents (I know I shouldn’t compensate but with the other son getting so much from his grandparents it’s hard). Also, with him being little I’ve been able to get everything CHEAP and usually with a Q! 🙂 I know some people that will get their kids LITERALLY 30+ gifts each. I have seen their kids get tired of opening gifts and not want to continue. Ridiculous.
Here’s a few from my blog:
https://designingandmotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/10/hand-sanitizer-bottles-great-teacher.html
&
https://designingandmotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/10/when-i-shop-i-think-christmas-all-year.html
I know it gets expensive so I get creative! Staci
This year we asked the grandparents to cut back a bit on the toys and help us out with some toy storage. Ikea has a unit I’ve had my eyes on and 4X the $25 will go a long way towards that. Then they will still get them each a small $10 something like a video or a book.
Last year my SIL made a dvd slide show, all set to music, of all the pics she has ever taken of our family. It was so beautiful it made me cry and the kids LOVE seeing themselves on tv. I think I’m going to make them each a DVD of their own, with pics from birth up, set to the songs I sang them when they were tiny babies and some of their current faves too. I can’t wait to sit and watch their movies with them. So fun!
And my dad made a cd of all kid friendly songs from when he was younger like Chantilly Lace and The Purple People Eater…my kids love to get down and dance to it and I don’t have to worry about inappropriate lyrics!
How about a custom hand drawn portrait of someone special or a pet? My brother in law is drawing portraits to raise money for his mission to Africa.
He is really good. You can see the picture he drew of my son here…
https://geoffandmelissa.blogspot.com/2009/10/im-going-to-let-you-in-on-secret.html
I’d love help to spread the word.
We have 6 kids! With that said…we spend at least $300 on each kid at Christmas. One year a friend of mine was planning on giving her child $100 cash. She asked me if I thought he would like a $100 bill or 100 $1’s. So I asked my kids who were the closest in age to her child. Come to find out…my kids couldn’t believe that someone would give their child $100! They thought it was the greatest thing ever AND told me “well mom, you’d never give us that much”. Little did they know I’d spend at least 3 x’s that much on them in the previous years. Needless to say, my kids now get necessities (clothes, etc.), a toy, and $100 cash!
If you get too many free toys give them to an orphanage or shelter. Or give them to your church to give to people in need.
I average about 25 gifts per child under the tree. Their ages are 11 and 13. However I only spend $75.00 on each of them. I bargain hunt and buy in bundles. I wrap individuals and dollar candy gets wrapped too. The kids think I am corny, but cool at the same time. It teaches them to budget their lists wisely. Their most favorite time though is X-mas day when we walk around the neighbor and bring neighbors x-mas presents that I have gotten through out the year. The best part of it all-I do a x-mas savings club and I have no debt at the end of the season. So no stress and any leftover money goes towards clearance the next day.
Honestly, I go “garage saleing” a few times a month and get some pretty cool almost new toys for like 90%off there original price! This helps with our family budget a lot!
When my kids were young, I would buy clearance Halloween costumes, as part of their Christmas, and add it to their dress up trunk.
Oh, and the children open up advent drawers on a house that thet have filled with things for ea. other.
I also purchase children’s Christmas books or toys from Barnes and Nobles at clearance that I set out in a big basket beginning Dec. for 1 mth. only.It gives them something to do during their Christmas break prior to Christmas. It,s the same stuff ev. year I just add 1 more thing after chriatmas ea. year.
Two years ago for Christmas, I got my 3 children new bedsets, each got a bookshelf, and a few other new things for their rooms. It was stuff they needed, stuff they use on a daily basis, and with sales and clearance deals, it all came out to be pretty cheap. Plus, my kids always get new clothes, socks, underwear and shoes.
Growing up my parents always bought one ‘activity’ that we could do as a family. One year we saw Disney on Ice, one year it was a concert with some Irish dancing, and other various outings. Overall, these were our favorite ‘presents’ because it made memories as a family. I look forward to carrying on this tradition with my family.
My daughter will be 11 months come Christmas so i am sure that we are way more excited for it then she is. We have decided to ask her grandparents to put money in to a college fund for her for Christmas. We figure it will be something that will be able to help her in the future and she is to young to know what Christmas is anyways so she won’t complain.
This is hard for me because my love language is gifts and I love going all out giving to others. I go overboard on my kids. Each year I do scale back but they still have way too much. They get one big gift they really want from Santa and then some smaller ones too. Last year, we gave the whole family a Wii. This year, my 2 kids who are almost 5 and 7 each want a dsi. For pratical, I give them toothbrushes I normally wouldn’t spend so much money on like musical or spinning ones and toothpaste, chapstick, etc in their stockings. We also really focus on teaching our children about giving. My husband is a firefighter and I am on the Toys for Joy committee. We spend a lot of time in December sorting toys, shopping for toys,etc. I also teach them that it is not just spending money. Time is also a very valuable gift. We also give food for the school food drive. I give my oldest a certain amount of money and she gets to pick what she can take. This also teaches her about budgeting and spending wisely.
One of my favorite things we did growing up is that my mom had an advent calendar she had made for us. She wrote on a piece of paper special things to do for each day such as make Christmas cookies, christmas crafts,etc. Also, each year we would pick a family and be kind of like secret santas to them. We would make them goodies and leave them at church for them or leave them on their porch. Then, at the end of the season, we would take a goodie plate to them and reveal ourselves.
HOLY COW….Someone opened a can of worms with is topic…LOL My girls 8 and 15 are getting a Wii and a few fillers. We don’t have much…but we have what we need. I wish I could buy for those in need but I’m not financially there yet. My family has been so blessed. Happy and safe holidays to all of you!
My boys are 11 and 13 so of course their tastes are a lot more expensive than they used to be. I try to buy them a couple things each but things they really want that I usually wouldn’t buy. My husband lost his job so this year I am being super careful to make sure I get great deals. Each week I watch toys r us and other stores for buy one get one free or gift card deals. Another thing that I have done for the last couple years, is I find out what the hot hard to find toys are and when I find them I sell them on ebay or amazon and use the money to cover the gifts I have to buy. I have been able to cover our last couple Christmases with some left over for after Christmas sales.
Oh I forgot to add on my post that we use the bogos etc to fill boxes for the Giving Tree Kids at school. My kids know that eventhough dad isn’t working there are tons of kids that are a lot worse off (we’re in Michigan and it’s terrible) and that it’s important to be thankful for what we have. My kids love getting presents but they understand that giving to others in need is just as important.
We don’t spend too much. It is not worth it, our kids get spoiled from others too. We might spend $50.00 a child and we have 4. Last year I bought the boys a football table off craigslist for $25.00 they were thrilled. I got the baby a new carseat and her sister a doll house from a garage sale.
This year I am all about reusing things. I have loads of boxes saved from cereal that I plan to cut into magazine holders. I am making a desk set out of cans and boxes for my hubby. I am also using milk lids and juice lids to make a checkers game for the boys. The girls are getting some home made playdough.
I am thinking about blessing some other members of my family with frozen meals.
I just wanted to say how great it is to give your children Christmas ornaments as gifts. Last Christmas was my first Christmas with my husband. Since my mom gave me an ornament each year (and my grandma as well) I had enough to fill a good sized tree with my husband. Most of my newly married friends couldn’t afford trees, because they would have had to purchase all the ornaments…What’s Christmas without a tree? I’m so grateful that my parents started that tradition so now my husband and i can have a tree too!
I recently had an unexpected surgery and will have yet another on Nov. 12th. Since these were unplanned, there was no way to save money in advance. With a recovery time of 6-8 weeks for the upcoming one, money will be exteremly tight for Christmas this year. I really appreciate all the ideas! It sure will help me as I try to figure out how to do Christmas for my two kids! Thanks again for the great ideas!!
I Like personal Gifts. For not too much money u can Make a scrap book for someone. Add Pics. U can even ask them to borrow some of their pics. They will have no idea what u are doing. Then Just copy them and give them back. Also Many people these days Scrapbook. So u can always ask Someone to borrow different scissors and things. U can make a small one that is only like 20 pages or so.
Also there is a pottery place by me that U can paint vases and other things. Or u can make your own glass bowl or candle holder. Its not a bad price also.
p.s About homemade gifts, my mom use to make my siblings and me stilts out of number 10 cans or tall juice cans…just drill a hole for and tie a string wah law Stilts!!
Layaway Is always a great way to go That way u are not spending Tons of $$ in one or 2 outings. Also remember to ask where u put your stuff on layaway if they take off items that u have in there If it goes on sale the next week. Then check adds each week and U can get them marked down.
Find out where They get their Hair done and Get them A gift Certificate to their Salon. It helps them save on money. Also Massages, Pedicures, Manicures are great. Not many people take enough time to treat themselves.
I grew up in a large family and it always seemed like mom was just making sure the present counts were equal. I know that I received things she just found for a really good price and not so much because it met a need or want. So, when I grew up and started my own family I started a tradition of our own. We do three gifts, just like the wisemen. (If it was good enough for Jesus it is good enough for us!) One gift must be NEEDED. (Something you need, AKA practical.) Another WANTED. (Something you would never buy yourself. Truly a splurge. Does not have to have a large monetary value.) Another a GROWTH gift. (This must be something to cause you to grow as an individual throughout the next year.) We also do stockings with small things from Santa.
This has been fun for our family and takes the pressure off Christmas and really makes you think about what you buy. It is totally fun. (Also, my kids DO NOT get many gifts from their grandparents and uncles and aunts and the like. We have a big family and so money is stretched thin. However, they still seem to be very happy and we can focus on the real reason for the season, at least in our home.)
I have come up with an idea for my 7 year old for this Christmas. I’m going to purchase a 2010 calendar ($1 at Michael’s) and glue an envelope to each month. I plan to make coupons to go into each envelope with fun things to do with family or friends: bowling, putt-putt, Chuck E. Cheese, hair & nail appointments, beach day, All Your Favorites Day,camp out, Pumpkin Patch, Winter Wonderland,Disney on Ice etc. You can certainly get creative! I’m hoping she will love it.
We’re having a “food storage Christmas” this year. We will give a case of cake mixes to my brother and his family and recipes for different uses (dump cake, cookies, etc) (we draw names with my siblings). We also draw names as a nuclear family and set a $5 limit on those family gifts. We will do a food storage theme there, too. What can the kids find for $5 that will go in our food storage? It could be a box of favorite cereal that we don’t usually buy or several cans of tuna (a favorite of my daughter).
I’ve enjoyed all these ideas!
We have used christmas money for zoo memberships or museum passes. Something very fun that we can use all year and it doesn’t sit around my house where we all can trip on it. Very fun!
I have not read all 138 other coments so sorry if this a repeat of someone elses post.
I like to give my children experiences. Last year for my daughters birthday we asked everyone to consider giving towards a dance class instead of geting her a toy. She loved her dance class and it was something that normally was way out of our budget. Giftcards to the movietheater along with a bag of popcorn are nice for small kids that way they get something that feels like a instant present but it will be eaten and then it is gone and it is just such a special thing to go to the big theater to see a movie. There are many special learning opertunities and special fun places that you can take your children and if you pair the experience with an item that symbolises what the tickets are for take pictures and make them a little scrapbook or just write some notes with the pictures in an album that they can look at often so they remember that it was their present. They are more likely to apreciate it for years to come than a massive amount of toys. I still give some toys, but i never ever spend a lot on them, if there is a toy i really want and cant find it on sale i get it used on ebay or craigslist. Chances are that the kids will only play with it for a few weeks anyway.
I like to gather all of my Christmas books, such as picture books and wrap each one in wrapping paper. Starting Dec.1st I allow my children (I have 6) take turns and 1 book gets unwrapped a night until Christmas Day.It make bedtime stories even more fun. That tradition is by far the BEST thing ever around here. They love seeing the books all wrapped and on display in a basket in the living room.
I THINK ONE OF THE BEST GIFTS MY CHILDREN EVER GOT WAS ONE OF THOSE RAISE YOUR OWN BUTTERFLIES KITS!! It was so much fun, and they were so amazed at those butterflies! It truly was a sad day when we set them free.
I love to give practical gifts to my kids for Christmas! I like to make it look like they are getting more, by wrapping things separate. I love to buy my teenage daughter new PINK panties, they are practical and she loves them I will also do this with socks or hoisery! My 7 year old son loves to get snow boots or shoes. So practical and a big hit. I even will wrap camies separarte from the cordinating shirts. It so much fun when they think they are getting a lot more than they really are!
woa, theres a million comments! Well on behaf of the many families who are on the recieving end of charity allmost every year i just want to say thank you! I’m blessed with wonderfull friends who are allmost all better of than I am and there has been times when stuff has been left by our door with a from santa note on it.
Christmas to me is about giving and not getting and I’ve tried hard to teach my children the same. Our families tried drawing names one year and we really did not like it. It felt like an obligation and not something you did because you wanted to. Sometimes we have given big gifts and not gotten anything back and that was just fine and sometimes we have resived big gifts and not have anything significant to give back, one year we had everyones presents but qould not afford the postage because my husband lost his overtime and everyone got their boxes in febuaray.
When i was growing up once we started earning our own money we payed for everyones pesents our selves.
my children are still to small so for now they are learning to be gratefull for what they resieve and to give, out children give us gifts because i think it is important for them to learn to give to everyone they love as well as people who “are needy”.
We also do the 3 present idea -like baby Jesus. This year we are saving for a family trip, but my oldest really wants a Nintendo DS. My husband has an older one that he never uses so we are giving him that with a new game. That way he has something new to go with the “old” system. I also stocked up on the barbies for my 3 year old when they were buy 2 get one free. Look for deals like you all do I am sure! And keep it simple and special. They will keep the memories with them, not the toys! This year I want to teach my children the TRUE meaning of Christmas – giving – and have less emphasis on the receiving.
ALSO, I found a killer find at our local Dollar Store! I have these Disney Books my mom bought for my kids several years ago and they were probably $5 each – we I found the SAME set at the Dollar Store for $1 each and they are going to my nephew. I also stocked up on Snow White on DVD for the fam – with the $10 off coupon I got it for only $10 each and it is a nice gift. 🙂 Happy hunting.
A couple of years ago, my sister and I filled a large Christmas stocking for my parent’s as their gift. We filled it with all kinds of fun things and also included a gift card to Starbucks. They loved it. In fact I loved the idea so much that my sister and I each exchanged a filled stocking last year for Christmas. It was so fun to look for all the items and even more fun emptying out my own stocking. Now that I am reading “It’s Hip to Save” and getting so many good deals and freebies I could put together a wonderful stocking as a gift without spending a lot of money!!
We also have a tradition that we buy our son and daughter a new ornament for the tree each year that relates to what they are into that year. They also receive a new ornament from each set of grandparents. I always make sure to put the date and who they are from on each ornament or ornament box, so they will always remember who they are from. In addition I buy a personalized “family ornament” with the year on it. That way when the kids move out and take all their ornaments our tree won’t look so sad and empty. We all really enjoying seeing all the ornaments from over the years on the tree.
One other thing on gift exchanges. On my side of the family we have tons of nieces and nephews, and their is no way anyone can afford to buy for each of them. We have each cousin draw a name and they buy one gift for that cousin and receive one gift. It really helps with the budget to have the name exchange.
Both of our families(all the siblings) used to do either a name exchange or play Dirty Santa, but even that has to be too expensive. Last year I made ornaments for each family. One year I gave a Christmas Angel figurine I had picked up after Christmas at 90% off and gave as a family gift. We don’t all give each other something, but I like to do a little something if I can find a great deal or make something that doesn’t hurt our budget for Christmas.
We watch how many gifts our children receive. But having lots to open under the tree is always fun. I will take a pack of socks and wrap each pair individually (in different sizes of course – it is amazing how small or long you can make a pair of socks!) Or wrap a set of books individually. With a little creativity, you can look like there are more gifts that there are.
Just a note to the family getting the piano. That is what my family did when I was 8 or 9. It was an old one but we loved it. We had it untell my sis got married and 12 years later.The sound board broke in her moving it to her house. Her husband made her get rid of it. She cried for days. He felt really bad. He did not know that it ment that much to her. The whole family went through a mornning over it.
I have a 4 yr boy and I got him a few years ago dress up clothes. ( his dad dint like him in his solder sis pink dresses) HE LOVES them. I love him being a cowboy or a knight going out to get the dragon or bad guys. Remember they have a great imagination and only need a little. more is overwhelming to kids
Well first of all, I always buy my wrapping paper and cards, etc. after christmas dirt cheap and store them with my tree and stuff.
Secondly, we do the christmas eve gift of pjs also, i grew up doing that and love it.
we also let our boys open gifts before christmas, like Hanukkah, but small gifts like a movie we can all watch or a game we can play.
Christmas Day we do most of the gifts, like the others we do a big gift and some smaller ones, clothes, bathroom supplies, candy, my son who is into computers gets computer maintenance stuff. my other son who is into fishing will probably get fishing gear this year. I can tell you as a mom with teens that the toys are long gone and forgotten, but books, dogs, bikes, sporting gear, think long term commitment stuff is still around. So try to think further ahead than just the next year.
also we have a lot of family members that do savings bonds, and when my son turned 16 this helped him pay for his car!
I save my credit card points all year and use them to buy gift cards and christmas presents
I am giving alot of books this year, WalMart has their top selling books on sale for at least 50% off (online) Their are some great deals.