Help! I Need 6 Gifts in 6 Days!

Updated on March 18, 2008
S.D. asks from Keller, TX
17 answers

I don't know about all of you, but it seems as though we are buying gifts for someone or something like it is going out of style! My husband gets irritated by my asking over and over for these "gifts" that in his eyes are not beneficial to our own family, which I might add is on a very tight financial budget!
This week I am in a predicament....
We have a four year old girl's birthday party on Saturday.(It is our neighbor and we must go!)
Our very good family friend/neighbor's(female) birthday is on Monday.(She is well-deserving of a nice gift!)
My huband's parents' anniversary is on Wednesday.(and I might add that they always expect a gift from every child!)
My son's school teacher of 2 years and her 2 children that are my kids' good friends are moving away next weekend, and we will be very sad to let them go.(That's Mom=gift + child=gift + child=gift)
So...What do I do? First, ANY ideas for ANY of these gifts? Second, ANY ideas on how I can save ANY money doing this? Thank all of you in advance for your help in my battle of the budget!

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So What Happened?

Thank you all SO MUCH for all of your help and input! This is what I did...
Four year old's birthday party - Dollar tree hair accesories and toys/trinkets (all Princess themed)
Very good friend/neighbor's birthday - carved wooden cross for her home at a craft shop
Husband's parents' anniversary - Gift card to a restaurant that also has a band that plays!
Son's school teacher & 2 kids - We are planning to take them out for a day of inexpensive fun before they leave as a "goodbye".
Thanks again!

Featured Answers

L.A.

answers from Dallas on

I agree with everything April D. said.

I think a nice moving gift could be what she suggested, like a box of decorative blank cards. Maybe just a nice Thank You card for being such great friends, but no need for anything extravagent. I think a thoughtful letter would mean more than something else they have to pack and unpack.

I personally don't like to recieve little gifts all the time, they usually end up at Goodwill or in the trash in the matter of a couple of months anyways.

As for kid's gifts, at Micheal's they have little Play-doh sets for only a dollar, and lots of other little creative things for cheap. Anything fun and cheap is nice, it doesn't have to be more than that.

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G.D.

answers from Dallas on

I like Half Price Books for books/gifts that look like they are brand new but sometimes very cheap. Also, get large kid gifts like a big stuffed animal or bounce ball. Cheap but BIG impresses the kids.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

Though I'm no Miss Manners, I'd say that if you're on a tight budget that extravagant "nice" gifts do not have to be. Tis true that the thought is what counts....

Four year old's birthday party... does she have long hair? Go to the dollar store and load up on cute pony tail holders, a new brush, some children's fingernail polish.... or a summertime fun bucket, a little sand pail, shovel, bottle of bubbles, inflatable ball and some sidewalk chalk...that would be an inexpensive but cute way to present it too..

One thing you can do when giving gifts to children -- nix the cards. They don't really care anyhow... just fold a little piece of cardstock in half, write to/from inside and attach it with some curly ribbon.... voila...and you saved yourself $3 on a card that will be thrown away in seconds.

If you have a very good family/friend birthday...go to the grocery store and buy her a little bouquet of flowers and bring that. Those are generally..what... 3 small packs for $10.

Parent's anniversary... yeah, I'd think that would should be something thought out... why not a gift card to their favorite restaurant. My in laws love that.

When does moving = presents? I've never heard of that and I've moved A LOT.... I'd say one very thoughtful gift if you felt you MUST give one is to purchase a set of note cards and a small book of stamps and a colorful pen (not an expensive one, just one for some color) and just put in a little gift bag and put something like "hope this helps us keep in touch"....... the children... depends on how old they are but I'd say a pad of white paper and some markers and envelopes that are PREADDRESSED to your children so that they can keep in touch... but I wouldnt' think you owe kids anything unless you're doing something like a moving sanity kit with a bag of snacks for the road trip....

Just because you feel compelled TO give gifts does not mean you HAVE to... esp the movers...

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I can relate to last minute gifts always costing so much money because you're in more of a panic to get a gift than to look at price.

For the birthday party, kids always get so many toys and gifts, they don't care about the price of the gift; they're more concerned with the novelty of it. You can buy a fun gift at Target for under $10, or even go to the dollar store or Big Lots and get a variety of things for under $10.

For parent's anniversary are you thinking that the grandkids should give a gift as well? If so, maybe they could write a poem or make a photo collage of them with their grandparents. Regarding a gift from you and hubby, why not get them a certificate to a restaurant or tickets to a show. McKinney and other cities have all kinds of fun theatrical/musical performances during the summer or even Dallas summer musicals!

For the teacher and kids, give them something that is sentimental to remember you all by or travelling gifts to make the move less strenous.

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J.D.

answers from Dallas on

Dollar Tree is the BEST!!!! If you don't have one near you, then any dollar store works! You can make cute baskets filled with $5-$10 worth of stuff! Like the mini plastic laundry baskets at the dollar store with age/gender appropriate items to put in them, and if you really want to get creative- you can get one of those clear plastic bags and tie it up with a bunch of curly ribbon and then blow dry it to shrink it. For the adults- you can do the same thing but with spa/pampering type items- bubble bath, bath mit, new loofah, lotion, bath pillow, etc. Hope this helps! :)

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S.P.

answers from Dallas on

Two words----TARGET CLEARANCE!!! Their clearance stuff rocks! They usually have stuff at the ends of aisles, in the back of departments, though sometimes they are still in their correct location. All are marked with a bright orange sticker. Don't assume the marked price is the correct one though. Always price scan the products you are interested in. You would be shocked at how low some items can go for! I worked for Target when I was younger, and learned quickly how to shop there. I am a Target shopaholic as it is. I buy stuff on clearance for gifts year round. I have a closet with a stash of stuff for occasions like your's!

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K.B.

answers from Dallas on

Alexis K said exactly what I would say. In those two cases, having something more "sentimental" than "material" would be nice. Can they draw a picture you can frame...or if you have any, frame a picture of all the kids for their friends to take with them. I suggest venturing to a Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Joann Fabrics. I was just in Joann Fabrics in Frisco and they have a huge area of very inexpensive crafts kids can do...

Good luck.

K.

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T.C.

answers from Dallas on

I'd love to help! If you are in the market for 6 gifts, I could cut you a great deal. I know some are for kiddos but I typically do a buy 3 get one free promo for people like yourslef. That would get the adults taken care of. Let me know what you think. Satin Hands is an amazing gift for anyone! Its $30 but ANYONE is guaranteed to LOVE it! But 3 get 1 free makes them 22.50 each. Not too bad. I can gift wrap and make gift baskets of them too if you'd like. Just need to know what they are each into these days. That's just my gift to you!

Check it out...http://www.marykay.com/tchavira/spabody/bodycare/10014082...

There are definately other things you could chose and like I said I cut breaks for anyone buying in bulk! Good luck though!

I'll tell you what I tell everyone else. Foot prints and hand prints make anything super personal, timeless and priceless. I did $1.99 cards for mothers day and fathers day and they all raved about them simply because I traced her hand on each of them...

Hope it helps, best of luck!
~T.~

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C.D.

answers from Dallas on

Hobby Lobby is my favorite place to get kids gifts! They have fun crafty stuff that is really cheap...try that! You can also find some items for your other gifts too!!

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V.S.

answers from Dallas on

Magazine subscriptions are cheap- great for everyone because it last all year long. Find a magazine that the 4 yr old would love like Nick Jr. As for your husbands parents- better homes and gardens, popular mechanics- they are like $12 to $24 for the whole year.
Your son's teacher will be hard because they are moving- I'd go to Tuesday mornings and find something that she can organize her pictures of her two kids. It’s so cheap to buy a small box, some little dividers, and personalize it with stickers, and labels.
She'll love the gift because it helps her keep all her pictures in order and the kids will enjoy going thru their pictures when they get older.
Good luck.
Val

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A.K.

answers from Dallas on

Even though it might take a little more time than to just buy something...if your budget is tight I recommend having the kids make something for the in-laws anniversary and the teacher moving away. Save yourself some money!

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L.

answers from Dallas on

We just left Michael's craft store and they have some great stuff right now in the $1 section. They have some really nice stationary, blank note cards and journals for $1 a piece. For your teacher, as a new housewarming gift, their large jar candles are for sale for $3.

I am a HUGE make-it-yourself gift person when it comes to grandparents and family members. Have the kids make something. You can always bake cookies and put them in a decorative tin. This would also be fabulous for a moving gift for the teacher as they can snack on cookies on the trip.

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C.P.

answers from San Diego on

Hi S.,

I sell Premier Designs Jewelry and am having a sample sale! This would be a prefect gift for your family friend/neighbor and teachers!! All of my samples I am selling at 20% and 30% off. You are welcome to come by my home and see if there's anything you might like or I can bring the jewelry to you this weekend.

Contact me for more info. ###-###-#### or ____@____.com

-Char

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B.P.

answers from Dallas on

For the school teacher kids instead of buyting 2 gifts find something that the kids can share.
Now sure how far they are traveling to move, but if is a long way, find something that the kids could do while they are moving.
the teacher, if you know where she is moving, will she be at a new school, if so then send her letter of encouragement where she would hve it on her first day.. what a nice surprize she would have, and knownig someone is thinking of her at the new school could be very special indeed.

if you don't like that idea, then how about a basket of something that you put together from the dollar tree for the entire family

Dollar tree is great, Walmart and Target clearance,

and if the family is moving close by then make a coupon book on taking care of the kids while they are going out one evening
or be willing to cove over and help her unpack, etc

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S.H.

answers from Dallas on

I've never heard of giving someone a gift becuase they are moving, but I think a hand made gifts for that group would be heart felt. Take pictures over the next few days and hand craft frames or make a mini album with construction paper for the cover.

4 year olds are usually pretty easy. My biggest hangup was that I always worried what other people would think of my gift and how much I spent. You have to get past that and give what you can afford. A $5.00 gift has turned out to be the favorite gift many times. There is always something fun int he arts and crafts section, and they love it at that age.

Not sure what to do about the parents. Someone else will have to help with that one.

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L.F.

answers from Dallas on

I can help out with the kids' gifts! They're fun and unique and parents love them because they're quiet and educational! I'll give you a really good deal too, and I'll hand deliver them to you so you can get them in time. They're called I Spy Bags, you can check them out at my online store here:

Here are the large ones:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5007915&section_...

I make them mini sized too!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5007915&section_...

These would especially make great gifts for the kids who are going to be moving, they're great entertainment for trips in the car or on a plane.

Good luck gift hunting!

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C.W.

answers from Dallas on

Do you have any pictures of these people? I take candid photos, edit them, and place them on "designer" backgrounds. It doesn't matter how good a photographer you are, I can make them look great! I can even put wording in the background if you like. Please visit http://www.dollargrafix.com/photoedit.htm for examples. I can do these for just $12.97 each, and I will include a glossy 8 x 10 (usually $7 extra) so that you will not spend much money. They will get an 8 x 10 and a CD of the picture. This will be something really unique and special that they will not get anywhere else. This will be especially great for the birthdays, anniversary and teacher. Let me give it a try...I think you'll be pleased! --C. Wells, ____@____.com

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