getting a wee bit upset :(

[hazzabeanie]

Basically moneys been very tight recently and so ive had nothing to save for xmas, now im panicking cause theres not long left. i get paid monday but money will be tight again so basically im wanting some help with pressies.

also its my ds birthday on the 11th jan and thats 2 days before payday

il list what i have and who i need to get any help would be great.

* i have £8 on my boots card and £26 tesco vouchers which ive doubled to £50 on toys for harrys bday.
anyway here goes....

for harry ive got;

 

[hazzabeanie]

i also got to push along animals
Handy manny dvds
Books
Build a Bear

so what else can i get him and what for his bday and stocking?

for my neice shes got 2 craft boxes, sticker book, and height chart.

and thats as far as ive got.

i have

OH
OH's dad
Oh's Step mum
Oh's sister 29
Oh's sister 26
Oh's sister 13
Ok's brother in laws x 2 29 and 28
3 x nan and grandads
Oh's Brother 23
Oh's brother 22
Oh's cousins 4 of them 2 boys 3 and 15 2 girls 9 and 11
Oh's auntie and uncle

My side
Mum and Dad (gone halfs with sisters and got theatre tickets yet to buy)
Nan
Sister 25
Sister 19
Sisters partners 19 and 24

and thats it i think

any help would be great.

i can get my ohs pressie on the 13th of dec when i get paid but ideally like to have got everyone elses done before that.

plus im really worrying bout my lo's birthday as paydays not till the 13th and its the 11th

 

[embo216]

That looks a great collection of toys! I too don't have a lot to spend as I'm a single mum on IC and I have my sons 1st birthday on the 4th december. I would say for the stocking fillers stuff like bubbles and crayons are always a very clear winner with the kids and easy on the purse too!

 

[Lilicat]

Firstly what you have looks great, any little boy would love that Thomas the Tank sit and ride.

With regard to other gifts Poundland is great for stocking fillers our local one has children's cartoon DVDs, nice children's books, lots of sweets including Christmas themed ones like chocolate Father Christmas and cheap toys.

For larger toys, consider secondhand. I wouldn't have been able to get my son half the things I did if I didn't look into secondhand things. Try eBay, local selling pages in your area of Facebook and car boot sales.

Someone on here mentioned getting her children a bundle of secondhand dress up clothes from eBay which is such a great idea and sure to be really popular. I have often seen police sets and pirate sets in Poundland for accessories and for not too much you could pick up several outfits on eBay. You just need a container of some sort and you have a dressing up box.

If you are short of cash tell the adults you can't buy for them this year and you would prefer they not buy for you. The are grown ups they will understand!

Alternatively you could make things, I make earrings they are easy to make and materials are cheap. There are many You Tube videos giving instructions.

If you don't feel confident in making something maybe you could offer another type of gift. For a couple with children you could offer to do some babysitting for free so they could have a night out for example.

Hope that helps x

 

[hazzabeanie]

thanks for your ideas ladies i will def look in poundland and speak to the adults too xxxxx

 

[xTaylorsMummy]

why dont u wait until you get paid after his bday and take him pressie shopping? we did it with DS and tbh he didnt no any diffrent! he had pressies to open from other people then big stuff when we toke him

 

[LindaC]

You have done so well already. I dont know why I went crazy this year but usually I only get 2 or 3 presents, only 1 being a big one and when they are still young I really believe it's ok. You can only do so much sometimes! I love home bargains, stuff for all tastes and dead cheap too you can spend a tenner and get a handful of stuff. For his birthday I would consider baking his cake myself, I'm not the type to bake/ cook everyday but I've started making them myself and it's dead easy. I've got a killer receipe if you're interested. And you'll spend a fiver instead of ... . Decorating it doesnt have to be complex and it taste gorgeous too. Sometimes it's when money is tight that you come up with the best ideas!

 

[24/7]

Pencils, crayons, colouring book, bubbles, little puzzles, finger paints, bath crayons, a couple of flanels that come in balls and when you put them in the water they pop out. I just looked on ELC website and they have quite a few little musical instruments thats are only a couple of pounds each too.

Always worth a look on freecycle too. xx

 

[hazzabeanie]

Wow thankyou so much ladies I'm really grateful and lindac I'd love the recipe please xxx

 

[winegums]

just have to say my son has that drum, he got it when he was 5 months old and only just sitting up and used to sit there bashing it.

he is now 18 months and STILL absolutely loves it, i have to keep hiding it lol!!!

for christmas we are getting him a lil toddler drum kit

xxx

 

[snowy-willow]

Why not do joint presents for familys?

You could do movie night hampers (dvd's, popcorn, sweets, pop etc) or baking hampers (cookies in a jar - ingredients layered up in a jar with label stating how to make, cake in a jar - same as above, sprinkles, icing, maybe check poundland/99p store for cake mixes, a mixing bowl, spoon, etc.), or a games night hamper (board game or two, nibbles, pop etc).

For the children you could do craft hampers - poundland, 99p store and the works have some good stuff quite cheap. You could also make some snowman soup to go with this.

For adults you could do retro sweet hampers with sweets from their childhood.

For families again how about making cookies, mince pies, peppermint creams etc. Also in lakeland they do chocolate christmas trees which they sell with two tube of writing icing - you could make your own version for the children and include a few other bits to decorate them with.

 

[TattiesMum]

Why not go down the easy sweetie route for all the others you have to buy for - that's what I've done

Kilner Jars are 89p each in IKEA (or 3 for £2 in ASDA if you can find them) ... then make chocolate bark (the really cheap recipe and instructions I used is on here somewhere, or PM me) and dress the jar with some nice tartan ribbon - they worked out at under £3 each but look like they cost a LOT more

I'm also making sock monkeys for the LOs https://www.craftbits.com/project/sock-monkey which have worked out at about £4 each

 

[dizzy65]

 

[beckynbump25]

View attachment 135761

i also got to push along animals
Handy manny dvds
Books
Build a Bear

so what else can i get him and what for his bday and stocking?

for my neice shes got 2 craft boxes, sticker book, and height chart.

and thats as far as ive got.

i have

OH
OH's dad
Oh's Step mum
Oh's sister 29
Oh's sister 26
Oh's sister 13
Ok's brother in laws x 2 29 and 28
3 x nan and grandads
Oh's Brother 23
Oh's brother 22
Oh's cousins 4 of them 2 boys 3 and 15 2 girls 9 and 11
Oh's auntie and uncle

My side
Mum and Dad (gone halfs with sisters and got theatre tickets yet to buy)
Nan
Sister 25
Sister 19
Sisters partners 19 and 24

and thats it i think

any help would be great.

i can get my ohs pressie on the 13th of dec when i get paid but ideally like to have got everyone elses done before that.

plus im really worrying bout my lo's birthday as paydays not till the 13th and its the 11th

to be honest with you i think he will be really pleased with what youve got there not really aware at that age im im sure tht will seem like an awful lot, plus im sure most of yours and oh's family will buy some for him too because they can never resist buying for a LO... dont forget you dont have to buy for every one! i dunno where u are but in wilkinsons they are doing dove sets for 3.99. xxx

 

[maccy]

Aw hun I can sympathise with you a few years ago I was in the same boat and I made everything for everyone..
I gave all the adults something like a photo calendar or photo framed... or we made some necklaces and earrings (very simple to do) we also made jars of cookie mix and special chrsitmas breakfast pancake mix. I used my Boots card and Tesco vouchers best I could and got cheap selection boxes for the little ones in my family.

What about pots of gold, just gold pot, with things like choc coins, scratch card or lotto ticket, ferrero rocher, crunchie in with this little poem all wrapped up in gold tissue paper or cellophane

Here's a little pot of gold
A festive nibble too
We hope it will make
All your dreams come true
Have a very merry xmas
From us to you

Good luck hun. xx