A few frugal gifts

The fall is a pretty busy birthday time for family and friends. We have been working on making homemade and frugal gifts a lot this year and so I thought I would share some recent ones with you. (And those who received these gifts, you don't need to read any further or you will know exactly what they cost!)




Last week was my niece Margaret's birthday. A while back (last year or so) we had found cute sewing baskets complete with pins, needles, (wimpy) scissors and other sewing tools on clearance at Walmart for $3. Mara really thought Margaret would like one and so we gave her that and also included:

• A piece of fabric big enough to make a skirt or something like that. (free/it had been given to me)



• Another smaller piece of fabric (also free, I am frequently given fabric because people want to clean up their house and they know I sew.)



• A glass jar with buttons in it (we had these on hand. I save buttons off of any old clothes that are becoming rags and my grandma just gave me a bunch as well.)



• Thread, elastic, rick rack, lace and ribbon (all free, things that had been given to me)
  

My niece Beatrice has a birthday next month but we saw her this past weekend so we brought her gift as well. For her we gave:

• Some mittens I sewed using a tutorial from Write, Mama, Write. (I used fabric and trim that we had on hand so the cost was free.) They were fun and fairly simple to make. I learned about this tutorial from my friend Betsy.


• Mara also decorated a notebook (10 cents on sale) with a pretty calendar page.


• We also included colored pencils (39 cents), a couple of gel pens (30 cents) and some stickers (pennies).

For my sister Keren we made a gift basket. In it was:

• Stationary (handmade by me, so nearly free.)


• A package of pens (Free after rebate from Walgreens)


• A vase of flowers (from our garden and using one of the many vases that I have collected.)


• Finger nail polish (free after rebate from Walgreens)


• Tooth paste (I earned 75 cents on it) NOTE: before you think I am too weird, we have discussed this with my family. They don't do the Walgreens deals so they actually told me to include them in presents (as we have more that we need.).


• A barrette that we decorated with beads.


• Chocolate candies (we earned money on at Walgreens)


• Basket (given to me)


• Hair sticks. I had a lot of fun making these using this tutorial from Hint of History.
  
  
  

Here is a closer view of the hair sticks (but for some reason the picture insists on coming in sideways - sorry!)

For another friend I also made some hair sticks and included them with a candy bar (50 cents at Walgreens).

I also gave my nephew a gift of a book and some chocolates. When I want good books my favorite place to shop is Christianbook.com . They have a wonderful selection and good prices.

Do you have any great ideas for frugal and fun gifts for men? Ken's birthday is coming up soon and as usual I am a little stumped. I have the most trouble with the men in my life as far as buying/making presents goes. I would actually love to have you share any frugal gift ideas with me. Thanks so much!