Cheap Christmas gift ideas?

Mama J.

I know that it is early, but I always like to shop early before the rush. I have three children to buy for whom are son six, daughter nine, daughter twelve, and a fourteen year old stepson... also my hubby, and we pick names from the rest of my extended family for each person in my household. Here are the characteristics of the people we picked: 3 teenage boys whom are my nephews, my 21 year old niece, four month old nephew (the easy one!), and my sister whom is in her early late forties.

Any ideas on how to save money this year, cheap gift ideas etc. would be appreciated greatly!

Answer
6 year old boy-- toys of any kind lol, Wal-Mart has packs of cars,trains, . They're maybe $8 bucks tops. Lego's.

9 yr. old Daughter--Bratz or Hannah Montana anything, doll, cd, pj's. A cute pillow with matching pj's.

12yr. old Daughter--A scrapbook, they're like $12 bucks & is a good hobby. You could get accessories at Wal-Mart too. She could put pics of her friends in it, with stickers, caption quotes, glitter or drawings.
Pj's, a pack of Lip gloss and a little make-up bag, cute socks.

14 yr. old stepson--dvd, a pack of his favorite candy, a pack of Axe spray (boys grow up lol love to smell good at that age), a plain hoody in his favorite color.

Hubby--Pj's, boxers, a shaver (guys wanna look good too), a pack of his favorite candy. Or a dvd he likes.

3 teen boys---pj's, funny boxer shorts, pack of candy, or anything Axe, or Tag spray gift packs.

21 yr. old neice--Scrapbook, cute photo album, pj's.

4 yr. old nephew--anything that makes noise, bounces, giggles or falls down. Maybe a Elmo dvd, he' could sit & laugh =)

Sister---A body bath set. (From wal-mart, about $12-15 bucks)
comes in a basket, body wash, lotion, scrubbie, a candle. It'll make her feel good & rejuvinated.

Everything Wal-Mart, Its heaven!!!

First Father's Day gift ideas?

Ashley

Ok, my husband will be celebrating his first Father's Day this year, we have 6 month old twin boys. I was wondering if you all would have any ideas for first time Father's Day gifts? I am having a hard time trying to find something really special for him, what did you all get your husbands for their first Father's Day. Thank you, I just need a little push to find some neat ideas to make this first time daddy day extra special. Can you please share your Father's Day gift ideas, thank you!
My husband and I are both 19 so no alcohol gifts for us

Answer
I did this for Christmas, but you could also use it for Father's Day. I ordered a photo mug from Snapfish.com. I chose one where you can use multiple pictures, and on the top it say "I love Daddy!".

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Can I reuse dresses for 6 months until my baby is 1 year old?

Oana L

As you may know, baby clothes cost a fortune. My baby is 6 months old and has left behind mountains of clothes. Until now I have been lucky and have received stuff from my friends or gifts when my girl was born.

But as you also may know, people make gifts for up to 6 months and when the baby goes over that, all of a sudden the dresser is empty. I was looking at all the gorgeous and expensive dresses that she has and has put on 2-3 times only, and I can't bear to put them away and spend money on new ones. So I was thinking of buying some lace band or other material and lengthen some of them. If they have shoulder straps then it's a breeze, just cut the straps and sew longer one. The issue is if the dress is large enough. I've been through stores today and checked the differences between 6mo and 1year widths. They seem about the same to me...

So what is your experience and advice? Can longer strap or lengthening the skirt be a viable solution?
Thanks for the suggestions. I did buy some things from other moms and I preferred to wash them with my normal detergent instead of the baby's, since the baby's is literally no good. Guess what, today her eczema is back, on her legs, where she had the 'new' pants touching the skin. At least now I know what it is...

I have received these marvelous extremely expensive dresses (around 90$ a piece) that I'd hate to loose. This is why I want to make them longer. I'm concerned about the size at the waist though...

Answer
I like the idea of the straps. It would work good if the dress or shirt was waistless. Once, when my daughter was 21 months, we were at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls. A little girl at a nearby table was wearing a dress identical to one my daughter had. The dress came with a shirt underneath it, but the older girl was wearing it as a tank top with shorts. I filed that idea away and used it.

Another thing I have done with strappy and sleeveless dresses is put shirts under them for winter wear. This is a good way to get use out of shirts that are too short. (With the dress covering the shirt, nobody knows that the tummy is exposed a bit.)

As has been said, I've also used (and still do, my daughter is five) leggings, tights and diaper covers for skirts and dresses that are getting too short-- Especially if the skirt and tights or leggings are the same color.

I've always been cheap. I was raised to buy things as cheap as possible and keep them for as long as possible. Especially so with my kids. I have a two-year-old son and he's wore several of his sister's hand-me-downs. (Even some "girly" sleepers, but they are "just" sleepers.) There were times when a second child was a possibility that I got clothes second hand and free that were technically boy's that I thought could be used for either/or someday.

If you are going to add on, is there a way in which you can add on, but then take if off? This way, if you pass the skirt or dress on, the next parent(s) can do the same.

As for the detergent, we generally use the Arm and Hammer dye-free, scent-free. If we run out and it's not on sale, then we go for the Purex dye-free, scent-free. (When my daughter was a newborn, my very picky MIL HAD TO get the Dreft because nothing else was good enough.) Something might be clean when we get it, but if it smells, I have to wash it again (sometimes with added baking soda) just to get rid of the detergent smell.

I need a cute, creative cookie recipe to use as a birthday present for a 9 year old boy. Any ideas?

mdet

Needs to be cute and taste good!

Answer
I like the cookie bouquets for birthday gifts. You don't have to have cutters to make the shapes...just make the shapes from paper and lay the pattern down on the rolled out cookie dough and cut around it. To put the cookies on a stick you can just lay the stick on the back of the baked cookie and pour some melted chocolate over it....this will "glue" it to the cookie.
I used to work in a cookie bouquet shop and I have a very good icing recipe to use for the decorations. I also have 3 real different cookie recipes for rolled out cookies...you can choose which you would like.
This is a link to a cookie bouquet idea:
http://www.clevercookie.com/happy-birthday-to-him-cookie-arrangement.html
......after the chocolate has dried and the cookie is attached to the stick you can put the sticks in a block of styrofoam to hold them in place.

CUTOUT COOKIE ICING
3 egg whites, at room temp.
Whip 2 min., fast speed or until stiff.
Add:
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (1 box)
Mix.
Add,
2 TBS. Crisco
Mix on low speed until smooth.
(if you want to make a glaze from this, just add a little hot water to it so it is thin enough to dip the cookie in or brush the icing on the cookie.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES
set oven temp. at 375°F
1 1/3 cups shortening (I use butter or margarine)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
(optional, 1/8 tsp. each, almond, orange, lemon flavors)
2 eggs
2 1/2 TBS. milk
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream shortening, add sugar and flavorings and cream together.
Add eggs and milk. Cream.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt together.
Add flour mixture to batter. Mix just until incorporated.
Cool in refrigerator 1 hour or more. Divide dough in half.
Roll out to desired thickness. I make mine almost 1/2 inch thick. Most people
make them 1/4 inch thick.
Cut in shapes and place on cookie sheet. Reroll the dough with the rest of the dough.
If you do not plan to ice the cookies, sprinkle with sugar. Otherwise, leave plain.
Bake at 375°F for 6 to 12 minutes, depending on how thich you roll them. They should be lightly browned around the edges

BROWNIE ROLL OUT COOKIES
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup lightly salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so donât overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Cut-Outs
Yield: 36 Servings
4 c flour
1/4 ts salt
1 TBS. baking powder
1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c butter; softened
1 c dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 c corn syrup
Preheat oven to 325øF.
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside. In another
bowl, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, and corn syrup until
smooth. Slowly add flour mixture, and blend to form a smooth dough. Wrap
and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll on lightly
floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness for thin cookies, 1/4 inch for
thicker, softer cookies. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased
cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes. Decorate with piped chocolate, royal
icing, or powdered-sugar icing, or enjoy plain. Makes 3 dozen.

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Can I reuse dresses for 6 months until my baby is 1 year old?

top gift ideas for 6 year old boys image

Oana L

As you may know, baby clothes cost a fortune. My baby is 6 months old and has left behind mountains of clothes. Until now I have been lucky and have received stuff from my friends or gifts when my girl was born.

But as you also may know, people make gifts for up to 6 months and when the baby goes over that, all of a sudden the dresser is empty. I was looking at all the gorgeous and expensive dresses that she has and has put on 2-3 times only, and I can't bear to put them away and spend money on new ones. So I was thinking of buying some lace band or other material and lengthen some of them. If they have shoulder straps then it's a breeze, just cut the straps and sew longer one. The issue is if the dress is large enough. I've been through stores today and checked the differences between 6mo and 1year widths. They seem about the same to me...

So what is your experience and advice? Can longer strap or lengthening the skirt be a viable solution?
Thanks for the suggestions. I did buy some things from other moms and I preferred to wash them with my normal detergent instead of the baby's, since the baby's is literally no good. Guess what, today her eczema is back, on her legs, where she had the 'new' pants touching the skin. At least now I know what it is...

I have received these marvelous extremely expensive dresses (around 90$ a piece) that I'd hate to loose. This is why I want to make them longer. I'm concerned about the size at the waist though...

Answer
I like the idea of the straps. It would work good if the dress or shirt was waistless. Once, when my daughter was 21 months, we were at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls. A little girl at a nearby table was wearing a dress identical to one my daughter had. The dress came with a shirt underneath it, but the older girl was wearing it as a tank top with shorts. I filed that idea away and used it.

Another thing I have done with strappy and sleeveless dresses is put shirts under them for winter wear. This is a good way to get use out of shirts that are too short. (With the dress covering the shirt, nobody knows that the tummy is exposed a bit.)

As has been said, I've also used (and still do, my daughter is five) leggings, tights and diaper covers for skirts and dresses that are getting too short-- Especially if the skirt and tights or leggings are the same color.

I've always been cheap. I was raised to buy things as cheap as possible and keep them for as long as possible. Especially so with my kids. I have a two-year-old son and he's wore several of his sister's hand-me-downs. (Even some "girly" sleepers, but they are "just" sleepers.) There were times when a second child was a possibility that I got clothes second hand and free that were technically boy's that I thought could be used for either/or someday.

If you are going to add on, is there a way in which you can add on, but then take if off? This way, if you pass the skirt or dress on, the next parent(s) can do the same.

As for the detergent, we generally use the Arm and Hammer dye-free, scent-free. If we run out and it's not on sale, then we go for the Purex dye-free, scent-free. (When my daughter was a newborn, my very picky MIL HAD TO get the Dreft because nothing else was good enough.) Something might be clean when we get it, but if it smells, I have to wash it again (sometimes with added baking soda) just to get rid of the detergent smell.

What do I put in a Pregnancy Journal and Baby Journal?

estofik

I am creating my own pregnancy journal and I just need some opinions on what I should put into it. This journal is also going to used for the baby for the first couple years. If there is anything that you have had in pregnancy journal or what you think would be cool when they get older. Please let me know.

Answer
i made one for my daughter who is now 6 i did it till she was 4 but still write the odd bits and bats in it basically i started with a little story about my pregnancy how i felt when i found out i was expecting some appointments i went to my scan any names i had chose for a girl or boy what my cravings were what i thought the sex of my baby was going to be what everyone else thought then did a few pages with family members photos writing who everyone was and what relation to my child they was then my labour what i experienced not the gruesome bits ha ha how i was feeling throughout labour (my emotions) then a page on the day she was born with her weight eye colour hair colour lenght of her time she was born and the name i had finally chose for her who i thought she looked like who others thought she looked like then her first example first car she rode in home first address the gifts she was bought and who they were from etc then went on to writing a page a month about what she hd done different in that month and adding a photo of her of the age she was that month then extra bits like what was her fave food games when she got her teeth who was her first friends when she was ill and what she was poorly with etc if you make a homemade one you can make it gorgus with different colour paper pens etc i loved doing it for her she is nearly 6 and she love looking through it now have fun there just a few ideas what i can remember off top of my head you can go on forever but its worth it in the end and a 1000 times better than a shop bought journal have fun hunni

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What do I put in a Pregnancy Journal and Baby Journal?

top gift ideas for 6 year old boys image

estofik

I am creating my own pregnancy journal and I just need some opinions on what I should put into it. This journal is also going to used for the baby for the first couple years. If there is anything that you have had in pregnancy journal or what you think would be cool when they get older. Please let me know.

Answer
i made one for my daughter who is now 6 i did it till she was 4 but still write the odd bits and bats in it basically i started with a little story about my pregnancy how i felt when i found out i was expecting some appointments i went to my scan any names i had chose for a girl or boy what my cravings were what i thought the sex of my baby was going to be what everyone else thought then did a few pages with family members photos writing who everyone was and what relation to my child they was then my labour what i experienced not the gruesome bits ha ha how i was feeling throughout labour (my emotions) then a page on the day she was born with her weight eye colour hair colour lenght of her time she was born and the name i had finally chose for her who i thought she looked like who others thought she looked like then her first example first car she rode in home first address the gifts she was bought and who they were from etc then went on to writing a page a month about what she hd done different in that month and adding a photo of her of the age she was that month then extra bits like what was her fave food games when she got her teeth who was her first friends when she was ill and what she was poorly with etc if you make a homemade one you can make it gorgus with different colour paper pens etc i loved doing it for her she is nearly 6 and she love looking through it now have fun there just a few ideas what i can remember off top of my head you can go on forever but its worth it in the end and a 1000 times better than a shop bought journal have fun hunni

I need a cute, creative cookie recipe to use as a birthday present for a 9 year old boy. Any ideas?

mdet

Needs to be cute and taste good!

Answer
I like the cookie bouquets for birthday gifts. You don't have to have cutters to make the shapes...just make the shapes from paper and lay the pattern down on the rolled out cookie dough and cut around it. To put the cookies on a stick you can just lay the stick on the back of the baked cookie and pour some melted chocolate over it....this will "glue" it to the cookie.
I used to work in a cookie bouquet shop and I have a very good icing recipe to use for the decorations. I also have 3 real different cookie recipes for rolled out cookies...you can choose which you would like.
This is a link to a cookie bouquet idea:
http://www.clevercookie.com/happy-birthday-to-him-cookie-arrangement.html
......after the chocolate has dried and the cookie is attached to the stick you can put the sticks in a block of styrofoam to hold them in place.

CUTOUT COOKIE ICING
3 egg whites, at room temp.
Whip 2 min., fast speed or until stiff.
Add:
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (1 box)
Mix.
Add,
2 TBS. Crisco
Mix on low speed until smooth.
(if you want to make a glaze from this, just add a little hot water to it so it is thin enough to dip the cookie in or brush the icing on the cookie.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES
set oven temp. at 375°F
1 1/3 cups shortening (I use butter or margarine)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
(optional, 1/8 tsp. each, almond, orange, lemon flavors)
2 eggs
2 1/2 TBS. milk
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream shortening, add sugar and flavorings and cream together.
Add eggs and milk. Cream.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt together.
Add flour mixture to batter. Mix just until incorporated.
Cool in refrigerator 1 hour or more. Divide dough in half.
Roll out to desired thickness. I make mine almost 1/2 inch thick. Most people
make them 1/4 inch thick.
Cut in shapes and place on cookie sheet. Reroll the dough with the rest of the dough.
If you do not plan to ice the cookies, sprinkle with sugar. Otherwise, leave plain.
Bake at 375°F for 6 to 12 minutes, depending on how thich you roll them. They should be lightly browned around the edges

BROWNIE ROLL OUT COOKIES
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup lightly salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t overly fret if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Cut-Outs
Yield: 36 Servings
4 c flour
1/4 ts salt
1 TBS. baking powder
1 c creamy peanut butter
1 c butter; softened
1 c dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 c corn syrup
Preheat oven to 325øF.
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside. In another
bowl, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, and corn syrup until
smooth. Slowly add flour mixture, and blend to form a smooth dough. Wrap
and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll on lightly
floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness for thin cookies, 1/4 inch for
thicker, softer cookies. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased
cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes. Decorate with piped chocolate, royal
icing, or powdered-sugar icing, or enjoy plain. Makes 3 dozen.

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