What was the best cheap present...
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| Wed, 12-01-2004 - 3:58pm |
you ever received? Maybe if we all think back to gifts we received that were inexpensive, it will help remind us that we don't have to buy a lot to make the people we love happy.
The best cheap present I ever received was a little stuffed bear my mom got as a premium for opening a bank account (of course I didn't know that at the time, but the little sweatshirt the bear was wearing that reads "Yosemite National Bank" was a dead-giveaway as I got older, lol). What made it so great was her presentation. She brought it into the house under her button-down sweater, and made a big deal out of explaining that she had brought something home that needed my care, that I needed to be really good to it and keep it safe and warm. Then she gently brought it out, as though bringing a baby bird or something from its warm spot, and let me cradle it. I felt such strong maternal instincts toward that particular bear all my life after that, much more so than toward most of my stuffed animals (and believe me, I thought they were *all* my children! lol).
So, what cheap present do you remember receiving, and what made it so great?

I love anything that I receive that is handmade.
All my best,
Danni
I agree that anything handmade is special!
Cheap gifts I have loved:
-little stuffed animals
-fun wallets
-mirrored compact
-fun colored pens
-scented soaps (may all time favorite!)
-votive candles in a pretty little glass (Think dollar store)
-pictures or frames (dollar store again!)
-colored stationery (If you have a computer printer make some personalized stationery...put family pictures on some and you'll find grandparents love stuff like that)
-baskets
I am scanning old family pictures this year and putting them on CDs....it is a lot of work, but priceless.
I am working on my inexpensive but meaningful holiday!!!)
Littlesbigs
Not something I've received, but something I'm making for my dad this year...a memory box or jar filled with 52 small cards (one for each week of the year), each with a special memory I have of my dad or our family from my growing up years written on it.
I love this idea but can't take credit for it. Found it in one of FlyLady's Clutter-Free Gifts lists at www.flylady.net/pages/holidaycruising1.asp Hundreds of clutter-free gift suggestions. Not all of them are inexpensive, but a good many of them are.
The quote in a frame is an awesome idea! It would be great for anyone, even a teacher gift from a child. And coming from a person who loves words and quotes, I'm very excited about this idea for several people on my list, or rather people I couldn't afford to put on my list, but I will now. There are so many great quotations about how teachers touch students lives, and I think it would be a really fantastic gift in that situation.
I've gotten lots of inexpensive gifts that I have really enjoyed, and given many as well. I have had several occasions that I had to come up with gifts for elderly relatives in nursing homes or asissted care facilities who had limited space for 'things'. Scented lotions are always good in these cases and are relatively cheap, framed photos are good, or suncatchers to hang in the window (young children can even make these, and grandparents love having homemade things).
Oooo... How do you make these? I've been trying to decide on a cheap project for my three-year-old to make for his grandparents, and this would be a terrific one! Directions, please? :)
Heather
wrs707,
thanks for sharing that website. I love those ideas. I've been banging my head on the wall trying to figure out what to give my nieces.
MYM