Gifts on a Budget

My kids get invited to a lot of birthday parties, sometimes we have 2 parties in one weekend. The pressure to give a "nice" gift coupled with the expense of gift giving can be stressful. One of my favorite solutions to this dilemma is theme gifts.

The first thing I do is shop for toys on sale after holidays and seasons. This is a great time to stock up on brand name toys at bargain prices. I keep a box in my closet where I store all of extra toys I buy throughout the year and have a master list on my computer for quick reference.

I also keep any leftover party favors from my own children's parties - you never know when you can use them again. Stock up on colored galvanized buckets, sand pails and Chinese-style take-out boxes.

Below is an example of a gift my daughter gave at a party last week for a little boy. Separately, the contents of the bucket aren't impressive, but when combined into a theme package, it becomes a nice gift. A pretty package makes even the cheapest gift special - something little by itself becomes more significant when paired with like items.

I purchased the sand pail at Dollar Tree for, yes, you guessed it, $1.00! I wrote the birthday boy's name with a red Sharpie and filled the bottom of the bucket with red crinkle filler ($1.00). I decorated the bucket with road sign stickers from my scrapbook collection.

The theme of this bucket was Hot Wheels cars. I only spent about $5.85 putting this all together.


The contents of the bucket include:

1. 6 Hot Wheels cars - free with coupons at Christmas
2. Bubble Playset - free with CVS Extra Care Bucks, plus this was a leftover from Emma's Strawberry Shortcake party favors
3. Hot Wheels coloring book - $1.00 from Dollar Tree
4. Crayola Crayons - leftover from Strawberry Shortcake party favors
5. Giant Lollipop - $1.00 from WalMart
6. Personalized license plate - $1.47 from WalMart

Putting together a theme gift tells the recipient that you really put some thought into the gift. The Hot Wheels bucket was a hit and didn't break the bank!

My 9 nine year old recently went to a party where he gave a movie theme gift. I purchased a plastic popcorn container from Target's Dollar Spot and filled it with a $5.00 movie from WalMart (the Looney Tunes movie with Brendan Frasier), some movie type boxed candy (88¢ each from WalMart) and a couple of packages of microwave popcorn from our pantry. You could also do the same thing with a video rental gift card.

Here are some other ideas:

• Art supplies - Shop the school supply sales in the fall for great deals on crayons, markers, construction paper, etc. Put everything into a galvanized bucket personalized with the child's name.
• Bugs - Fill a bucket with a bug box, butterfly net, plastic bugs, gummy worms and a bug coloring book (all can be found at Dollar Tree)
• Gardening - Fill a pretty pot or watering can with child sized gardening gloves & tools, seeds, book of flowers and gummy worms
• Summer - Fill a sand pail with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, jump rope, kite, Sun Chips, pinwheel and sand toys (all can be found at Dollar Tree)
• Camping - Fill a galvanized bucket with smores ingredients, flashlight and a book about the outdoors
• Teen Girl - Use a pretty bucket or cosmetic bag to hold nail polish, toe separators, nail files and a teen magazine
• Book - pair a popular book like Give A Moose A Muffin with a muffin mix, whisk, mini muffin tin and child apron

The possibilities are really endless and they are so much fun to put together. Plus, you know that you are giving a unique and thoughtful gift that goes beyond a price tag!