Festive Fivers Contest.

ebjb

Name of Present: CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
Do you make it or buy it: MOSTLY BUY BUT YOU CAN MAKE THINGS TO PUT IN
IN.
Total Cost: FROM UNDER £1 (including cost of Cracker) TO UNDER £5 (depending on what you buy to fill the cracker!)
Details: Buy a box of cheap Christmas crackers - preferably ones with no ties on them - make sure they are biggish ones. Take all the 'rubbish' out of them - leave the hat and joke in - and put your own gift in then tie up with shiny paper curling ribbon - examples of fillers are a nice hanging crystal which reflects the sun's rays with a written message saying, 'Hang this crystal at your window and when the sun shines through, your room will fill with rainbows, sent with love from me to you.' You can buy these hanging crystals in most shopping centres starting from about £2.99p. Other ideas for cracker fillers are plastic (not glass!) minatures of whisky, vodka, rum, gin Bailey's Irish cream - in fact whatever their favourite 'tipple' is you can usually get a minature to fit a cracker for under £2.00p; a necklace; bracelet; Body Shop do lots of little body lotions, shower gels etc for between 50p and £1; I make my own little lavender bags in the summer; Small wind chimes;small bottles of nail polish;the small bottles of King of Shaves shaving oil for men; cufflinks; keyrings which have a light on the end for seeing door/car locks on dark mornings/evenings (2 for £1 at Poundland) wine stoppers; small fridge magnets; Christmas tree hangings (I send one to all my friends every year so they have a collection over the years); for the children you can put in the little bags of chocolate coins, sweets; small car for the boys; tiny little teddy bears for the girls; the facecloths on sale now Barbie/Bob the Builder which 'grow' into facecloths when they are put in water. The list is endless - once you start you will find loads of things to put in - I pick up little gifts under a Fiver all through the year for my Christmas Cracker collection ! - and my friends all look forward to the surprise when they pull them! Happy Christmas!

alivass

NAME OF PRESENT; HAND PAINTED MUGS
DO YOU MAKE OR BUY IT; MAKE
TOTAL COST;£1.00
DETAILS; Buy some white mugs from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15591&catalogId=10103&storeId=7&productId=10782&langId=-20&parentCats=15591*15975*15977 39p each get some ceramic paints similar to these http://www.craftmaterialsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Marabu_Ceramic_Paints.html

and then paint them with the recipients name and either a xmas theme decoration or flowers etc , I did this for my son and daughters birthday party instead of a party bag each child had their own mug with their name and i did boats, fish, ladybirds for boys and flowers for the girls and they all loved them the parents all said what a great idea, and it was alot cheaper than buying all the plastic party bag stuff that they play with once and then chuck away and now ive made some for the school christmas craft stall and decorated them with xmas trees, snowmen and filled stockings and they look great and i am by no means an artist. The paints cost about £8 for 6 and i have done so far 50 mugs and i still have half the jars left so i would say well under a fiver !! Thinking now of making a christmas dinner service get plain white bowls, plates etc and decorate them ikea do plates and bowls for 39pence each too so you could do a set for about £2.00 they even do a serving dish for £1.69 have fun and happy painting!!
Ali x

jannic61

new to this . last year my son moved out. For xmas bought RAZORS, SHAVING GEL, DEODERANT, TOOTPASTE, put it in a wicker basket wrapped in fancy paper. He loved it , because being 18 then he did not have a clue what to buy
janine

blackadder

name : too many to list
cost : under £1, under £2 and under £5

where : one of my favourite online vendors, Hawkin's Bazaar
under a quid
under 2 quid
under a fiver

many of the items under a quid would be suitable for putting in your own home made christmas crackers, they even have a cracker making kit for 4.99 at
cracker kit

ClaireBear78_3

Name of present? snow growing snowman soap
Do you make it or buy it? buy it
Total Cost? £4
Details (the more the better) How to describe this?? Soap in the shape of a snowman that grows snow
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offerhttp://www.lizzybug.co.uk/product.php?productid=860&cat=18

Ive used this site for tshirts for my little one... some nice desicns but a bit more expensive than a fiver though.

Claire

ps. Its my first post so Hi to everyone out there! Great site, wish I found you all years ago!

whitty999

Name of present? Time Giving :A
Do you make it or buy it?Free :A
Total Cost?Free :A
Details: Give a little of your time to a homeless hostel,Old people's day centre or a childrens home etc to help the less unfortonante out there. Help to entertain,Serve meals,Or just sit and chat the list is endless.Each year i do it i came away feeling real good inside knowing I hopefully made someones Christmas a little better.I spent last Christmas morning visiting the homeless giving out small homemade gifts,Cups of coffee from a flask with a slice of christmas cake I came away feeling grateful for all i have,Also a better person.
My children come along to and enjoy the time offering that they give to others and meeting many people from all different walks of life.
If you are creative you could knit scarfs,gloves etc to give out to the homeless or the elderly people,Please don't forget elderly neighbours who get cold :T .Make small pieces of jewellery,purses etc give to local childrens homes for the children to open on Christmas day.
Who ever you decide to give your Time Giving to I know that it will be gratefully recieved and by giving you a great satisfaction of really helping someone that needs it. :A

EmLoo

Name of present? Memory Box
Do you make it or buy it? Both
Total Cost? Up to £5
Details (the more the better) Buy basic wooden box from Hobby Craft - they do the balsa type wood ones which are quite inexpensive depending on the size... then decorate it however you want by writing on it things like... "Remember when we...." then follow that with short phrases which remind you of different things or places you have been... then fill that with keepsakes from each of the things you have written on the box. This can be a gift equally for partners/parents/friends/children.

stumpjumper

Name of present?
-Adopt an Animal

Do you make it or buy it?
-Buy it

Total Cost?
-from £2.50

Details (the more the better)
- If your children are asking for a pet this christmas but you know they'll be bored with it by new year. You can adopt an endangerd animal in the wild via the WWF. They send you a pack with all the details of the animal and lots of conservation related goodies. The animals include: dolphins, orangutans, pandas and tigers.

Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer
- https://secure.wwf.org.uk/adoption/index.asp?ext=true&pc=ACX005001

terryrichards

The best Presents that we have bought over the past years have mostly come from shop called "Home Bargains". I belive it is a chain but the one we shop at is in Northampton

LindsayHull

MSE_Martin wrote:

Welcome to the MoneySavingExpert Festive Fivers Contest.

What's the idea?

To collect a database of the best, clever, weird, practical, thoughtful, romantic presents you can buy or make. The main rule, it has to cost less than a fiver (before delivery).

The list will then be categorised and published on the site in the middle of November. Even if you don't think you've got a winning idea, submit it anyway, the more the merrier and you may save someone some money and give them a better time over the festive season.

What's the prize?

For the best adult and the best kids suggestion I am going to send a luxury Christmas hamper.

A quick thought

When I was considering doing this contest, someone emailed me to discuss a 'festive fivers' contest to enable people to give more money to the Earthquake. I think that's a wonderful idea, though I know many people need festive fivers to help their own budgets and stop ensuing debts. Some will be using the festive fivers to help budget, others may find it enables them to give more to charity

What's the deadline?

The last accepted entry will be on the 10th November 2005. The winners will be announced on the site and in the email within a week from then. You will then be contacted via this Chat Forums public message (PM) system, so please make sure you check to see if you've won.

How to enter?

Simply click reply and enter the details. You can enter as many times as you like, both in just one post or in many (and of course it is free).

Please put your answer in the following format

Name of present?
Do you make it or buy it?
Total Cost?
Details (the more the better)
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

For example

Name of present? Personal gift vouchers
Make it or buy it? Make it
Total Cost? under £1
Details (the more the better)? Simply draw or print up - on nice paper, some personal gift vouchers such as 'I'll do the ironing', 'I'll tickle your feet', 'I'll make you dinner', 'I'll give you a back rub', or perhaps some more creative and naughtier suggestions of your own! Then give your partner the vouchers instead of a present. Giving vouchers is often more personal, rewarding and lasts longer than presents. You can give books of 5, 10, 100 or just a single one. You choose.

Good Luck!

Name of present? Mixed CD
Do you make it or buy it? Bit of both
Total Cost? Definitely less than a fiver
Details : I made a mixed CD for my husband with all his and our favourites on it. He loves it and it's much more personal than buying one .