Win £200. Festive Fivers Competition 2008: The best Xmas pressies for under £5

Joools28

I think this forum is a fantastic idea, and I've already got some pressie ideas! Here's my ideas - I'm doing the first one for my sister this year as we're both new mums and I find babycare books very clinical and make you paranoid you're not doing it right! I did the second one once with a friend, and did the last one last year for my dad

Name of present? A personalized top tips book

• Do you make it or buy it?
• Total Cost?£1 (for paper)
• Details (the more the better) If there is someone in your life who has a new baby or a child who needs entertaining, make them a book of ideas. Look through internet forums, talk to other parents and use your own experience to give ideas of games, activities, useful things to buy, pointless things to buy, local places to take your child, books to buy/get from library etc. As a new mum, it’s very difficult to know what to do and what activities you can do on a budget. The beauty of this present is that it’s practical, but the recipient also knows you’ve spent time thinking about them and doing something to help them. You can present it as you wish (eg written on cards, written in a notebook, printed and put in a folder…)
• The same idea would work for helping someone to lose weight (activities, recipes, ideas for staying on track…) and lots of other things.

• Name of present? Skill share
• Do you make it or buy it? Make it
• Total Cost?£0
• Details (the more the better) In the same way you can make vouchers for eg. “I’ll do the ironing”, how about offering a skill (eg. Helping them learn to cook / read music / rewire a plug / write a report etc etc). It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you can offer it as a skill. The extra bonus is that as a skill share, they can offer you a skill as a return present, so they don’t have to spend anything either!

• Name of present? Poem
• Do you make it or buy it?Make it
• Total Cost?£0-5
• Details (the more the better)Write your loved one a poem and present it either verbally (for free), written down, framed, or even stitched. It's a personal and unique!
• I know the last one is a bit cheesy, but it depends who it is/what you write

ANNETTEMONEY

Name of pressy - Personalised Photo Album
Make it or Buy it-Both
How much does it cost Under £5.00
Details, I joined a site callled Photobox http://www.photobox.co.uk/on joining you get 50 free prints. If you recommend a friend you and they get 50 free prints you need to have patience uploading your photo's but its worth it as they are free, I think it cost about £1.50ish for postage. I picked 50 pictures of my family, bought a simple 6X4 photo album from Asda that cost me £1.50, the pictures were deliverd really quickly, I put them in the album with a picture of the family member who I am going to give the album to on the front of the album. Hay presto a really personalised christmas pressy for around £3.00.

Hope you like my idea for festive fiver pressy.

mdsremos

• Name of present? Mini Beblam Cube - various designs from pink coloured to wooden!
  
• Do you make it or buy it? Buy it
  
• Total Cost? Average £2.99 plus postage but should be below £5.00 if you sort through the listings
• DETAILS: A puzzle more addictive than the Rubiks cube and as featured on Dragons Den. The mini version is ideal for a quick break at your desk at work or just chilling at home for some fun stress relief!
  
• LINK: www.ebay.co.uk

JenWren

• Name of present? Pamper Box
  
• Do you make it or buy it? Make it
  
• Total Cost? £0
  
• Details (the more the better): Go round various websites getting free samples of various beauty products, perfumes and anything else you can find and put them in a decorated shoe box. You may even have a few things that you can add to it yourself e.g. candles, just add anything nice. Also look out for any freebies in magazines.
  

This idea came to mind when I was trying to figure out what to get my sister for Christmas this year as she will have just had her first baby (due 16th Nov). Also she's a real girlie-girl and loves her bathtime treats and make-up, so this would be perfect for her.

rose-n-thistle

Name of present - T/Shirt Cushion

Do you make or buy - Both

Total Cost - £5 or cheaper

Details - You can either buy a plain t/shirt and a t/shirt transfer to put on it,
Which is what im doing the t/shirt transfers came from Ebay.
Or you can find a t/shirt with a picture on from a charity shop.
Sew the bottom and the sleeves leaving the neck hole open then if you have toy stuffing you can use it to stuff it or old rags torn into pieces are good as well, then sew the neck hole up and there you go got yourself a t-shirt cushion.

This is the link to show you as this is where i got the idea from, as im making a few for my kids school friends.

http://cooltshirts.org.uk/2007/08/25/how-to-make-a-cool-tshirt-cushion/

MARYANNE_3

NAME OF PRESENT --KNITTED STRIPEY SOCKS
DO YOU MAKE OR BUY --KNIT WITH DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES
TOTAL COST ---£8 for 2 balls wool and free pattern from Readicut
DETAILS--- 4 PLY KNITTED SOCKS -STRIPEY IN FASHION WARM FOR WINTER

ElusiveLucy

Name of present? Pressie Cheques
Do you make it or buy it? Make it
Total Cost? Minimal (cost of paper and printer ink)
Details (the more the better)
Use a drawing package on your PC to create a "cheque" which you can personalise then print off to give someone a "promise" present. Ideas include things such as jobs you might do for them (e.g. household chores, car cleaning, back massage etc) or items that you will make for them or give them. The cheques can be used as an alternative to gift vouchers and can be for anything you can think of.....Go on, think of something original!!!!

thevicster

I posted this on the wrong thread, so here it is again on the right one!

Name of present: Edible Art Set
Do you make it or buy it? Buy the ingredients then make the set up
Total Cost: £3 - £5
Details: Fill a shoebox/compartment box (£1 in Woolworths)/other small box with some sheets of wafer/rice paper, a couple of cheap paintbrushes, some writing icing or icing sugar, food colouring, small sweets (mini bags of haribo starmix are 8p in Asda), smarties, and anything that would make a pretty picture. Attach a sign to the front of the box and hey, you never know you might get an edible thank you card in return! Yum!!

katziebabe

• Name of present? Marzipan fruits
• Do you make it or buy it? Make it
• Total Cost? £2 (marzipan, food colourings, card)
• Details (the more the better) Dye marzipan into fruit colours then make little miniature fruits (apples, bananas, oranges, cherries, whatever takes your fancy!). make (or reuse if you have any) little boxes, decorate them in a suitable manner then put your mini fruits into the boxes and dish them out!
• Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

katziebabe

• Name of present? Photo calendar
• Do you make it or buy it? Buy
• Total Cost? Free! (plus tax and postage)
• Details (the more the better) I recently bought a book from Amazon and with the shipment got a flyer for vistaprint.co.uk, advertising personalised photo calendars for only 99p. I went to the site to see what it was about, and proceeded to make a photo calendar, with my own photos and a good deal of personalisation available. When i got to the checkout, it said that 1 calendar was free. 2 were about £7.50. I ordered two, and tax and p+p were added, taking the total to about £12, but I assume if one was ordered, including tax and p+p, it should cost less than a fiver. I am currently waiting for the calendars but the site seemed reputable and good quality.
• Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer https://www.VistaPrint.co.uk/Calendar