What's the concensus on "freebies" as Christmas presents?

bonty44

alanamyles wrote: »

Saving even more money like this would leave some cash spare for other things, such as taking the kids to the cinema ad a christmas treat (and actually buy popcorn instead of relying on free preview tickets and sneaking in home-made snacks); petrol for the car so the kids and I can visit family, and the like.=]

I am sure that everyone would much rather you were in a position to do things with your children; after all, with presents it is the thought that counts

balletshoes

alanamyles wrote: »

Is it okay to give well considered gifts which have been sourced as freebies/cost very little/made at no cost? My children have been wonderfully understanding, but I'm not so sure how to try to explain to certain family members so any insights would be much appreciated =]

I'd say its perfectly acceptable to do this - after all, who is going to know? The bike for your daughter - definitely freecycle or ebay (my daughter outgrew her bike and I got a bigger one locally from ebay for £20 which is is great condition, she's not remotely bothered that its not new, because its "new to her".

I'll be honest here, there are threads emerging about adult family members having issues with the amount spent on their christmas presents from others not being enough etc, why bother buying at all for folk like that? They clearly are only interested in how much it cost, and not the effort it took finding something you thought would suit them/interest them.

If you want to add something to your Mums pressie from a shop, you can pick up hand cream, smellies etc from Boots, Superdrug or even pound shops for £1 or so.

Maybe its time you adults all got together and someone put forward the "lets just buy for the kids" idea again? Its too late for this Christmas, but maybe mention it over Christmas sometime? We only buy for the kids in our family (and my Mum, because she still goes nuts buying stuff for everyone and loves it). Cuts out a whole heap of stress and runnning around daft trying to find a token gift for half a dozen adults.

Jinx

I absolutely agree with using vouchers, freebies, deals to stretch money...I think I'm getting tighter the older I get!

I think you get to a point where you realise its all wants and not really needs. I buy consumables such as Thorntons for my older relatives as they have everything they could ever want and Im using Tesco vouchers towards toys for younger relatives and Pinecone vouchers from market research toward Boots gifts (on 3 for 2 of course). My daughter is my one 'luxury' on the xmas list.

Re a new bike, I remember seeing a police auction advertised... They are bound to have loads of quite new (ie desirable to nick!!) bikes, worth a google for your area or asking around?

Jewel_2

One Christmas, apart from my DD presents (and she was tiny so it was irrelevant).

1. I bought some poinsettia (sp) and wrapped them in a big piece of that shiny plastic stuff (like clingfilm, cant remember the name of it). Tied a big ribbon at the bottom, they looked like bouquets.

2. I made a load of homemade fudge. Different flavours.

3. I bought some of that quick dry clay stuff (not good with words this afternoon) and imprinted my daughter's hands and feet in it, for relatives.

4. I bought some really cheap mugs and some of that ink you can put on mugs, and decorated them.


Everything went down brilliantly. Everyone likes a present with thought in it.

clairehi

OP no there is nothing wrong with what you are suggesting.

a cheap and easy idea for older members of the extended family who expect something from you is a framed picture of the family, or your kids.

you'd really have to be a grade A misery guts to object to that as a gift, and photo frames can be had for next to nothing at lots of shops - Dunelm Mill has a good selection. you can get photo reprints made for pennies at Tesco.

you can also get mousemats, mugs and all sorts printed up with photos if you want to ring the changes.

Lunar_Eclipse

alanamyles wrote: »

For example, my daughter's bike was stolen (from right in front of our house!) earlier this year. Replacing with a new one is very much out of my budget, but this is the one and only thing she's asked for. Would it be bad to try and source one from Freecycle? Also I'm making a gift-set for my mum, but wonder if it would be more appropriate to supplement it with something "shop bought" instead of relying on what I make/get for free?

But what is the general consensus here? Is it okay to give well considered gifts which have been sourced as freebies/cost very little/made at no cost?

I assume you must be feeling guilty to ask this question, but the answer is absolutely YES. Nobody knows how much, if anything, you have paid for the gifts that you give.

Furthermore, I would go so far as to say it is very responsible of you to replace your daughter's bike with a free one, instead of spending money you can't afford. No need to hide it from her either. When I was 5, my parents bought me a secondhand trike which they had resprayed at a local car garage. (Sadly, I suspect it cost more than a new bike today would.) I had no idea it wasn't new since it was well presented, wasn't on my radar as a child (I didn't care!) and didn't affect my enjoyment of it in the slightest. Have you checked whether the theft is covered by your contents insurance though?

SugarSpun

I would far rather receive a thoughtful freebie than a smellie set or a thoughtless regift. I have a friend who vanishes from social view for the whole of Advent, only to reappear after Christmas with gifts all round of smellie sets that have an extra set of sellotape marks on them. I've no objection to regifting but simply giving us the stuff she doesn't want herself with no thought to what we might like is kind of hurtful.

Gemmy_2

Auctions, Car Boots and Charity shops are also very good

I've personally not spent a penny on Christmas this year yet.... and i'm finished with the present shopping
Mainly through earning vouchers etc through consumer pulse and the like, and i'm not one of those people that sit on the computer constantly. Ok in my defence we only have 8 adults and 2 children to buy for but they are all getting decent presents!

Dependent on the age of your daughter you could easily get her a bike off freecycle/freegle or maybe from a Car Boot sale (theres a man on our freecycle who takes in all old bikes and does them up and reoffers them), maybe spray paint it as another poster suggested and i've seen those bike tassels for sale for a couple o' quid. I always wanted them on my bike as a kid. And a bell? bike done.

eco

Thought I'd had a bit, I'm single but always give my neices and nephews money so they can pick there own present, I know there's no thought in it from me, but they love me for it. I'm single and don't expect my family to buy for me for Christmas they have kids and I don't, I goto my sister's for lunch and I contribute to that I know she loves having the lunch at her house and she buys the crackers and stuff but don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage, as my other sis comes as well and she's a single parent, so it can't be cheap for my sis.

We'd go to our mum's but she isn't here anymore and her thought on Christmas was we had to make it special for the kids, the adults didn't count, so that's what we still do. Do Christmas your way and your kids are more improtant than keeping up with the Joness's.

phunkles

How would people know if you got a bike from freecycle??
Surely Bikes on Xmas day dont come in a box or anything.... worst case scenario the tyres are bare then just go to a bike shop and get 2 new tyres???
Ive saved a fortune this Xmas and last by grabbits on this website and other website as well as doing survey sites to give me a little extra pin money, online sales are often and sometimes throw up a good bargain, free vouchers how does anyone know how I chose to pay for their gift?
However I dont buy for buyings sake ie yes it might be a bargain but the reciever would not appreciate it - my Xmas spreadsheet has suggestions for gifts that I add to throughout the year and refer back to that list regularly so people get a gift they would like but Ive paid a fraction of the price for

And well if your family dont appreciate the thought thats gone into the present then next year make a note of it and buy them a bottle of wine/box of biscuits from a 3 for £10 deal somewhere