The Festive Fivers competition is back!

kitschkitty

lizzieferegait wrote: »

I have just bought numerous jewellry items on ebay, all solid silver for between 99p and £1.99 most with free postage. Look on ebay and search for womans gifts.There are lots of assorted jewellry all ending within minutes.Wait until 1 min to go and then put your bid in. The items come from China and will arrive in around 3 weeks time.I have had a great success with this so far .

Sorry I dont know how to send a link

I hate to have to point this out, but while the jewellery can be very pretty it is not solid silver.

Sadly a lot of these manufacturers are even stamping 925 or sterling on items as well as saying they are silver.

That said some sellers do state that items are silver plated but some of the worst ones still have the 925 or sterling stamp on them - which is even worse!

At least if you know you are buying costume jewellery (and don't have any allergies) it's not so bad.

sheisthelast

Name of present merry mix tape
Bought or homemade? Both
Total cost A ten-pack of blank CDs with cases can cost £5 or less – that’s 50p per person!

Details Bring back the good old days of mix tapes, brought up to date in CD format! This super-thrifty gift idea makes up for cheapness in the time and care spent on picking songs and forming the perfect, personalised playlist for friends and family members. Pick a theme that’s meaningful – a shared holiday, a particular year, or a season, for example. Or choose songs that spell out the name of the person you are making up the mix tape for. When you’re happy with the list, cut out a piece of card or paper to fit on the front of the CD case (there's usually a thin inlay in each case you can use as a template), and write the track list on one side. Decorate the other side with drawings, photos, or images cut out of magazines you have lying around.

jakes-mum

Name of present: Survival Bracelet
Whether it's bought or homemade: Can Be Homemade or Bought
Total cost: To Make = Approx £1, To Buy = £2.99
Details: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/550-paracord-survival-bracelet-Blue-White-Custom-fit-10mm-contoured-buckle-/170935285038?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27cc89752e

debtfree.wannabe_4

Name of present: Fairy Garden
Whether it's bought or homemade: Both
Total cost: £1-£4
Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): Buy a selection of flower seeds, a seed tray (could use an empty plastic egg tray instead), and a fairy figurine - all should be available from a pound shop - to make a kit for children (and big kids too!) to make their own special fairy garden. You could also include plant pots (again a pack of 10 for £1 available in pound shop) for when the plants get bigger and still be under a fiver!
A link to the offer if it's online (where possible): Apparently I'm not allowed to post with links on here but I looked at Poundland online as an example, should be similar products available in other pound shops too.

ih8stress

# Name of present:

Personalised Magnetic People

# Whether it's bought or homemade:

Both

# Total cost:

£1

# Details (where it's from, how to make it etc):

Buy a pack of Magnetic Photo Sheets
Pound shops usually sell these (2 sheets in a pack)

Using photoshop or a similar program on your computer, group together 3 or 4 photos of the person (or different people) to make one big picture, and print it on one of the magnetic sheets.

You can crop the photos to remove as much background as possible. The photos can be laid out in different directions.

Once printed and dried, cut around the figures to create individual 'magnetic people'.

Use the offcuts of the sheet to cut out 'speech bubble' shapes to use with the people, using a biro or permanent marker to write on them.
Alternatively if you are handy on the computer, you can add text to the sheet before you print it out to make the speech bubbles.

The possibilities are endless. You can create them for couples, children, pets, friends, workmates etc.

You can get really creative and add accessories relevant to the recipient eg. mobile phone, ipod, laptop for gadget freaks, handbags, shoes, jewellery for shopaholics.

Try and include quotes, accessories, hobbies, work uniforms, family traits etc relevant to the recipient to make it as personalised as possible.

You could even turn them into 'dress-up dolls' by making clothes add-ons. Being magnetic, they would simply stick on top of the figures.


The figures can then be stuck onto a fridge for display - blank quotes could be used as a message or reminder.

NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, DUE TO SMALL PARTS AND MAGNETS

AL150N

Name of present: Personalised Cryptic Crosswords
Homemade
Total cost: in money, almost nothing, save the printing; in time, quite a lot!

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If like me you are a fan of cryptic crosswords and have family and friends who are too, you could compile personalised crosswords as presents for them. It takes quite a lot of time (at least it does me) but the only cost is for actually printing your finished result, thus a few pence only.[/FONT]

METHOD

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This is how I do it myself. I would be very happy to hear suggestions for improvements![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Use a text processing tool to create a document. As long as it's one that enables you to create a table or grid, and in it black out squares and print small numbers.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Start by drawing a 15x15 grid. This is the standard "size" for a crossword.

[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Next, black out every other square in every other row, starting with a square in either of the top two rows and first two columns. This is a first pass to make sure you have a "correct" pattern.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Eventually you will need to black out more squares but remember you have to do this in a 2-way rotationally symmetrical pattern i.e. if your first Across solution is 8 letters long, so your last Across solution must also be 8 letters long.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Now, it is quite nice (though obviously not obligatory) to give your crossword a theme which reflects the life and interests of the person for whom it's intended, such that as many of the solutions and clues as you like will be based on this theme. I do this by making a list of words which relate to my chosen theme, and especially words which share some of the same letters. You should not expect to be able to use all of the words because you will be constrained firstly by those which you do actually use and secondly by the need to stick to a rotationally symmetrical pattern, so you will need quite a lot more words than you think.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The next step is to fit the words into the grid and in fact fill the grid with words. This is the most difficult step, as even if you have a large vocabulary, it's difficult to fit words together. Another rule here is that every other letter in every word should "check" with a letter in another word running perpendicular to it.

[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I found the website crossword-dictionary.com invaluable for finding words to fit with words I have already used or am thinking of using. It is very quick, simple and easy to use.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Once you've filled the grid, you can make up the clues. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]This is the most fun bit of the exercise. If you haven't managed to use some of your theme words in the grid, you might be able to employ them in the clues themselves.

[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Finally when you are ready, print off the final grid (remembering to number the squares correctly) with the clues nicely formatted underneath. If it's a gift for a special occasion you can print on some attractive not too heavy duty card with whatever other decoration you fancy. You might want to enclose a paper version as well in case the recipient doesn't want to sully the card.[/FONT]

hulleebonce

My idea is a chocolate covered wine bottle. I’ve seen these for around £20 + online but they can be made at home very easily, for much less, with a bit of mess and imagination!

Name of present: Wine & Choc O’Clock
Bought or Homemade?: Bit of Both
Total Cost: £5 (it can be cheaper depending on what wine is used; if a small bottle is used then it can be done for around £3) – this assumes that you have masking tape and cellophane in your cupboard at home.

Details:
What you need:
- 1 bottle wine - you can get a decent bottle for around £4 – choose the favourite one of the person receiving the gift;
- 1 x 200g block of chocolate (if you are covering red wine, dark chocolate is particularly good);
- Baking paper;
- Masking tape;
- Spoon;
- Bowl;
- Narrow Ribbon, about the length of the wine bottle;
- Cellophane & ribbon for wrapping.

How to make it:
Wash wine bottle and dry thoroughly. Use the masking tape to cover the label (you can cover as much or as little of the label as you like). Then use the masking tape to attach one end of the ribbon to the bottom of the bottle and one end to the top of the bottle so that the ribbon makes a tight straight line up the side of the bottle (this is needed to crack open the chocolate later). Melt chocolate in a bowl. Making sure the wine bottle is completely dry, place the bottle in the chocolate and use the spoon to cover the wine bottle in chocolate, smoothing it as necessary. You can either let the wine bottle dry by placing it on baking paper in the fridge or letting it dry at room temperature (the latter is probably better to avoid white spots on the chocolate). Once the chocolate has set slightly (still wet to touch) peel off the masking tape to reveal the label. Let the chocolate set completely. You can leave it like it is or decorate it with drizzles of a contrasting colour chocolate. Once completely dry, wrap the chocolate covered bottle in cellophane with ribbon. You could even make your own personalised label for it.

gillie45

Name of present-Christmas Hamper
Bought or homemade-mostly bought
Total cost Less than 50p

Details
When shopping choose BOGOFF offers especiially festive items such as shortbread,chocolates etc,pick up a free cardboard box from the checkout,cover in a sheet of Christmas paper and pop in the free items,add to it each week,making sure items are non perishable,and you will soon have a festive hamper as a gift completely free !!.To make it more special you could always pick up a cheap basket from a charity shop.

two_hoots_2

• Name of present: Festive Fire Lighters

• Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade

• Total cost: £1.00 - £ 3.00 depending on where you buy from.

• Details (where it's from, how to make it etc):
With so many people having log burners and open fires this gift really hits the spot! Collect fallen pine cones for free in lots of places, we usually collect ours on our Sunday walks at National Trust properties, we always ask first, but have never been refused.
Place the pine cones in a warm, dry area, such as an airing cupboard, for a few weeks to dry out. Then you are ready to make your present.

The pine cones make great fire lighters with a lovely smell, perfect for Christmas. I usually allow enough cones for one month’s lighting, about three per day.

I have used a small basket that cost 50 pence from a car boot or a terracotta plant pot, 99 pence from B&Q. Put the pine cones into any such holder and then use festive cellophane to wrap. Initially, I bought a sheet from a local florist for 50 pence but then purchased a whole roll for £6 from the internet that stretched to over 25 presents! Then, a piece of festive ribbon, I kept all the ribbon from last year’s presents, so it cost me nothing, but you should be able to buy some locally for about 20 pence. Finally, with the pot, you could add a pack of lettuce seeds, B&Q £1.20, add instructions to use the cones in the winter then add compost in the spring add the seeds and enjoy fresh lettuce from the pot, a double prezzie!!
Photographs are available of the finished products
• A link to the offer if it's online (where possible): N/A

Sharon Leach

vikki_louise

Chrstmas phonecall from mickey mouse
Price- FREE!

Just add your details and a time to call and mickey mouse will give your child a festive phonecall for free.
https://magicalcallfrommickey.com/