The Festive Fivers competition is back!

lisaoxborough

Name of present: Child's Signature
Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade
Total cost: £2 or £3
Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): Last year, my five year daughter had just started to write a 'fancy' version of her name (a little heart replacing the dot over the 'i', etc.) I thought it was incredibly cute and was a real moment in time in her growing up that I didn't want to forget. So I asked my sister for a special present for Christmas....she got a small photo frame (from Matalan or Wilkinson for a couple of quid) that fits in with my decor at home. She then had my daughter sign her name on a small piece of paper which then went into the frame. I absolutely adore it, it's so beautiful. Already, one year on, my daughter's 'signature' has developed and changed, so in just a short period of time, the gift has become a real keepsake...imagine how much more I'll adore it when my daughter is eighteen And it doubled up as a a joint gift from my sister and daughter, which my daughter thought was fab!

liannebrighton

Name of present: friendship bracelets
Whether it's bought or homemade: homemade
Total cost: free
Details (where it's): if your like me and dont use the little ribbons inside clothes to hang them up and usually cut them out. why not plait them together to make bracelets or create a kit for a child tweenager to make their own to give or sell to their friends (awaken the business mind in them :money:). this will keep them quite for ages on Christmas day (i remember being the oldest child and opening up socks and bath products and wanting something that I could do or play with)

raid all your clothes for these ribbons you'll end up with loads of different colours and lengths.
print or write up instructions on different types of plait that they can try (3 strands or 6) you can Google image this for simple guides (sorry new user cant post links):(

include a here's one you did earlier as an example

to present wrap the ribbons around a sheet of card fold up the instuctions and put inside a toilet roll tube this can then be wrapped in the shape of a cracker and is stocking filler size

optional extras you can pick up beads for pennys on ebay or in crafts shops to finish the ends

lisaoxborough

Name of present: Ten Reasons Why I Love You
Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade
Total cost: £1ish
Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): My parents are really difficult to buy for, so last year I gave my Mum a list of ten reasons why I love her...I made it on the computer in a fancy font, and the same size as a credit card. Some of the reasons were serious and sentimental, others were little in jokes (like the fact that I am 32 years old and have children of my own, but she still sews my buttons back on for me! Or that I love the way when she hugs me, the hug lingers for just a little bit longer and a little bit tighter - "You hug me like you never want to let go"). Then I signed it with my name and kisses at the bottom and laminated it to protect it. I used the laminator at work for free, but I know you can pay about £1 for laminating at a local office supply place. My Mum shed a few tears when she read it, and now treasures it as a book mark so she sees it everytime she reads her book in the evening. It tells her all the things I forget to say or take for granted.

theforestfaery

Name of present: Salt Dough Christmas Decorations
Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade
Total cost: cost of ingredients approx. £0-£4 (for the dough you only need the cheapest flour and salt, or you may even have the ingredients at home already - you'll also need cute shaped cookie cutters, paint and some thin ribbon)
Details:
Recipes for salt dough can be easily found online (sorry, as a new user i can't post links but if you Google 'salt dough recipe' the first one that comes up is great, as i'm sure are most of the others!)

My mum used to do this with me when i was little, i have also made them as an adult and it is a lot of fun Make a batch of salt dough and roll it out to about 1/2-1cm thick, then cut out lots of shapes using cookie cutters (hearts, stars and circles are classic, but 'gingerbread mena' look great too, and depending what shapes you have available you could end up with some very unusual ornaments!) Use a skewer to poke a hole in the top for the ribbon; you could also use it to write a name or otherwise decorate the still-soft dough.

Bake in the oven then paint - acrylic paints are great for this and can be obtained very cheaply from The Works, or just use poster paint but this will need varnishing once dry or it will not age well. I like to paint a solid base and add a simple polka-dot pattern, but again you can give your creativity free rein! I also like to add some glitter glue (often available in £1 shops) for added sparkle. Unpainted shapes with glitter glue as a border around the edge look quite classy.

Thread a fine ribbon, glitter thread, etc through the hole to hang the ornament. The annoying little ribbon loops i'm always cutting out of my clothes are great for this

This is a lovely activity to do with children in the run-up to Christmas, and charming child-painted salt dough ornaments are wonderful gifts for family members. However it is also possible to make quite classy-looking ornaments resembling the carved and polka-dotted wooden hearts/discs i have seen in several shops already this year!

vinegarqueen

£5 spent on cheapie toys, pens, pencils etc from Poundland or Home Bargains. Wrap in recycled wrapping paper (smoothed out from last year and ironed), Hide around the house on Xmas Day and in the garden if dry. Make up clues and set the kids off, also good for daft adults. Fills in a couple of hours after lunch if not too full but beware kids get hyped up.

theforestfaery

Name of present: Baking Set
Whether it's bought or homemade: Both
Total cost: up to £5 (depending how much you include and where you buy it from)
Details: This is something i did recently as a housewarming gift, but it would work just as well for Christmas especially for someone just getting into cooking/baking.

A baking set made up of homemade recipe cards, cake tin/s, mixing bowl, oven gloves, tea towel set, cookie cutters etc - most of which cam be bought from a £1 or very cheap shop such as Home Bargains or £stretcher for around £1 each. For the gift i gave, i got a round tin and loaf tin from the £1 shop, made some oven gloves from recycled fabrics (including padding from an old towel), and typed up, printed and laminated two of my favourite cake recipes to include as well.

If you don't have a nearby £ or cheap home shop, supermarkets will often have cake tins for around £3, which you could give with a couple of cheap or homemade potholders and some of your favourite recipes. I'm lucky in being able to use the laminator in my dad's home office, otherwise i would simply print on glossy paper or thin card to make the recipe cards just a bit more durable than normal paper.

I've also done a slightly different version in the past, giving a large mixing bowl, wooden spoon, one recipe and all or most of the ingredients. This can also be done cheaply using own-brand flour etc. I think a simple sponge cake (flour, sugar, marge, vanilla, 2 eggs) would cost £3.50-£4, plus a bowl for £1 (again, the handy £-shop! or even big supermarkets will have a large plastic bowl for around £1). If someone has commented on a recipe you've made in the past, why not give them the ability to make it for themselves?!

ralphkoz

Done this for a few friends before, great if they have children and don't get to go out much as a couple:


Name of present: Cinema sitting.

Whether it's bought or homemade: Bit of both.

Total cost: about £4

Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): Make a voucher to go in friends christmas card offering your baby sitting services for free and that you will buy them cinema tickets (on orange wednesday!) so they can have a night out on you.

Particularly good is your friends have a lack of willing baby sitters in the area.

phil190885

Name of present: App Control
Whether it's bought or homemade: Bought
Total cost: £4.95
Details (where it's from, how to make it etc):
• available at prezzybox.com (cant post a link)
• It attaches to your smartphone and enables you to be able to play games with the use of its keypad making it much easier to play games on your phone
• It is also easily attached to your keys

babyshambles

Name of present: Antique Teacup Candle
Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade
Total cost: £5
Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): My stepmother used to own a Homemade Candle & Organic Soap Store and she made all the products herself including this one, which was one of her best-sellers. We always gifted these items for Christmas, and our friends always love them so I thought I would share. First you will need to find some quirky/colorful/interesting/antique teacups. Thrift shops, carboot sales or even eBay would be great places to look. You will also need candle wick which can be bought at any craft store. Tie one end of the wick to a washer to weigh down the bottom of the wick and wrap the other end around the center of a pencil. Next you will need a nested pot, the bottom pot you need to fill with water and bring it to a boil and the top pot fill with any old candles you don't use anymore. Wait for the wax to completely melt and then pour into your teapcup. Wait overnight for the wax to completely harden, trim the wick and remove the pencil and your Antique Teacup Candle is complete!

brownclai

Name of present: Button Canvas

Whether it's bought or homemade: Homemade

Total cost: £4

Details (where it's from, how to make it etc): My wife is a bit vintage button mad we had buttons as a theme for our wedding. As an anniversary gift I got a couple of old canvases we had in the loft (but you can buy them new for under a fiver from a number of shops in a town centre) and I drew around a cup in pencil then I sewed a load of buttons in a circle. It makes a modern minimalist piece of art. I chose to use vintage white button brought on ebay but you use any colour pallet you like.



link to the offer if it's online (where possible): N/A