Festive Fivers Competition: The best Xmas pressies for under £5

SharkyGeorge

Third submission (sorry, now that I've started...!)

Name of present?
Guitar pick necklace - perfect for teenagers
Do you make it or buy it?
Make it
Total Cost?
About 50p for a guitar pick from any music store, and probably the same for a leather thong (though you can buy/reuse a chain) and probably a pound or so for the little metal rings that attach the pick to the necklace
Details (the more the better)
With a pin or similar push through the guitar pick (theyre usually made of fairly thin plastic but it may take some digging). Thread through a small metal ring and close it, and through the little ring thread through the leather thong/chain and voila (the metal ring ensures the pick faces the right way - i.e. forward and not sideways - when its on the neck). You could go crazy and make earrings and bracelets too. The fun part about this is that guitar picks come in lots of different colours and patterns and you could probably find specific band ones on ebay too.

vichall

My idea is to plant lemon pips in small pots. They germinate really easily and will grow eventually into lemon trees. Perfumed blossom in the Spring and lemons to follow. Cost is pence.
Vic

DaisyClaire

One of these: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/08/nchamp108.xml

and then rebadge it LOL

tadredge

• Name of present? Massage
• Do you make it or buy it? Make it (well, do it)
• Total Cost? £0 - £2
• Details (the more the better) Give the partner in your life a bit of your time and a lot of your attention with a relaxing massage
  
  • You don't have to be an expert (I'm certainly not) and you don't even have to read about it (although you can, there's loads of free stuff on the internet) as the chances are what you like when you are being massaged is what they will like too. And you can ask whilst you are doing it.
    At the very least, all you need to do is get some type of lubricant such as Baby Oil (This is where the £0 - £2 comes in), have your partner lie on their front (and back later maybe) oil up and rub gently (always put the oil on your hands so it arms up). If you feel more confident, then apply some gentle pressure to those places you get tension (around the neck, shoulder blades etc). If you really get into it, try the hands and feet as there's loads of useful pressure points there. Try and experiment a little to see what gets the right response.
    any way, now I am starting to sound like Claire Rayner, so I'm not writing any more!
• Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

li'l_p

Name of present? Personalised Story for Children
Do you make it or buy it? Print /Make it
Total Cost? Free (just need printer & paper - could also laminate & bind if wanted???)
Details (the more the better) Go to the website (link below) and follow the instructions on screen. Fill in your child's name, and a few other details such as favourite toy, best friend's name, etc and follow the onscreen instructions. It will generate an on-screen story which mentions your child and friend's, etc.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer http://www.northpole.com/PersonalizedStories/

bewicklass

Name of present? Hand knitted children's jumper
Make it or buy it? Make it
Total cost? If you re-use wool from old jumpers (ie ones which have holes or are too small), already have knitting needles and only buy a simple, plain pattern, then it will cost less than £5 (probably quite alot less).

Details - I have knitted a few jumpers for children using wool I already have, and using a plain pattern have designed pictures to go on the front. Use graph paper (v. small squares)to design your own pattern. My previous designs have included Thomas The Tank Engine & Little Miss Smiley. Both jumpers went down extremely well and were not difficult to make.

You could also try knitted trousers!:o Only, would not recommend these for children over the age of 18-24 months as they may be feel little embarrassed when wearing them!!! I successfully made a pair without a pattern (kind of 2 sleeves with a little bit extra between them if you get what I mean). If you know a child living in the north, with no central heating then these would be very popular.

bewicklass

Name of present? Home made Hamper
Make it or buy it? Make it
Total cost? As little or as much as you like. I have made several over the years (cost per hamper approx. £2 - £5). But watch out if you want to post them. Last Christmas I made hampers for 2 friends of mine (thinking how cheap these pressies were as I wrapped them before it dawned on me how heavy they were - postage cost £6 - £7 each:o ) So my advice is DON'T POST - GIVE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE!! This year I'm making a hamper for my friend in the south which I will give to my parents when they come up north for christamas & will ask my friend to collect it when she is passing - a bit cheeky, but I still think homemade pressies are the best.

Details - These hampers can include absolutely anything, but I think it is nice to have a variety of things such as: jellies/jams, chutney, something sweet, something alchoholic. If you can get hold of free fruit and veg, all the best. In the past I've made elderberry jelly (elderberries from the hedgerows), green tomato chutney (using all those unripened toms you get when you live in Northumberland), rhubarb jam (from the garden), piccalli, sloe gin (sloes from the hedgerows), really the list is endless. I also make chocolate truffles (usually with a bit of rum) and fudge. It may cost a bit to buy some of the ingredients i.e. gin for sloe gin and chocolate and rum for truffles but you can make quite a lot and once divided into separate portions it works out quite cheaply.

When it comes to packaging - I use straight forward freezer labels (much, much cheaper than those so-called pretty jam labels - just use your best handwriting), recycled jars, small plastic freezer bags for chocolate and fudge (tie with a nice bit of ribbon and it looks great) and as for the box - a shoe box is fine (you don't want something too big or you end up putting more in to fill it up), just cover the whole of the box with plain wrapping paper (shiny paper looks great), fill with tissue paper and place your goddies inside. These hampers always go down well - always something for everyone.

bewicklass

Name of present? Paint a picture
Make it or buy it? Make it and buy it
Total cost? costs a bit for outlay but cheap there after

Details - Teach yourself to paint. I taught myself to paint with watercolour with help from library books, and have, in the last 4 - 5 years actually produced paintings good enough to give to friends and family as presents (am actually quite pleased with them). Although the initial outlay may be a little expensive - look on it as a new hobby which you can enjoy doing for yourself - anything of worth that you produce can be given as presents, either framed or unframed. Frames can be as little or as much as you want to spend. You could quite easily frame a picture for less than £5.

Obviously if you start now from scratch, you are looking at next year's pressies, unless you find you have incredible talent or are planning to give to a child with little appreciation of art!!

airhostess

Name of present? Achieve your goal board/frame
Make it or buy it? Bit of both
Total cost? £1 for clip frame or cork noticeboard from pound shop, pictures from magazines, internet, photos etc cheap or free

Details

This is an ideal present for a partner. Do you know of any goals they have always wanted to acheive? Maybe you as a couple have always wanted to do something, but never managed to get round to doing it. This could be visiting a country, running a marathon, setting up a business, doing a skydive, changing career - in fact, any buring desire that your partner or you as a couple have had but for some reason never managed to make it happen!

This is a way of motivating someone to acheiving their goals or showing your support for the goals they hold.

Gather up as many pictures, photos or small articles to do with whatever it is they want to acheive. Try to find the most colourful or eye catching ones you can find, with bold images that stand out. Arrange these in the in the clip frame against a contrasting background or pin them on the noticeboard.

Your partner will be chuffed that you care about helping them acheive their aims in life and looking at their board or frame everyday will keep their project fresh in their mind and by thinking about it more often, will find opportunitites opening up for them regarding their aim (or so all the cosmic ordering books say!)

jenny_hullock

Title of Present: Train Ride -Day awayMake or buy: BUYCost: from £1 per person each way, plus 50p booking fee.Log onto https://www.megatrain.com and put in your preference for departure point, your preferred destination, and date of travel. Cost can be as low as £1 each way if you book early (with 50p booking fee). ie Carlisle to Glasgow for the day, return £4.50 for a couple. I've done it 3 times now and it's a great day out. I actually took my husband for a trip and lunch to Glasgow. Plenty of time for seeing the sights and shopping too.