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

duchy

Another one I did recently Personalized t-shirt
£2 basic white t-shirt from Primark
£3 Added embroidered message from baby stall at local indoor market (they do it on an embroidery machine saying whatever you want whilst you wait)
Much cheaper than the printed messages and looks a lot classier

intheblackfinally

Hi all, i used to be mummymoments but could no longer log in so im now back and as my username suggests finally out of debt - for good hopefully!!!

Heres my suggestion:-

• Name of present? Personilised Dress Up Dolly
• Make it or buy it? Make it
• Total Cost? under £2
• Details (the more the better)? Simply draw a body shape (see listings on ebay for sizzix dolls for ideas) onto strong cardboard (an old cardboard box works really well & is free!!!) and then attach a head shot photo of the receipient to the head of the cut out doll (you could get a free print from snapfish etc). Then cut out loads of different clothes shapes out of strong cardboard including little flaps on each which can be bent around the doll shape in order to keep them on the body. You can then decorate these clothes using scraps of old fabric (old clothes cut up etc), paints, pens etc and also leave some blank for the receipiant to design themselves. Place them all into a pretty box with tissue paper (or even better make a wardrobe or clothes shop out of an old suitable sized cardboard box (cereal packets are an ideal size and again free) and place the items inside - you could even make little clothes hangers with a rail made out of a cheap pen or pencil).

I made one for my little girl a few weeks ago as a treat for doing really well at school and she loves it!!!! Even big shopoholics or budding clothes designers like them too (judging by my sister, mukm and me always playing with them when Tash has gone to sleep!!!)

intheblackfinally

just thought of another one along the same lines as above:-

• Name of present? Personalised Puppet Theatre
• Make it or buy it? Make it
• Total Cost? under £2
• Details (the more the better)? print out photos of family members, pets, friends etc (again use free prints available to save on costs)and/or cut out pictures of famous people liked by the recepient out of magazines etc and mount them onto strong cardboard (cardboard boxes are great and free). Tape a straw or pencil/pen to the back of each cutout person to make a puppet. Then take a largish cardboard box and cut away a section from the bottom (leaving a frame around the outside) and also cut off the flaps. Paint the box any colours you wish and add curtains made from old fabric scraps (old clothes are great to be cut up). This forms a puppet show stage for the puppets to go inside and for the receipiant to make up shows etc. You could also make some scenery using cardboard, pictures etc if you wanted and add a few scripts for shows if required.

isualive

Name of present? Gift Vouchers for family, friends, OH etc.
Make it or buy it? Either
Total Cost? Just paper & ink
Details - Vouchers to say you will babysit, wash the car,clean their shoes, be their slave:o etc!
These can be real fun!

NatFeerick

Name of present? Music CD
Do you make it or buy it? Make it
Total Cost? Cost of a blank CD - pennies!
Details Last Christmas I told my boyfriend (MSE member) not to get me a present as I knew he couldn't afford it. Instead he surprised me with a CD he'd made of his favourite soul songs - he gave it a fancy title and everything! I'll treasure it forever - it means more to me than if he'd spent £100 because it's personal, unique and special to us. If I win, I'll give him the prize money.

brownjasperdog

• Name of present? Framed Baby Shoes
• Do you make it or buy it? Buy and assemble it
• Total Cost? £3.50
• Details (the more the better) I realise this is one that won't work for everybody! I have bought a wooden box-type photo frame from Wilkos for £3.50ish and framed one each of my son and daughter's first shoes (now out-grown of course). Perfect momento for a proud Grandma! If you have one child you could frame a pair but if you have two children you can make two presents with one of each shoe in each frame. Alternatively, you could make two presents from just one pair of shoes by including a shoe and a footprint in each frame, if your child is still little enough to make cute small footprints! I found that I had to remove the glass as the shoes were too deep for the depth of the frame, then I've painted the backboard with some left over house paint and glued the shoes into place. Cheap, personal and quick to make as well.

Ladygrim

the_roadshow wrote: »

Name of present: Point it book
Make it or buy it? Buy it
Total Cost? £2.99
Details: This fantastic pocket book sold through www.amazon.co.uk for £2.99 is crammed with photographs of everything you might ever wish to point at in an effort to make yourself understood in a foreign country. It is also very small and lightweight measuring just 13cm x 9.3cm x 0.4cm. It helped me buy plasters for my blisters in Italy and prevented me eating many a dubious looking thing in Thailand! A great present for people about to embark upon gap year travels.

Great idea!! :j

Family and friends go on holiday so have bought 6 copies. 4 to give away, one for myself, and one for the Secret Santa at work this year!!.

This also means I got free delivery.:D
LG

trace_567

Name of present? One song cd with meaning
Make it or buy it? Both
Total cost? Under £5, price depends on what you need to buy.

Details: Hunt for a song with lyrics which say what you would like to say to a loved one. This will mostly be to give to your partner, however depending on the song it could be for anyone.

The important bit about this is choosing a song that firstly the person your giving it to would actually listen to. Next important bit is the lyrics to that song.

Find the song by hunting through your own cd collection, mp3 collection etc. Also look through websites for music lyrics to chose the right song. If you think you've found the right lyrics but aren't sure if you like the song listen to a preview online, amazon have some, artists websites sometimes do, and some places to buy music downloads let you listen to a preview first.

Once you've chosen the song download it from somewhere like woolworths, tesco, etc. These usually cost under £1 each. Then transfer the song to cd using software such as nero, or if you don't have any software to do this you can download one free from http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/gmm/fwcdburn.html or any other freeware site.

Use a blank cd you may already have, or buy a cheap pack from a pound shop where you can usually pick up a small pack very cheaply.

Copy the lyrics (that you've found online) either by hand or using your computer and printer. Whichever option you choose make the lyrics look as nice as possible. Free software could help you with this if you own a printer. If not perhaps decorate the paper by hand with things like glitter, love hearts. Even cheap stickers. Basically anything you can think of to make it look nice.

Either slip the lyrics inside a cd sleeve, or use them as the cover to a blank case. Basically using what you have around already.

You can either wrap up the disk, or enclose it inside your chosen xmas card.

I have been thinking of doing this for my sister who I basically fell out with in a very big way in the summer. I was listening to my mp3's and one of the songs I had playing had the lyrics of exactly what I would want to say to her, in how sorry I am that we have argued and are no longer in contact.

To give you an idea of what I mean this is the song I have chosen for my sister.

April Wine - Lovin' you


I left you alone when you needed me
And I hurt you when I said that we were through
Now Ive learned since youve gone
That you were right and I was wrong
And Id give all I have to be with you

Cause I know there are times
When I must have been blind
When lovinyou was all I had to do

If Id given you more understanding
I wouldve realized that I was unfair
Takin more than I should, until you left me for good
Now Id give all I have to be with you

Cause I know there are times
When I must have been blind
When lovin you was all I had to do

Now Ive learned since youve gone
That you were right and I was wrong
And Id give all I have to be with you

Cause I know there are times
Lord, when I must have been blind
When lovin you was all I had to do

Hope this gives you some ideas

trace_567

Name of present? Framed Collage
Make it or buy it? Both
Total cost? Under £5, cost depends on your chosen frame and materials you may need such as glue.

Detail: I did this for my parents about 10 years ago when I was in hospital and had nothing to do. Instead of giving them a bought Christmas card that year I made a Christmas collage using pictures I cut out of magazines and catalogues that were around. I found the words "To mum and dad, Happy Christmas" from various bold print in the magazines. I cut them out and used them in the centre over the top of the collage of festive pictures. So things like pictures of Xmas tress, decorations, family Christmas scenes, father Christmas, Christmas food. I just hunted through the magazines that were around cutting out anything festive. Then I arranged them all onto a piece of paper and stuck them down. I put the wording in the middle over the top. I then found a cheap frame and framed it. They hung it on the wall all that Christmas.

This could be something you could get the kids to do for perhaps their grandparents.

You can find cheap frames in places like wilkinsons, pound shops, woolworths.
To give you an idea of the sort of prices http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/bin/venda?ex=co_wizr-locayta&template=wz_locayta&collate=cat&collate=ivtype&termtextkeywordsearch=frame&typekeywordsearch=keyword&fieldrtype=type&termtextrtype=invt&typertype=exact&termorder=keywordsearch%3Artype&pagenum=1&perpage=10&threshold=0&spellcorrect=1&datasource=wilkinsonplusen&setpagenum=1&termtextcat=43&typecat=exact&fieldcat=cat
Find the frame first so you know what size to make the collage.

There are lots of free catalogues around at the moment in stores if you have a shortage of magazines around the house. Places like woolworths, argos, boots etc all do free catalogues etc. But maybe look through them first before getting the scissors out.

trace_567

Name of present? Framed photograph collage
Make it or buy it? Both
Total cost? Under £5, cost depends on your chosen frame and number of prints you need. Digital photo prints can cost around 10p a print or less. You can sometimes get some free prints if you are a new customer.

Detail: Similar to my above post but use photographs. Look through all your digital photographs you may have stored on your pc etc. Select some that will be appreciate. Or maybe decide to take some photographs especially. Chose photos of family members, pets etc. When you've decided on your photos either print them out at home if you have a photo printer. Or take your memory card into boots and print them. Or upload them to a printing service online such as http://www.snapfish.co.uk/ http://www.photobox.co.uk/ http://www.bonusprint.com/ you get free prints when you are a new customer, usually around 10. Other prints tend to be around 10p each.

When you have your frame, choosing the size and price suitable to your budget and number of photos you want to use. Arrange them within the frame.

Good gift for grandparents, or your parents.

You could always opt for a photo frame with sections for each photo.

Wilkinsons have a nice selection of cheap frames. http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/bin/venda?ex=co_wizr-locayta&template=wz_locayta&collate=cat&collate=ivtype&termtextkeywordsearch=photo%20frames&typekeywordsearch=keyword&fieldrtype=type&termtextrtype=invt&typertype=exact&termorder=keywordsearch%3Artype&pagenum=4&perpage=10&threshold=0&spellcorrect=1&datasource=wilkinsonplusen&setpagenum=1&termtextcat=43&typecat=exact&fieldcat=cat Either buy in store or order online and opt for free delivery to your chosen store for you to collect in person.