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

intheblackfinally

Name of present? Childrens Art Canvas

Make it or buy it? Make it and buy it

Total Cost? about £1.50

Details? Buy a small blank painting canvas from somewhere like Baker Ross (www.bakerross.co.uk) or The Works etc which costs about £1.00 and then give your child some paints and ask them to paint a picture onto the canvas.

The result is lovely unique picture painted by your little angel which makes a great and much loved present for grandparents, aunties, uncles, teachers etc and which serves as a permenant reminder of that stage in their life.

intheblackfinally

I'm on a roll again now - my creative juices must be working overtime!!!

Name of present? Childrens "all my own work" drawing book

Make it or buy it? Make it

Total Cost? about £1.00 or less if you make a book yourself

Details? Buy a pretty plain paper notebook (or in true money saving style make your own using plain paper and a bit of pretty ribbon to bind it all together) and let your child fill it full of drawings, writing etc to give as a gift to loved ones such as grandparents etc.
It will keep your kids occupied and make a lovely gift for nanny and grandad (my little one made one for both sets of grandparents last year and it bought both sets to tears (even grandad who never normally shows emotion!!!). Its now a book they treasure and still have on their coffee table to show visitors.

laura_j_2k

Name of present? - Recipe Book
Make it or buy it? - Make it
Total Cost? can cost less than £1.50 if making it simple.
Details (the more the better)? - Are you always complimented on your cooking? Are your friends always asking for your recipes? Do your home made cakes go down a treat? Why not make up a personalised recipe book for your family/friends/anyone who enjoys your cooking?
All you have to do is: Type out/write out your recipes. One recipe per page (A4 paper or whatever size you want). You can make this as detailed or as simple as you want. If you are making it on a PC, add some pictures of your recipe (you could even add your OWN photos!). If your hand writing it (you could use a calligraphy pen to make it extra special) you could cut out pictures of your recipe (e.g if you are making a cake cut out a pic of a cake and paste it on). Once you have typed out all your recipes, make it into a book by: Punching holes and binding together with string/ simply staple pages together / laminate and bind for more proffessional look.
TIP: You could put dividers in your book and an index just like proper recipe books (but remember it's up to you how detailed you want to make it).

You could even give them some free samplers with the book (some christmas cookies or mini yule logs for a festive look, mmmm!)
I did this for my mums neighbour two years ago and she still says how much she enjoys making my recipes. (also, she sometimes bakes my cakes and bread for me :cool: ).

This is such a thoughtful gift! Even if you can't cook why not get a list of your recipients favourite foods and find the recipes from books or online. You could make those into a book?
Enjoy
Lau

RJKES

Name of present? - Memory stepping stone
Make it or buy it? - Make it
Total Cost? Under £4
Details (the more the better)? - Buy a bag of cement and get an old cooking tray or washing up bowl and a number of old carrier bags(alternatively you make a simple support for the carrier bags using a number of bricks)
Place the carrier bag in the bowl/tray etc, mix the cement and pour ino the bag.
Level the cement and then get the children to make hand prints, foot prints, write names, decorate with stones etc.
At this stage you also add colour if you wish but dont make it too wet.

Once the cement is set, remove the Stepping stone (the bag should make it easier - only reason for it) and clean it up.

From one bag of cement you should get quite a good number.

Great for Grandparents and they will last for ever

If you dont like the idea of the children putting there hand in cement, put their hand in a food bag first.

jojopo000

One to give to the Grandparents from the kids

Name of present? A framed poem or short story
Do you make it or buy it? Make it and buy it
Total Cost? approx £1
Details (the more the better) Get the children to write a pretty poem or short story about what they love about their grandparents, get them to add pictures or print on some coloured paper you could add some small photos of the children around the edge. Look in their art boxes and add glitter to make it look special and then place it in the frame.
A gift the grandparents will treasure.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer Go to a local poundshop and get a frame

moneyballs2

Name of present? - Racing Grannies
Do you make it or buy it? - Buy It
Total Cost? - £7.95 (BUT WAIT! http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=partners&action=gadgetshow1&aff=512 £5 off Voucher at Firebox! £2.95 for 2 Racing Grannies!)
Details (the more the better) - Hilarious stocking fillers that would amuse anybody from 8-80. The grannies are wind up and they race along. It's like the racing snails but with old grannies in ZimoFrames! They are fantastic.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer - www.firebox.com/product/1418?src_t=cat&src_id=workplay Could probably also find this at other Gadget stores (Google it!)

poppett

Not sure if this has been mentioned previously, if it has I apologise.

Name of present? - "This is your life" video
Do you make it or buy it? - Make it
Total Cost? - the cost of a Cd or Video and maybe a big red photo album
Details (the more the better) - Take a trip down memory lane for one of your nearest and dearest. Video old friends reminising about the past, old schools/clubs/pubs this person once frequented. Basically inteview anyone in a This is your life style video. And perhaps dig out old photos and add to a Big Red Book.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

DaisyClaire

Name of present? - Balloon Modelling kit
Make it or buy it? - Buy it
Total Cost? £3.99
Details (the more the better) A simple idea which would make a great gift for children, but one that some adults might find funny as well. I recently went to a 'hallowe'en fair' and there was a man who was modelling balloons into silly shapes for the children - out of all the other attractions (fair rides, stalls etc) the queue for the balloon man was the longest, and I stood in it for ages so my three year old could get one!
They are available from several different sources at varying prices, but this one, from Lakeland, basically describes it. Buy from a branch though if you are sticking to the budget of a fiver.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/product.aspx/!40771

Roma_Widger

FRAGRANCE CUSHION is the title of a gift TO MAKE, suitable for adults and costing ABOUT £1.50. It can be used as a pot stand: the heat from the hot container will disperse the fragrance, or microwaved for a minute or two the warmed cushion can be used as a hot comforter or just as pure seasonal fragrance.
MATERIALS: Left over remnant of strong cotton type fabric & sewing cotton, cloves in an economy pack from a supermarket, (not a tiny pot - you can buy 200g for around £2 in a packet and this makes 2/3 cushions), cinnamon sticks in a similar cellophane economy pack: around £1.30, and rice; preferably the Italian round grain kind.
INSTRUCTIONS:Make a cushion shape, about 20cm square or round. Leave a small opening, 3cm or so, to insert the filling. The filling should be about 80g cloves, 2 to 3 crushed cinnamon sticks, and enough rice to bulk out the filling to make a flat cushion, insert the filling through the hole, then sew the opening closed.
This can be a simple gift for children to make for relatives; it can be made in a sophisticated fabric with a seperate cover, (like a pillow case so it is washable), and embelished or decorated depending on the age, skill and creativity of the person creating the fragrance cushion. It can be a craft stall or bazar make; utilise tie die/batik/quilting fabric projects or use up fabric leftovers. This gift is versatile:the filling can be adapted for all year by using lavender & rice, fine pot pouri & fragranced oils etc. Make sure there is enough fragranced filling to act as an insulator. Make several and keep one to enjoy yourself over the festive season!

Roma_Widger

Here are a few other good Christmas present ideas;

Trawl the charity shops for two or three books relating to an interest or hobby for someone special: not because these books are 'as new', but quite the opposite, because they are often out of print. More unusual hobbies have to be sought out over a longer period, but subjects like cookery; i.e retro food from the 60's, or tea time cakes or old fashioned puddings etc are always available, and gardening; 'pots,tubs and containers', or 'allotment and vegetable garden' type books are cheap and plentiful. Nicely tied up in classy paper with a ribbon, these carefully chosen books show thought and personal style, and can be sourced for under a fiver.

A home made mini folder presented as a voucher for a child or child at heart, niece/nephew/godchild promising a trip to see something special over the post Christmas period with refreshment thrown in, like McDonalds or a tea shop. The trick is to go to free events, like the museum in the next town, (often they have special exhibitions over the holiday period), or to collect vouchers for entry; BOGOF on products, collect packet tops, vouchers in the newspaper etc.
A really ambitious version of this gift is a Megabus trip to London to a big Museum, taking a flask and a picnic. Fares are from as little as £1 each way+50p booking fee, and when you get to London walk to the V&A, British Museum and Science Museum, (entry to all of them is free), along the Thames etc. Once the Christmas rush is over there are plenty of travel bargains, all you need to do is book well in advance at:

https://www.megabus.com

and a trip to London is always special.

For all ages, a little bird house or hanging bird table, bought, or better still, made from wood offcuts nailed or tied together, supplied with lard balls made from melted lard, nuts, oats, dried fruit:(mould them into ball shapes and bind around them with string so they can be hung from the bird house/feeding tray). Model your bird house/feeding tray on those you can see in garden centres and pet shops, and drill a hole or securely fix a large eyelet to suspend it away from cats where the receiver of this present can see the birds. Do not paint or varnish this construction, it will put the birds off using it.
You can make this gift in multiples, (how many aunts/uncles/children/garden enthusiasts do you know?), a step at a time, obtain the wood from hardware store offcuts, and apart from string, nails, and stuff for the lard balls which you may have in any case, (well, perhaps not the lard but you can buy it cheaply from the butcher or supermarket), that's it. A FIVER WOULD MAKE SEVERAL OF THESE, but it really depends on the cost of your wood offcuts.

Lets keep Christmas Simple this year!!!!