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

lopeti

A £1 lucky dip on the lottery - could make millions!

horrible

Present:- "Help kit out a classroom for a school in the third world"
Make/Buy:- Buy
Cost:- £5
Details:- Oxfams Christmas Unwrapped Catalogue. A great addition to a childs Christmas stocking. The child will receive a gift card and a fridge magnet and Oxfam will help end world poverty -- simple!!
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/ProductDetails.aspx?catalog=Unwrapped&product=OU2710

mirandamayhem

• Name of present? The First Day of Christmas
• Do you make it or buy it?Buy it
• Total Cost? About £4:50
• Details (the more the better)

My mother in law likes daft things, and I'm going to do a bit of a 12 days of christmas thing for her, but as a one off Christmas present i think this would be funny, and very festive!
"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree!"
So you buy A Partridge Family Christmas Card from a seller on www.play.com for around £3.50, and you then pop to Boots, or your local chemist for a nice bar of Pear's clear soap (around 90p). Go out into your garden, get a twig, attach the box of pears soap to the twig with string or gift tape, and attach the cd to the twig too. Et voila, a partidge (family cd) in a pear(s soap) tree!

• Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/2609970/A-Partridge-Family-Christmas-Card/Product.html?ptsl=1&ob=Price&fb=1

culpepper

name of present..:activity box
make or buy..:both
total cost :up to £5
Details:
This can be made to fit any suitable box and so a shoebox could fit the bill or a spare biscuit tin
Decide on the activity..eg needlework
contents.. a pair of knitting needles,A crochet hook,small balls of wool bought from charity shops for pennies or left over from own stash.
Allow 50p per pair of needles and 50p per ball of wool maximum
Hunt the web for clear instructions of basic knitting a crochet stitches or make a voucher to add with lessons from yourself.
http://www.learntoknit.com/instructions_kn.php3 (for knitting)
http://www.learntoknit.com/instructions_cr.php3 (for crochet)
Print them out and print out some easy patterns e.g.scalf,pot holder ,ipod case,mobile phone holder(all simple squares)
(there are so many of these it is easier just to google free knitting patterns)
include a packet of sewing needles (£1 from poundshops or just add some of your own in a home made needle case),
some thread from charity shop(about 20p for a cotton reel full,so 5 for around £1)
Small pair of scissors.(£1 in poundland or may find cheaper elsewhere)
Add to this some squares of material neatly cut from outgrown or unwanted clothes.
Search for free sewing patterns on the web and print out.
Search for embroidery stitch guides and print out.
You could cover and label the box if you like

We did an art box for my daughters friend in the same way..
Shoe box(free )
We went to wilkinsons and bought
a ruler,HB pencils ,rubber and sharpener. (about £1 in all may have been a little less)
Wilkinsons do individual items and they are cheaper than the 'stationary' sets typically on sale for £1and nicer quality.
A packet of colouring pencils around 50p
Packet of felt pens ,wilkinsons 49p.
pack of highlighter pens £1(6 colours)
A tin of charcoal pencils (£1 poundland)
and tin of watercolour pencils (£1 poundland)

we got these ideas from looking in the toys shop and seeing the plastic boxes of activity kits which were hugely expensive and have a lot of superfluous padding type paper goods in them.

other cheap things that could be substituted
Home made balloonies ..packet of balloons(50p) then draw eyes,noses,mouths ,ears,eyebrows,glasses and moustaches on a page of sticky backed paper.Cut them out and put in a little bag labelled balloony faces.Print them to look more professional.Make feet from card so balloon people can stand up.
Dressing up dolls..Draw a person and clothes to fit(with tabs for shoulders). Paste the person onto card (there are lots of free paper dressing up dolls on the web if you'd rather some are themed e.g football,space,fairies,magical) http://marilee.us/paperdolls.html
Cut up Greaseproof paper and include for tracing paper.
Print out craft projects from web to add. http://www.papercraft-world.blogspot.com/
some of the paper models available are very easy,some are extremely and intricate.
Again googling free paper models will find hundreds.

skipsaver

www.savethechildrenshop.co.uk

One week of teacher training in a country that is short of teachers, for #5
- It gets better - you pay #5 but if you tick the gift aid box it is worth #6.40 to Save the Children

- teachers can only eat so much chocolate so this is a great alternative christmas pressie for them:T

ccastley

Name of present? Pyjamas/night clothes
Do you make it or buy it? Buy it
Total Cost? a fiver or less
Details (the more the better) My local Primark (Liverpool) has some fab pyjamas and nightwear for under a fiver - great gifts. Everything for the ladies from something saucy for the wife or girlfriend to something more appropriate for Gran, loads for the kids and for the men too.

Hope this helps someone!

Horace

Name of Present: Book of Handy Hits, Tips & Recipes
Do you make it or buy it: Make It
Total Cost: £2 for ring bound A4 book
Details: Write in the book any handy hints and tips - these can be found on the web, some can be sensible and some can be silly (just to make the book a little less serious). Recipes are either obtained from the web, cookery books that you have in the house or from the free Asda magazines as well as free cards from my local butcher. I cut out cooking times and conversion charts from the Asda magazine and glue them in the book (glue can be made from stale flour and water) and I will do the same for some recipes from the magazines too.

jcperu

Name of Present: Curly Wurly Love message:p
Buy it or Make it: Make it
Cost: About £4

I know this sounds slushy but sometimes giving a present to your loved one that lets them know how much you care is worth far more than expensive gifts. For this gift you need a large piece of cardboard which you can paint any colour, mine was black. Then use the curly wurly's (or another chocolate bar you like) to spell out your message. The one I received said 'I love you' and I absolutely loved it and the best thing was that I got to eat it afterwards. I have a photo of it and it has been talked about for the past two xmas's - my partner definitely earned lots of brownie points with this present. :T

Smache

Name of present? Screaming flying monkey
Do you make it or buy it? buy it
Total Cost? £4.95
Details (the more the better) Simply put two fingers in the little pockets in his paws, pull his super-elasticated bungee arms back and let him go. He'll then fly a good 25ft or more, issuing blood-curdling monkey screeches from a hidden speaker as he soars over startled colleagues and scares flying-monkey-phobics (course they exist) senseless.
Where possible please add a link if it's an online offer

This is from www.firebox.com i love this website they have some really good gift ideas. I bought this for my other half last year for xmas and he still torments the dog with it!

:money:

MrsSkinnylegs

:j From photobox.co.uk you can buy a personalised notebook with chosen photos for £4.99. You download photos and customise your notebook. You can have 1 photo, or lots of photos, whatever you prefer. Also choose colour of book, designs etc. I have just ordered one for my daughter for Xmas featuring her pet cat! This was £5.99 a couple of weeks ago so £1 save. It is very easy to do and they send you a 10% off next order voucher. Do pay postage but not a lot and worth it if you need a few. Also do calendars etc.