May is a rough month for my family when it comes to gift giving. There are two birthdays, one anniversary, and one Mother's Day and that is just in the immediate family. Add in the extended family of aunts, uncles, and grandparents and you have double that.
Since birthdays are the individual special day for each person I want to let them know I was thinking of them, but I also need to stay within my income.
For myself, I like to get ideas from each person so that I get what they need or want. In March I sent this email out to the members of my family (You are free to use):
"Ok, it has now been 80 days since Christmas passed and I am giving you this notice that I am gathering your want lists for Christmas 2009. (I use this for birthdays as well)
I will notify you one more time this year and if I don't hear from you then you will get my 'backup plan' gift.
Since it is hard to come up with ideas for gifts, you can email me as you think of them or send a list. Obviously since Christmas is quite a few months off, please let me know of things you WANT and not things you NEED that can't wait.
Ok, there you have it... your official notification that I want your Christmas list.
Dawn"
Of course you don't have to do something like that so here are a few more ideas for ways to save money on those situations where one must come bearing gifts.
1. Baby Showers – Buying baby clothes at the yard sale or getting stuff from Freecycle or Craigslist are ideal. Make sure you inspect them well for stains, rips, buttons missing, and snaps that don't work. Mother’s just want their babies clothed, no one notices the brand name over the squeezable goodness of a baby anyway.
2. Anniversaries – If you are close enough to relatives and friends, offer to baby-sit their kids/pets for a night to get them out of the house and have a date. You give the ultimate gift – time together.
3. Large Families – My father’s side of the family is large and they would draw names for adults and some older kids for Christmas. That keeps the amount of gifts down a bit and no one is forgotten. Another alternative is a ‘white elephant’ gift – you wrap a used item or joke gift for everyone.
4. Spending Limit – At the very least set this up for yourself and let others know what your limit is. And if you can persuade others, make the cap a family affair.
5. Give Home-made – This includes baked goods, home-cooked dinners for a busy family, or hand-made items that you see they may need around the house. Obviously give yourself time to get the item finished, so pre-planning is a must. For my mother’s Birthday, some of her favorite songs were burned to a CD for her for one birthday..
6. In Their Name – Donate to a cause THEY feel comfortable with. In some cases this may go against what you feel is right, but would show your respect to that person and what their beliefs are. Remember to keep the tax deduction receipt for taxes next year.
7. Receiving – Sometimes you just don’t have the money for giving a tangible item. Sometimes the best gift you can give is one of graciousness and gratitude when others help you out. Sometimes a letter that breaks down all the ways they are special and helpful to you can be the most valuable gift that they keep the longest.
And last, but not part of the list - don't forget the Thank you notes for what you have received. Sometimes people feel that what they gave wasn't enough or wasn't appreciated, and receiving a thank-you note lets them know your personal thoughts.
Reader comments:
Let us know what ways have you saved money for anniversaries, birthdays and other gift giving occasions?
Twitter has become my little microblog for frugal thoughts, ideas and pictures I come across - for those who don't follow me on twitter - here is an update from April as I wrote them at the time.
§ I helped a former co-worker figure out the 27 page food stamp program. They only have two to feed so it looks like they may get $165-175 a month. After filling out the 27 pages for food stamps, they found out they had done them wrong, the Social Services lady was nice and helped fix - all approved!
§ Yeah for libraries! I put a dozen different movies on hold -Tudors, Dexter, independent movies, etc. Just waiting for my bookmobile to come in. Also put 5 PS2 games on hold at the library as well.. only get them for a week, but that should be enough time to complete them.
§ At the beginning of every month our team (I use that loosely) at work puts together a potluck and last month had a theme - only bring your favorite junk food. This was my response after nibbling..... Nothing like a desert potluck at work to keep you on a sugar high for the rest of the day!
§ Want a cheap activity for summer? Find a Minor league baseball game in the area and get in on some good promotions. On May 12th we are going to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox game versus the Iowa cubs (Go cubbies) - they are minor league. Tickets were $2, Parking $2, and Hot Dogs are $2. I'll write up a report when I get back.
§ How do people drive and talk on the cell? I almost got hit talking on the cellphone while I was walking! - My own fault though.
§ In an hour I'm going to go check out an auction at a storage place. My curiosity is going strong..... Back from the storage auction, it was an experience - got lots a tips to tell you about... with picture
§ I actually saved 100% at the store, I didn't buy much but it was fun to see on the receipt. I rarely get chances like this unless I buy a small number of items.
§ Overheard at the store: Mother to son - "If you don't straighten up right now, you won't get to go to Starbucks!" - eh? Starbucks? (The kid looked about 6-8 years old, that is why I did a double take on what she said.)
§ Got my free $25 GC to the movie theater today from Mypoints - gonna wait for Wolverine movie to spend it. (May update: Did I ever tell you about my horrible lack of patience? Well the card was burning a hole in my pocket and we saw DisneyNature's Earth instead-great movie-scenes were spectacular-go if you can)
§ For when you are tired but can't sleep - I watched the 1958 movie "the Blob" - kinda slow but good (the movie that is, but then again so was the blob...lol).
§ At a light, I saw a smart car next to a hummer - kinda looked like the equivalent of a Great Dane next to a Miniature Pincher and it made me laugh - Then the guy behind me ruined it by honking.
§ Wohoo! I got 4 packages of bacon for 50¢ each - I found out from an employee that the store was not going to carry the brand any longer... the taste: decent, but paper thin - still for 50¢ you can't really go wrong.
§ For earth day, just like other mornings, I listened to the birds calling - I'm thinking it's God's version of new age music
§ Was reminded of a wonderful quote: "The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things." ~Elise Boulding
§ Yeah, rental office called and will be painting our apartment in May - been here 6 years, it could use some work. (Water leaked through the ceiling twice and general use makes it 
look less than stellar.)
§ Love to see this type of creative recycling - Clothes Dryer Chicken Coop
§ Someone should rent out "kill-a-watt" meters... I'm tempted to buy one and take one back.. but that sounds way too cheap and NOT frugal at all. Any one have some ideas as no one I know has one to borrow.
I buy non-rechargeable batteries because they are convenient and I don't use many, one is for my mp3 and one for the book light. When I am done I usually just toss them in the trash and move on. However, I recently found out through Earth911.com, they wrote wrote about recycling batteries, where to take them or send them and how they might be better 'trashed'. Certainly something to look into this weekend and it would be time to start keeping a stash of used batteries to send off.
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I've come across a couple of new [to me] blogs about the cross between frugality and living and thought I would share a post from each for you to enjoy:
It's frugal being green - How To Want Less - I liked this post because I like the ways we trick train our brain to live a frugal life.
RePurposeful - Repurposing home decor - I like this post because she lists a few unique items in her house and how she is re-using them in new ways. Most of her posts are about taking one item and coming up with new ways to re-purpose them.
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One of the areas in my life that I am not good at is cooking, it is quite overwhelming to me - my forté is breakfast and BBQ as it doesn't involve a lot of ingredients. Because of this I like to read the tips about cooking and food and thought these were of interest
Top 50 Kitchen Tips - I like tip #16: Before buying grapes you should shake the bunch gently, if grapes fall of the bunch is not fresh. To store grapes, wrap loosely in newspaper and keep in the dark.
Kitchen Myths - This was interesting to read through and found the following myth interesting "You can make a baked potato in the microwave"
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Finally, I'm always looking around for these type of sites if I need a recipe for the left-over ingredients in the house:
Cooking by Numbers - Click on what you've got and they will show you what you can cook
Super Cook - Finds recipes you can make with only the ingredients you have at home
All Recipes Ingredient Search - Enter in the INGREDIENTS I WANT and INGREDIENTS I DON'T WANT
