Normally I start my holiday planning back in September, figuring out my budget, who I need to buy gifts for, and what we are going to make. But this year I got a late start, and with the Fall Road Trip consuming my November, I’ve realized that I need to fall back on some tried and true sources for inexpensive christmas gifts.

Now don’t get me wrong. I prefer to give gifts that reflect that person’s interests and uniqueness. But I do have some standard fall back gifts. My favorite place to hunt for christmas gifts when cash is short is the thrift store.

Seriously.

Some fantastic, inexpensive Christmas gifts can be found at the thrift store – in new, still in the box or with the tags condition.

The first time we discovered this was back during our first financial crisis ten years ago. We had $20 for christmas gifts that year, and it was the thrift store that allowed us to stay in budget and still enlist Santa, fill stockings, and give presents to close friends and family.

Hidden on what looks like disorganized messy shelves of stuff is a treasure trove of inexpensive gift ideas.

Not only will you find holiday specific items, like on the shelves in the picture above, but also still in the box or new items that the previous owners just didn’t have a use for. These are in fabulous condition and so much less expensive than buying new.  Here are two of the types of items I picked up this weekend:

The mugs are in perfect condition and will be great gifts when paired with hot chocolate, herbal tea, or even candy

The jars have also never been used, and will make perfect containers for homemade hot cocoa mix or little candies.

Now these are wonderful gifts for friends and teachers, and such, but I also like to pick up more thoughtful, individual gifts at the thrift store too. If you look in the nick-nacks shelves or over in the housewares section, you can also find some treasures. 

Here you can find home decor items, figurines (have a collector in your family?), new candles (oh I love candles…), little boxes (hint, hint),  and all kinds of fun things. Even beautiful throws and decorator items. (Heck, I even bought new sets of sheers and curtains for both Z & E at the thrift store – they were thrilled!)

The trick is to look for the items that are is the best condition possible and are a really good deal. (Most thrift stores also have a discount day, try going on those days too.)

The book, toy, electronic, and software isles can yield some great results too.  This weekend I picked up a couple of cd players to give to the kids as early Christmas presents for our Fall Road Trip, and a handful of unopened educational game software that would have made great stocking stuffers if I weren’t going to use them for the road trip.

Even in the shoes and clothes you can score some great deals. This weekend, I picked up new, unworn fashionable boots for K (which she loves!), snow boots for Z and J, and like new boots for Little E, plus a whole slew of warm winter clothes in perfect condition, including cute pjs for Little E that still had tags on. Here’s a few of the items that we found that would have been great gifts, if we hadn’t been shopping for the road trip:

boots, jeans, sweater, & gloves

brand new overalls, gloves, and talking kitty cat (in perfect condition)

button down shirt, leather coat, & gloves

I also picked up a few secret things that I can’t share here, cuz the people I bought them for might actually read this. But believe me, they won’t be able to tell that their gifts were purchased at the thrift store and not the department store :)

The point is to keep an open mind and look for new or nearly new items that would make fabulous, thoughtful gifts. Your budget will thank you and so will your friends and family!

My friend Kathy started a new tradition for her family a few years ago, that I absolutely love – especially when I’m at her house visiting. She bakes something for Christmas, every day in December. This way she breaks up the tasks, freezing her goodies until it’s time for their grand apperances. I have not yet been this organized, but I love the idea.

For this month’s challenge of sharing our favorite homemade holiday gifts and traditions, Kathy has agreed to share with us some of her recipes through out the month. So, periodically, I suggest heading over to her blog and checking out what she’s working on.  Today, she posted a neat little decorated candle gift idea, using store bought candles, tissue paper, and glitter, as well as a list of gifts that she is knitting this year.

This year, I refused to take part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with two exceptions: the unbelievable low subscription price on a magazine I had been waiting to get and CurrClick‘s offer of freebies with no purchase required. My reason for not “shopping until I dropped”, in real life or online, is purely from a realization I had about 8 years ago when we had very, very little money for Christmas. During that time, I found that I liked myself, my family, and the holidays better when we focused on giving gifts that would mean something special and that we had made.

That year we purchased our Angel Tree gifts new, as required, but from there everything we gave as gifts was either made or purchased from a thrift store and repurposed. At the most, we spent $20 on gifts that year, not including the Angel Tree gifts.

For my little sister, who was 3 or 4 at the time and in that “little helper” stage, I made a little apron, pinafore style. The pattern I drew on the back of a paper shopping bag and used muslin I had already on hand from another project I had abandoned. I’m not a very good seamstress, and had never made my own pattern before, but somehow it turned out cute.

For two of my younger brothers who were maybe 7 and 8, my husband made little treasure boxes from two left over fence boards we had. I lined them with felt I already had. We bought hinges, a clasp for each, and a small keyed padlock for each. They loved having their own little treasures boxes; what little boy doesn’t like having a secret place to hide their treasures.

That year I discovered that precious little gifts, inexpensive in cost, but thoughtfully put together, meant more than all the money I could spend. Since then, we’ve carried on the tradition of making gifts where we can, or buying gifts that we put a very personal touch on. Not only does this save us money but it also builds bonds within our family. We spend November and December brainstorming, creating, and wrapping, talking, laughing, reminesning about our family and friends.

Instead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and all the other commercial ploys to get us to buy and over extend ourselves financially, let’s embrace the spirit of giving, sharing, and fellowship that should come with Christmas. 

For the next 24 days leading up to Christmas, I’ll be sharing some of the great gift ideas, traditions, and insights that we’ve run across during this journey.  Please join in by sharing your favorite homemade and/or thougtful gift idea, favorite traditions, or stories of a favorite gift. 

The more we can encourage each other and give each other the ideas and tools we want and need, the better.