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Inexpensive Gifts for Christmas

November 28th, 2019
Chrissie
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Inexpensive Gifts for Christmas
Christmas is a really expensive time of year, but in all honesty, children – especially young children – do not have to have a fortune spent on them, because the truth is that they will enjoy playing with the wrapping paper just as much as the contents. It will bring them lots of fun, if you double wrap all their gifts! After all, it could well be a really cheap gift that captures their imagination!

Although there are plenty of snazzy and expensive toys on the market, do they fulfil the crucial criteria of being 10% toy and 90% imagination? Some of the traditional toys including building bricks and colouring books with new colouring pencils are gifts that have stood the test of time and most adults can remember the joy of opening a packet of brand new colouring pencils on Christmas morning.

These Giant Art Kits we found at Argos are 2 for £15 making them just £7.50 Click Here to Buy
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There are plenty of fun gifts to make for your children including play dough, finger puppets and bean bags. Think safety throughout and make sure what you are making it suitable for the age of your child. If your children have a play kitchen or if you fancy making them a toy shop with money till, it can be great fun to make a whole range of items to sell including cakes made from craft dough.

Think about what are your child's interests. If they like craft work you have plenty of scope! Home made play dough with different shaped cutters, a French knitting kit made from a cotton reel with four short nails in the top or a collection of different craft beads for making fun jewellery. Origami is another children's classic that can be picked up cheaply. If your child enjoys cooking, what about making them a personalised apron and putting it with a pastry set and cake or pizza mix for the perfect gift?

Theres some great ones at Etsy that are really inexpensive Click Here to Buy
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Games are always fun to play and classics like the 'Memory Game' are easy to make using round wooden discs bought from a craft shop and then carefully painting them with different shapes or numbers. If your child enjoys puzzles, why not get crafty and buy some plain wooden cubes and then paint a different picture on each side so they have six new puzzles? The key to success is to keep the image simple and well defined. If you are in the mood for making some gifts, peg dolls are fun to make and children love them. If your daughter has a baby doll, why not make a new outfit of clothes for it? Colourful miniature nappies complete with fasteners seem to be particularly popular!.

Traditional toys such as skipping ropes are always fun and you can easily make a French elastic or flower pot stilts. New play balls are always fun to receive too. If your child is a budding gardener, some spring bulbs or seeds that can be germinated indoors are ideal or filling a dish with blotting paper with mustard and cress seeds in the shape of their initial will bring them lots of fun. If your child is proving to be the next Sir David Attenborough, why not build an insect hotel as this will prove fascinating for the whole family?

These Ant Worlds at Amazon are BRILLIANT Click Here to Buy
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Children love to dress up and will get many hours of fun out of a dressing up box which you can decorate and fill with goodies that you have found in charity shops and some glittering accessories that you have bought cheaply such as royal crowns and warrior shields.

If you are trying to be economical this Christmas, take a look in your local charity shops as they usually have jigsaws, model cars and a range of reading books – often in really good
condition and costing a fraction of the price. If your child would dearly like a new bike,
there are a variety of websites selling second-hand ones and with a little effort, they can be totally transformed with a coat of paint.

Plus don't forget to check out Amazon Clearance for toys from just 59p Click Here to Buy
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Sadly, Christmas has become a very materialistic time of year and it is true, there can be plenty of peer pressure amongst older children. Honesty is always the best way forward and telling your child that whilst you would love to buy them some designer trainers, pennies are not elastic. If they are happy enough to get a 'chit in lieu' for a certain amount of money, you can stick it to a shoebox of small and inexpensive surprise presents. They can then look forward to going with you to the January Sales where their Christmas money will certainly stretch further....

Chrissie x

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