Kids and Teens > Frugal Kids Birthday Party Gifts
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Cyndi Roberts
Are your kids invited to numerous birthday parties
throughout the year? Buying a gift, paper to wrap
it in, ribbon and a bow, plus a card every time
can get expensive and tiresome, can't it!
Through the years I have discovered some easy ways
to save money and time and always be prepared for
those invitations.
My three children are older now, but when they were
young, it seemed as if one of them was invited to
a friend's birthday party almost every week! Usually
the invitations didn't arrive until 1 or 2 days before
the party. I got really fed up with running to the
store in our small town and trying to find an
appropriate gift on short notice.
I realized the first thing I needed to do was to get
organized. So I set aside a box in the hall closet and
started to fill it with gift items suitable
for children around my children's ages.
Each time I went to the discount or dollar store, I
looked at the clearance sales; especially after
Christmas. I tried to keep at least one gift for each
child on hand at all times.
I have always loved to make things so I was always
on the lookout for anything I could craft that kids
would like. One item I came across that the kids
really liked was gift jars. I would fill a pint or
quart jar (reused mayo or pizza sauce jars) with small
items. Some of the things I used were pens, erasers,
notepads, small cars, toy soldiers, hair ribbons, stickers,
candy, gum. Anything I found that would fit. I would
often buy in bulk and divide the items between several
jars.
Children love anything with their name on it, so I would
paint their name on the side of the jar or cross-stitch
it onto a cover for the lid, and I had a great gift!
This idea would also work using recycled boxes or tins.
Garage sales are a good place to pick up tins of all
sizes and colors. Just spray paint if needed. You don't
even have to decorate the top or sides, just wrap ribbon
or raffia around the tin and tie a bow on top.
Little girls always enjoy receiving more clothes for
their Barbie dolls. If you sew, you can make gifts
your daughter's friends will love from your scraps of
fabric and lace. And the clothes you make are much
better quality than the ones you pay premium prices
for in the store.
One last secret to giving great birthday gifts is:
remember that children love to open a package! Just
taking tissue out of a gift bag is not the same!
But wrapping a package doesn't have to break the bank
either. At garage sales, always look for anything
that can be used to wrap gifts--wallpaper, drawer
liner,even scraps of fabric. Look for yarn and pieces
of lace or other trim to use instead of ribbon. In other
words, just use your imagination!
Dollar stores are a great place to pick up inexpensive
wrapping paper in a pinch. The flat, folded kind is
cheaper than buying it on a roll, just cover the
creases with ribbon. Kids aren't going to take time
to notice, anyway!
Even an inexpensive gift will bring raves from the
birthday boy or girl when it's wrapped imaginatively.
Tie a lollipop on top or write their name in glitter.
Use your imagination and get creative!
Your children will love it when the gift they bring is
the hit of the party!
Helping you live the good life...on a budget!
Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another"
bi-weekly e-newsletter and founder of the website of the same name.
Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the e-newsletter and receive the free e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".
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