Monday, October 23, 2006

Cheap Christmas Present

Cheap Christmas present
Shockingly enough, I'm a woman who doesn't enjoy shopping very much. I am definitely not a fan of Christmas shopping. I never know what to get for people, how much to spend and feel like I'm forgetting someone on my list. This year, shopping will be incredibly difficult because I'm on a very tight budget. Everyone on my list will be getting a cheap Christmas present. Not that I want to get people a cheap Christmas present, but I financially have no choice. Now I just need to find some place to get a cheap Christmas present for everyone. And I just hope that people don't open their gifts and think "what a cheap Christmas present!"
The first thing I needed to do to accommodate my incredibly tight budget, was to narrow down my list. We all have a list of people that we want to get presents for. However, sometimes that list needs to be revised several times. I tried to only list family and friends whom I need to get things for. Now, I have to find a cheap Christmas present for each of the people on my list. That's so much easier said than done. The task will be to find a cheap Christmas present for everyone that doesn't look cheap. I don't want people to be offended. I looked through some magazines that had some creative gift ideas in them and decided to mix creativity with my shopping. I picked a Saturday and hit the local strip mall. We have a local discount store that is actually an excellent source for finding some really nice things. I cruised the aisles for about an hour getting some ideas in my head before I decided to start putting some things in my card. I picked up some nice, but plain picture frames and knew that I could be very creative with them. I chose some basic colored scented candles and found some plain, but elegant wine glasses to add to my cart. I searched the aisles for some inexpensive baskets. I also bought cheap plain ornaments. I paid for everything and headed home. I was now even more nervous about giving everyone a cheap Christmas present.
That evening, I mustered up all of my creative talents and set to work. With a little bit of glitter and glue, ribbons and paint, I managed to turn all of the items that I'd bought into some really fun and unique presents. Everyone on my list would be getting a cheap Christmas present that was completely unique to them. My best friend just got married, so I made a frame and 2 wine glasses for her. I decorated a small basket and put those items in there. I painted the ornaments with snowflakes and trees, snowmen and candy canes. Each one was different. After they dried, they made a really neat present. It goes to show that you can give a cheap Christmas present with some creativity and love. I couldn't wait to get them wrapped up.

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