Aliesha, Author at Feathers in Our Nest

I hope that you enjoyed reading yesterday’s post about saving money on home decorating. Today I want to share some ideas for frugal and fabulous gifts!

1) Keep a stash of small gifts on hand
Sometimes you just need a little birthday, hostess, or thank-you gift, and it’s nice to have a small selection on hand. Some ideas are bath goodies (buy at Tuesday Morning, Ross, or on sale at Bath & Body Works), candles (pillar or taper; wrap with ribbon for a nice touch), a few yummy chocolates (package in a small decorative box), books (stock up on deeply discounted books at Christian bookstores and online), and stationary sets.

2) Store your gift-wrapping supplies and cards together
Rather than having to search all over the house for a pair of scissors, store your tissue paper, gift bags, ribbon, tape, scissors, and other supplies in one location for easy packaging in a hurry. Read about some gift stations here and here.

3) Keep cards on hand
Keep general birthday, thank-you, get-well, and other common occasion cards on hand so that you’ll always have one to use in a pinch. Buy in bulk from Current or snag 2/$1 cards from the dollar store. Purchase special cards (family member birthday cards, for example) months ahead of time and store in a filing box (separated by month) or a card storage notebook in your gift station. In the front of your filing box or card notebook, keep a list of birthdays and anniversaries of important people in your life.

4) Shop ahead
I have found that when I wait until the last minute to shop for a gift for someone, I end up feeling stressed and frustrated, and often I am not able to find the item that I had in mind. Start shopping before you HAVE to have their gift ready so that you can shop around to get a good deal (there I go again…) and allow yourself plenty of time to wrap and/or ship their gift if needed.

5) Pick a theme
This works in two ways. First, you can pick a theme for someone’s gift, such as purchasing a cake pan, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a spatula, a mixing bowl, and a favorite recipe for a bridal shower gift. Choosing a theme helps make your gift-giving seem less “random” and more heart-felt! Another idea is to make an Italian food gift basket (pasta, sauce, cheese grater, Italian music CD, candles, etc.) as an anniversary gift for a couple. Get creative! Theme-ing your gifts can be really fun.
Secondly, you can pick a theme for a year and have all your gifts be in that category! For example, we are giving books as birthday gifts to all of our family members this year. We shop ahead of time and purchase several books at once (to get free shipping from WTS or Amazon), and then we can mail them (we can use media mail!) to our family members if we won’t be seeing them around their birthdays.

6) Make gifts
Despite what you might think, you ARE creative enough to make gifts for people! Anything from crafts to sewing projects to handmade cards to baked goods can be given as gifts, and gifts made with love are deeply appreciated by the recipients. When giving handmade gifts, cater the gift to the person (use colors you know they’ll love, double the chocolate chips, etc.). Beautiful packaging (like boxes/bags from Garnish or Michael’s) can jazz up even the simplest of baked goods! (What cookies DON’T look better in crisp cellophane bags??) Include your recipe so they can make it again.

7) Give your time
Even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can still bless people by giving of your time. Offer to babysit their children, clean their house, wash their cars, or help them with house projects. Sometimes the gift of time is more appreciated than anything else!

How do you save money on gift-giving? Share your frugal and fabulous tips with the rest of us!

I hope you enjoyed our discussion yesterday about saving money on groceries! Thank you for all your comments. I got lots of good ideas from each of you!

Today we will be talking about how to save money on home decorating. While I certainly do not have a LOT of experience in this area, since we just moved into our first home at the end of March, I would like to share with you a few tips I have learned from my mom and on my own.

1) Shop around
I know I talked about this yesterday, but it applies to home decorating as well! Be willing to shop around at many different stores in order to find good deals and things that you love. Some of my favorite places to shop for home decor are: Ross, Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, T. J. Maxx, Michael’s, Target, Wal-mart, and, of course, second-hand stores. If you are looking for something in particular (a throw pillow to match your living room, for example), you might have to look around at many places before you find one you love that is also a good deal. Be patient! I have found that I am more likely to just “happen upon” something when I’m not “hunting” for it!

2) Shop used
Don’t be afraid to buy things second-hand for your home. Shop craigslist for furniture and many other household items. Go to yardsales, shop at Goodwill or the DAV store, and visit consignment and antique stores. Again, this takes time, but you might find something that you love so much more than something you could find at a “big box” store. It’s fun filling your home with “one of a kind” items!

3) Make things yourself
My mom has always modeled this for me, and I am learning to do this as well. Some things to try are art (read about that here and here), decorative accents (like these), pillows, wreaths, and curtains. You’d also be surprised what you can do with a can of paint (try spray paint or small sample paint cans from Lowe’s). You can paint baskets, other vessels, shelves, boxes, and, of course, furniture. Don’t pass up an ugly coffee table on craigslist when you can paint it and completely transform it!

4) Find inspiration… and DIY
I posted about this once before. Browse catalogs, magazines, blogs, and your favorite stores for inspiration in home decor. You don’t need to spend tons of money to recreate it yourself! Pray for creativity so that you can stretch your family’s finances in order to make your house a home.

5) Use what you have
Re-purpose things you already have! Sometimes you might be tired of a bedspread (or chair or shelf…) in one room, but love it when you move it to another. Don’t get in a “rut” with your decorating; if you’re tired of a piece (art, whatever), try moving it to another room and see if you like it better there. I recently decorated our guest bedroom primarily with things I already had or was given.

That’s all I have for now!

How do you save money on home decorating? Let’s share ideas with one another!

Coming Thursday… Frugal & Fabulous: Saving Money on Gift-Giving