Best cheap christmas presents?

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cornish tigress
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Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by cornish tigress »

I know everyone is different, but I'd love to know what everyone thinks is the best cheap present they have ever got, or are looking forward to?

Desperate for ideas and just kind of interested.

For me, I am very looking forward to a :censored: mushroom growing kit. Some may think that is odd, but how cool would that be? I have put it on my hopeful list.

Best cheap pressie I have had (apart from weird home-made artefacts from the children, which rock) probably my really nice snowflake and pretty posh bauble christmas tree decs, because I can remember the givers each year when I get them out and they look so cool.

EDIT - Haha that edited pressie was a s h i t a k e mushroom kit! :smt038
Last edited by cornish tigress on Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Rizzo »

The best "cheap" Christmas present I have ever had was a small wire bird feeder and a bag of nuts. I hung it on our very small and feeble tree in our garden at our current house the second Christmas we were in (1992) - by Boxing Day I had blue tits feeding, and enjoyed watching them so much I got a seed feeder.

Now the trees are much larger, the garden is a lot more wild and there are feeders and nest boxes and a wildlife pond. I get so much pleasure from watching the wildlife, and my childhood interest in wild creatures was re-awakened by a small cheap bird feeder. It was also a best present because my mum loved watching the birds as her Alzheimers took hold, even when she could no longer hold a conversation, she would point at them and smile.

The best cheap present I gave someone - or so they told me - was a blend of essential oils for stress headaches and stress insomnia. I mixed them myself, and my friend said they had made such a difference she'd have paid £££s for them.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Kinoulton »

As a kid:

A toy garage (service station) made entirely of tin. Must have been as cheap as chips, but at the time it was the mutt's nuts to me. It had a lift which was a bit of tin plate hauled up by a thread of cotton wound round a tiny handle

Boxes of little plastic soldiers. I think they were about two shillings (10p) for 40. You could get anything from German SS to Red Indians.

As a new teenager. Any aftershave. Hai Karate, Blue Blazer, whatever sickly pungent rubbish that Boots were selling. I'd splash it on and go out feeling like a right dude.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by fleabane »

About a dozen glass marbles in a small dark rust coloured velvet bag - hours of entertainment at the age of 6. (Many moons have passed, etc....)
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Hull Fan »

We got our kids last christmas a torch each, they are 3 & 6, just as a stocking filler rather than main present. Before anyone thinks i'm tight with the cash (which i am!). But....
They loved the torches more than anything else, we had to spend the majority of the day with the curtains shut and the lights out while they had their torches on. Great!
(They still didn't want the sprouts though, even in the dark). :smt039
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Rizzo
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Rizzo »

Hull Fan - that is often the way with kids isn't it? I recall buying my daughter a Fisher Price play kitchen when she was 3 and after the first "ooh" she ignored the kitchen and played in the box for several hours.

CT - another idea if you have time is to make chilli or garlic oil - a large bottle of reasonable quality olive oil, some fresh chillis or plump cloves of garlic and a bit of Christmas ribbon. Peel the garlic cloves, take the stalk and seeds out of the chillis and chop in half or thirds. Put in the oil, decant into spare old ketchup or oil bottles. Cork or put lid on tightly and shake. Add a bit of ribbon round the neck of the bottle. Leave in cool dark place for a week. Bingo. You can pay a lot for a similar thing in posh supermarkets - apparently very chic these days to have flavoured dipping oil and bread on the table.

Also - peppermint creams. Icing sugar, peppermint essence, mix together. Colour some green if you like. Roll out, cut out little shapes, put into cellophane or greaseproof paper bags or little boxes. Kids can make these for grandparents.
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cornish tigress
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by cornish tigress »

Like the flavoured oil idea Rizzo. Grew my own chillies this year and they did really well, could use those and blow a few relatives heads off.

Action Man deserter kit - love it :smt003 Imagine their sad confused little faces. Oh I am going to have fun this year.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Kinoulton »

The current value present is Divorced Barbie.

It comes with all Ken's gear.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by CJ »

four batteries "present not included"

add to the list of make your own stuff: home made jams and jellies. admittedly you have to plan ahead a bit but you can get many of the ingredients free from the hedgrow or trees.

and I'm making marinaded red peppers for some friends this year, out of the latest Jamie Oliver magazine. marinaded sun dried tomatoes are easy as well and so delicious.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Gate »

I was given a bottle of homemade damson gin a few Chrimbles back. Normally I wouldn't touch gin with a bargepole, but the damson stuff rocked, particularly as the creme de cassis replacement in a more ass-kicking version of kir royale.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Kinoulton »

Our local farmer's wife makes sloe gin and will aways bring some at Christmas. By heck, it kicks a**.

She brought some round one cold and frosty morning when the local hunt met to have a blast round the cross-country course. Most of the riders set off p*ssed.
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cornish tigress
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by cornish tigress »

I made sloe gin a couple of Christmases ago as presents but don't have the bushes now since moving. It was LOVELY. Then everyone got a lucky rabbit's foot :smt002 the next year.
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by Kinoulton »

Do you now have several three-footed rabbits?
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cornish tigress
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by cornish tigress »

We now have NO rabbits. :smt001
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loopylass
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Re: Best cheap christmas presents?

Post by loopylass »

As a kid I always remember preferring the box the presents came in rather than the actual box!...Maybe that is just me! :smt001
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