frugal charming old fashioned Christmas

[Vrsherren]

Thot y'all like this idea too

Every Holiday season I bake Christmas tree cakes, frost w'/ green icing and
decorate with M&M and assorted small candies. I also make the Rice Krispie
Treat Trees and mix in the M&M inside, with chopped candy bars (Snickers, etc.).
I tint the marshmellows green while I melt them and/or I melt white chocolate,
tint green & "frost the top. Then we all quickly decorate with plain, almond &
krispie M&Ms. Garland is icing, or melted chocolate. Top trees as desired,
Angel or star cookie frosted & decorations added.
We like to do several and leave wrapped on doorsteps with a list of
ingredients and a note "From Secret Santa". Most of these people we've never
met, and have gotten their names from churchs. What my grand kids like most is
the giving without the people even knowing who. Its our secret! We're already
baking and gathering all the ingredients as this year our list will be long!
Vivian Herren & grand kids

[pootersmommy]

Vivian - thanks for being such a good person. If everyone took time to do "something" for others the world would be a better place indeed!!!!

We buy gifts every year for the Guardians Home for children (instead of buying for ourselves). It's not their fault that they aren't with mom/dad. I can't imagine a child getting "nothing" from Santa. I get lots of good deals and buy toiletries and such at the Dollar Tree.

I'm sure that you are like us - I think giving HAS to feel better than receiving! It thrills me to my core, that the kids will have Christmas.
The smallest things in life are blessings to someone.

One year I made lots of fleece blankets for neices and nephews. I had lots of fleece let over. I simply cut into long strips - cut fringe on ends - to make warm scarves. I took a big box of them up to the local soup kitchen and passed them out. People were thrilled to get something warm. And they were just my scraps. COST - $0. I also had scraps that couldn't go for scarves, so I made little stocking (2 pcs sewed together) and filled with penny candy. I made about 50 - and my nephew played Santa at their Legion Hall and gave to kids. He lives in one of the poorest counties in Indiana. The kids were thrilled. COST - maybe $6. YET PRICELESS

I hope everyone does something small for someone they don't know this year - make someone smile!!!!!!!!!!!
You will be blessed.

[RobertaD]

I purchase all year long food and toiletries for practically free combining sales with coupons and donate to the local food bank or a family in need that I hear about. Today I was able to pick up at CVS a $4 bottle of Colgette toothpaste for $.59 and 2 packs of Listerine strips for FREE they will go in my Christmas stash to be donated.

Will see what I can get for almost free when I'm at Krogers later.

Roberta

[kathymac]

Vivian, Cheryl & Roberta, thank you for inspiring me to be more giving this Christmas. Our family does always adopt a child or two from the Angel Tree. And I do donate to the local food bank year round. There but for the grace of God go I. But, you are right, just a small gesture means so much!

Kathy

[Bilby]

Our local church sets up a gift giving tee at the local shops for gifts.
For the last 10 years the boys have been able to choose a gift tag each to buy a present for another child, tehy also have great fun choosing what to get for the the child and hope they'll like it.

We don't give a lot of gifts between families but we do make stuff, I have a great chocolate christmas cake that I make into smaller ones and give those as gifts.

You'll probably find we all do great things for others just to different degrees, a lot of time it depends on how well off we are ourselves and that is the greatest, when we are low on dollars but still give.

[Vrsherren]

yep, there a lot of different ways to help and give to others who have less. I think we are "wired" to be compassionate.
Its wonderful to hear all the clever ways to share! I think we also have to work on being good receivers. I remember how hard it was to recieve "charity", but it did teach us so much. I think that's why I like the secret part of the Secret Santas, the only one you can thank is God!


Blessings

[RobertaD]

We were gifted of 4 boxes of food two years ago when DH was out of work from out church's Fall Harvest which was greatly appreciated. The food collected went to 5 church families that were in need. What I knew we wouldn't eat I redonated to the food bank.

This year my church gave us $150 as DH has been out of work since April to use toward food/bills which was very appreciated, I used $62 of it to buy 3 Angel Food Ministries boxes which included 7 dinners for 4, fruit & veggie box for 4, 5 frozen entrees for 4. I also picked up 2 extra 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloins at $2 each as they had extras available for sale.

Roberta

[playsdolls]

Where my grandchildren go to school each class gets a child from an Angel tree and each child in the class brings in a $5.oo gift and they are packaged up for the child.The children on the Angel Tree are children from there school that would not have a Christmas without the school helping out like they do.

[Pag36]

I think that is a GREAT idea for your g-childrens class to do. My dau & I have picked at least one child off Angel Tree to do and around here we have Senior Citizen tree too (they are generally in Nursing Homes) and we each picked one off there too.
I get a good feeling from knowing even in a small way that I am helping others to have a nice Christmas

[Coll]

One year dd1 picked a name from a tree, I thnk this was a school project, all the old fella wanted was hankies. Do you know how hard it is to find hankies with the letter "E" embroidered on them.