Set limits – at the start, before you shop set a price range or number range and stick to it. Kids don’t need a million toys. In fact most kids are probably happier with one nice item they truly adore and want and a couple of small gifts than 15 presents that mean little. To that end, ask your kids about what they really want this year.

Play it safe - easy to break, toxic, or otherwise shoddy toys are never a bargain and could even amount to medical bills if a toy hurts your child.

Give better hints - family members and friends will be buying your child toys, so make sure they’re the toys your kids actually want or it’s a waste of cash.

Rent don’t buy – many toys can be rented, played with, then returned for a new batch, as can kids sports equipment and musical instruments if those happen to be on your little one’s holiday wish list. Although I don’t think it’s cool to ONLY rent items that your child wants for the holidays, it’s a smart move for some items, like say skis. Later if your child like the item enough then consider a purchase.

Go used – the used video games at a place like GameStop are exactly the same as new games, only cheaper. Used books, toys, and other cool holiday gifts can be found at many higher end consignment or thrift stores.

Give time – over and over I say this, but kids do honestly want your time and new experiences more than a new toy. Especially if you set them up to crave this from the start. If you make time together fun and new experiences interesting and personal, these are the things your child will value.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Above: Monkey Business group gift idea for an organic baby shower.

Group gift idea:

Great seats to an event like a concert, sporting event, or play.

Day at a spa – good for mamas to be especially!

Group night out – for example, everyone heads out to dinner together and chips in to pay for the special person. You could also attend an event. Experiences make for better memories and gifts in my opinion because you get to hang with your pals.

Of course you can chip in for an actual material item too. For a co-worker a basket of office goodies is nice. You can snag some luxury beauty products for a girl-friendly basket or give a basket of CDs and an MP3 holder to a music lover. Gift basket options are endless – and you can lower your costs by making the gift basket up yourself!

From Group has some nice ready made gift items for group gifting too (easy to buy and give). Such as…

Love & Romance group gift for a wedding

Hearty Housewarming 12 cookie arrangement for new home owners

Coffee Break group gift for retirement congrats

Do you ever give group gifts? Or do you think it’s not as meaningful (something I’ve heard folks say but don’t agree with).

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

At Tree Hugging Family, I posted DIY Homemade Natural & Eco Chic Soap which is an excellent holiday gift project, one you can even do with the kiddos. It’s soap that you can easily make with lots of recycled products – but it looks totally professional. See:

[image via Bramble Berry]

All Holiday Cafe has the most adorable (and easy) holiday gift idea – Quick Christmas Gift – Tea Cup Pincushion – if you know a sewer, this is a great present you can make on the cheap.

 [image via All Holiday Cafe]

Eco-holiday gifts are usually expensive, but not if you know where to look. Inhabitots has two posts that can help you out; Why Buy? RentAtoy for Christmas and Seven Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers! that won’t break the bank. Adorable items like the earth friendly Wooden Mushroom Kaleidoscope:

[image via Willow Tree Toys]

Also in green holiday thrift, there’s: Save Money with Great Discount Codes for Green Gifts

Declutter It has some excellent DIY Holiday Wrap Station Ideas. Most are inexpensive plans that go together fast.

[image via Martha Stewart]

If all you have is inexpensive dental floss and stickers you can still make extra cute holiday decorations – I kid you not.

Lastly, have you visited She Knows Coupons yet? Lots of cool deals for the holidays and beyond.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

One site to visit is Dealnews. This site is currently offering a helpful article; 2008 Black Friday Predictions. This article covers tips related to:

• Deals on laptops
• Which HDTVs are going to be well-priced (all screen sizes included)
• Ipods and other Apple Store products
• Which popular products are going to be big sellers this season

You can also check out Dealnews’ Black Friday deals section and see daily money saving tips on their homepage. The holidays are coming up fast, but it’s still early enough that you have time to shop around, which means you’ll get better deals on the gifts your family and friends are interested in. Visit Dealnews to learn more.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy