Like lots of people, I’m not as frugal at Christmas as I am throughout the rest of the year but I do like to make sure that I get the best deals possible and that the presents I buy aren’t going to sit in a drawer or on a shelf gathering dust.
I don’t think you need to spend a lot at Christmas and I know it’s not all about the presents but realistically all of us have gifts to buy for our loved ones and I wanted to share some ideas for some great gifts that I’ve come across.
My first gift guide is aimed at people buying for girls from about Year 6 upwards and it’s based on my experiences of life with Miss Frugal who is a pretty typical 12 year old right now although she does seem to have developed some expensive tastes recently. 😉
Something to read
I always buy at least one book for the kids for Christmas – this year’s favourite request is Alfie Deyes’ Pointless book (he’s a super famous you-tuber I’m led to believe) and the cheapest place I’ve found it is Tesco as it’s in the 2 for £7 offer in-store at the minute. Another series of books that Miss F and her friends are enjoying at the moment are the Geek Girl books. Again, a couple of them are in the 2 for £7 in Tesco. Definitely worth shopping about though as the prices and deals seem to be changing frequently at the moment. Miss Frugal bought these for herself out of her pocketmoney as she NEEDED both books right away so I’m thinking about a magazine subscription for her instead.
Something to watch
Clearly, all kids like different shows but Miss Frugal has recently discovered 90210 on Netflix and she loves it. Not all of the seasons are on there at the minute though so a box set or two may find it’s way into her Christmas stocking. You could make a girly DVD into a bit of a pamper hamper – just put it in a pretty box or bag with a bag of popcorn, some sweets, a face mask and a cute nail varnish!
Something technical
I bought myself a portable phone charger a few weeks ago from Amazon and it’s been a godsend. I keep it in my handbag (fully charged) along with my charger cable and it stores enough power to give my phone a complete re-charge on the go. Mine was about £8 if I recall and Miss F has asked for one of her own!
Something Smelly
Last year Miss F was all about the One Direction perfume but this year she’s gone upmarket and has asked for Marc Jacobs Daisy. I did think this would be way above our Christmas budget but when we were out last week we saw a 20% off in The Fragrance Shop on everything bought between 12 and 2pm which meant that the handbag size with a refill (35ml total) was £23. Not as cheap as some of the lovely smellies that I’ve seen in shops like Home Bargains and B&M but still cheaper than last year’s One Direction perfume. We were out somewhere else a couple of days ago and saw the same offer in another branch so it may be every day or at least a regular thing so it’s well worth asking in your branch.
Something pretty
This one is easy for girls and is the main staple of Miss F’s sticking fillers – I can’t show you a photo in case she sees but basically I spent £10 when Claires was £10 for 10 items and bought 10 things from phone covers to sunglasses and from jewellery to hair things. I got almost £80 worth of things for £10 which was an amazing bargain. Even aside from that though, girls are so easy to buy for – all the shops have little gift sets in at this time of year.
Something to play
No matter how old they are, something to play with is essential! 😉 Budding fashion designers might like a retro fashion wheel or a Harumika set. The new version of Bop it looks amazing too but I think I might save that one for Master F instead.
Something to do
What about an experience for them. Something like Airkix (which we did and LOVED last year) is an amazing experience for them and opening a gift voucher for Airkix would be amazing on Christmas morning and won’t cost you as much as you might think! Look on sites like Groupon and Wowcher too at this time of year as there’s been a few things that might be good on there recently – paintballing and segway riding experiences for not very much.
Something to use
Last year we bought Miss Frugal a make up box as she was starting to gather a bit of a collection of make up. We bought her one that folds out like the one above and she loves it. We bought ours from Argos but you can get them all over and there’s some great ones on eBay too.
Something absolutely Vital
Of course you can’t have Christmas without getting Stationery as a present and this year, Sharpies are heading up the Stationery list. Closely followed by post-it notes.
A Subscription
What about a gift that you can use all year round – like a magazine subscription or even better, if they don’t have a Netflix subscription then consider getting one as a gift. At £6.99 a month they’ll certainly get use from it as there is such a wide range of shows on there for them ranging from documentaries to drama and everything else in between.
So there you have it, my first #FrugalGiftGuide of the year and don’t forget, they might not all be super cheap gifts but I’m pretty sure that they’ll be appreciated and they won’t be hidden away in a drawer and never used!
And if you’re still stuck, check out Boo Roo and Tigger too for even more ideas!
