Gifts don't have to break the bank

Okay. It's almost Christmas. You know you're supposed to buy presents for somebody. You have no ideas. You have no money. You have a great deal of stress.

Well, I can't give you any money, but I do have a few ideas.

Now, the obvious places to start shopping are the dollar stores. Dollar stores are good, especially if some of the items are three or more for a dollar.

Wait a minute . . . like what?

Toy cars. Sometimes you can find packages of two or more toy cars for a dollar. Then you give one to each child on your list or wrap them separately and give them all to one child, who then has several gifts to open.

Candles. Candles, some of them quite nice-smelling and often multipackaged, can become two or more gifts. But you may want to jazz up a candle with a candle holder. Not to worry, though. These also can be found at discount stores or dollar stores for very little.

Bonus Dollar Store, for example, has candles packaged three and six to a box for $1. And they have candle holders two for $1. There are also some $1 candle holders for teachers that are quite nice.

Animal snouts. Another cute thing for children at the dollar store is a package of four animal noses for, again, $1. Four kids can become fish, frogs or parrots. Fun!

Books. Children's and adult books are always nice gifts and can be found at dollar stores.

Another good gift is, of course, candy. Chocolate is best. I suggest going to the Russell Stover Outlet Store on State Road 44 just east of Interstate 75 and getting discount candy.

And I don't mean current candy. Yes, Christmas candy is sold for a little less, but what the cheap shopper wants is discounted Halloween candy or, better yet, Easter candy from last Easter. That's where you save.

I went recently and got a respectably sized chocolate rabbit for 22 cents. With a little imagination, you can repackage the candy to make it more Christmasy. I removed the rabbit from the box -- I washed my hands first, of course -- and rewrapped it in that holiday hologram aluminum foil. Add a bow, and there you are.

Don't want to spring for the fancy foil? Go to a second-hand store and get a mug or fancy wine glass for 50 cents (or less). Wash it, chop the rabbit up into chunks and fill the cup. Wrap in plastic wrap, add a bow. Yum. You don't have to use a rabbit, either. I found other Easter candy treats in small wrapped pieces that were cheap, too.

The best gift, one that absolutely oozes with your love and is completely (almost) free, is a homemade coupon book. Cut up some paper and staple together a book and offer your recipient -- spouse, child, parent, grandparent, neighbor, etc. -- your loving time and talent.

The coupons might include a ride to the store or doctor's office, a car wash, vacuuming, a back rub, a horsy ride on your back (for a child, of course), a lawn mowing (try to see if you can use his/her mower and gas) or breakfast in bed -- and really, you have to include cleaning up on this one. Upon rising from bed, your lucky recipient will not be pleased to see a breakfast mess in the kitchen.

Speaking of coupons, gift certificates are good choices for the hard to please. Do you know anyone having a yard sale in the weeks following Christmas? Consider asking that person if you can purchase a gift certificate to her sale. Hey, your loved one can buy a lot of stuff at a yard sale for 50 cents!

Another sort of free gift involves spending money on yourself initially, with the goal of allowing a child or even a collector to benefit later from your original investment. Go to a fast food place, such as Burger King or McDonald's -- but most of the fast food places have such offers -- and get a kid's meal. Save the toys. Wrap them (you may want to remove the restaurant's packaging first) individually or nestle a bunch of them (depending on how hungry you were) in tissue paper and wrap the whole thing.

Are you artistic? Find a nice rock and paint a sweet face on it. Give someone a pet rock.

Shopping for a man? Fill a brown paper bag -- in an aesthetically pleasing way, of course -- with some small packages of pretzels, potato chips, M&Ms and a can or two of soda and write "Football Munching Kit" (or perhaps something clever) on the bag.

Do you garden? Dig up one of your lovely, healthy plants and put it in a pot. Perhaps even decorate a plain clay pot to make it a little more festive.

And don't overlook crafts stores or departments. At Wal-Mart, in that department, you can find very nice vases for as low as 97 cents. Put a carnation in it, add a bow, and there you go!

If you need to give multiple small gifts to co-workers or teachers, bus drivers, etc. consider tucking a lottery ticket into a card for each of them. It has, at least, the potential of being a really great gift.

One problem you may be facing is children desperately wanting the hot items of the season. This is a tough one, but not insurmountable. You may not be able to get away with something for a quarter, but I can give a couple of suggestions to help drop the price.

A big item among girls seems to be the Barbie Talking Townhouse. I saw it at Kmart for $54.99. I didn't see anything quite the same for less, but your child may be happy with the Fisher Price Loving Family for $19.99 or Sparkle Style House for $24.99. Or you can make a dollhouse, Barbie-sized, of course, if you are so inclined.

The substitute toy issue went a little more reasonably for the boys' hot toy. Apparently, the big thing for them is Hot Wheels' Turbo Jet City. It is $49.99 at Kmart. Try a Just Kidz Police Station instead. It has cars, a gas station, a tune-up lift, elevator and a car wash, and it's only $10!

If none of these ideas will work for you, well . . . I tried. Anyway, good shopping, good luck and merry Christmas.

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