Five Dolla’ Make You Holla’ Holiday Series: Mom
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found my mom to be the easiest person on my list to get things for. Mom’s seem pretty clear about things they like. My mom loves Hershey bars, those chocolate covered cherries that come in the red box from Walgreens, trashy romance novels (especially if the cover is neon colored), any kind of pink nail polish (especially if it’s a weird one – like the crackle or fuzzy kind), vanilla scented candles… I could go on and on.
So on the plus side, it’s like she’s taken into account that her kidz iz broke and conveniently provided us with solutions to this for the holidays and her birthday. On the flip side, she’s a tough one to get a GREAT gift for. The trick with my mom, and this is verified by a fair number of other friends, is a little personalization. So for our $5 gifts for mom, I’ve got some great DIY options and a few internet goodies as well.
1.) Pick up 4 white, ceramic plates at the Dollar Store ($4). Beg, borrow or steal some Sharpies. Decorate. This link here has the details. I do like the Eat, Drink, Yum, Apple idea for generic plates that you can let her know you made. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have this Cricut thing she mentions. So here is a free stencils website. Just cut carefully. If Mom is more the literary type, try out this look from Brooklyn Limestone and just adapt to something a little less creepy (although The Raven is pretty cool).
2.) Pick up 1-4 vases like this from the Dollar Store ($1 to $4). Scour your house. Do you have metallic spray paint? Do you have Snow Tex by Deco Art (can be found for $2-5)? Got scrap book paper and ModPodge? Do you have some enamel paint? Are you one of those folks really into washi tape?
3.) Does Mom have a sweet tooth? The best tasting things are those that someone else baked. These chocolate dipped brownies look delicious and festive. Grab a bag of red and green mints at the Dollar Store and serve them up on this cool dish.
4.) Pick up a couple of pieces of felt at Joann’s or Michael’s and turn them into cool place mats and coasters. The pattern looks a little complicated, but you actually just cut along the lines.
Are these simple DIY projects still a little more than you can handle? It’s true they do take a little more time and effort than just searching the web and clicking on the right gift. If so, this next section is gifts under $5 (not including shipping – so make sure you do all your gift buying from any websites in one go, so you’re not hit with multiple shipping charges).
1.) Is Mom sort of trendy? Check out this crystal peacock hair clip at $1.02. Or maybe she misses the water by Christmas time.
2.) Natural Lip Balm – there are a few different flavors to pick from under $5.
3.) Any of these cool pocket mirrors.
4.) Or is mom more of the give back type? You can get her one of these Ornaments with a Purpose that give back part of the proceeds to help animals.
Still looking for more ways to rock a frugal holiday season? Check out this month’s giveaway – Zero Budget Christmas by Jason Anderson. You can enter to win through November 30th.
brokeGIRLrich readers, have you ever received a DIY gift? Did you think it was awesome or just cheap? Do you have any other recommendations for great, inexpensive gifts for moms?
I always like baking something- more for dad than mom in my case. Baked goods also make a great, cheap workplace gift.
You know, I never really thought of baked goods as a workplace gift, but you’re right, that is a great place for them too. The holidays really make me miss having an oven.
I love that peppermint serving tray….do you think it would be sticky after a lot of use? Or would it be more like a one time thing?
I think it would depend… like I think I would make sure the cookies were completely cooled before I put them on there. And honestly, I’d probably use it as a give-away sort of serving tray. But I think it would definitely last an evening and survive a car ride to someone else’s house without getting all sticky and gross.