Cheerful Frugality, Packaged
The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. --Pierre Corneille
I think Corneille is talking about the heart issues of giving, but I'll twist his words to suit my purpose. We had a great discussion about thoughtful gifts. Now let's talk about how to give them.
The less we spend on a gift, the more carefully we should package it. Which is not to say that we should inflate the value of a humble gift--or sob because we can't achieve storebought perfection.
Shoot for handmade, but with an artful, this-didn't-come-sealed-in-plastic touch.
The Tightwad Gazette's author was a graphic designer by trade. Her attention to detail showed, from the original newsletter illustrations to the labels on Jim's Grape Jelly. Amy Dacyzyn's design sense proved that the tightwad life is enhanced by clever packaging.
(If you're wondering what I'm talking about, turn your computer off and check out this book at the library posthaste!)
I'm not talking about gift wrap. We all know how to let kids decorate on craft paper and reuse gift bags, ad nauseum. It's the gift itself--its design and execution--where a thoughtful eye can really pay off.
For knock-your-socks-off frugal gifts, think in three layers:
- what the gift contains (fresh bread, for instance)
- how it is packaged(with a sharpened and oiled bread knife from a yard sale)
- how it is wrapped (in a crisply starched tea towel, or a basket with holly tied to the handle).
One of my favorite frugal packaging tricks is the wicker plate holder. These natural baskets come new, 4/$1, and 10-cents each at yard sales. I've used them to carry delicate chess pies, cheese balls with crackers, even fluted gingerbreads dusted with powdered sugar. The trick is to wrap parchment or plastic around goodies on the paper plate, then place the plate in the holder. This camouflages the mechanics. If you can, include the appropriate serving piece, even if it's a clear plastic spoon. Tie a big bow around it all.
No ribbon? Fabric scraps add color for nothing. A remnant of fine tulle may cost less than tissue paper. Jar lids don't have to be covered in calico. Repurpose that gold metallic maternity blouse with pinking shears. Cut rough-textured weaves like burlap into strips and fashion into rustic bows. Cinching chintz around a small vase means you need fewer flowers in the arrangement.
Watch your packaging costs when it comes to handmade gifts. If you're not careful, those Dollar Tree containers can make your entire gift pricier than its storebought counterpart. Think of the end product first. Does your family eat peanut butter every day? Then what gift would be attractively contained within a month's worth of those jars?
Be brave. Visit Martha Stewart Online, but steel yourself against the urge to order wool felt and printed ribbon by the yard. Look at holiday projects carefully. Pause only at those with materials you have or can get with little expense.
My own (not so laughing) rule of thumb: if it requires a trip to Michael's, I just don't make it.
I truly enjoy stretching my creativity--and my dollars--with clever packaging. Let's brainstorm a few more using the three layer format, shall we?
- The gift? Pumpkin pie playdough. The packaging? Scented with spices, crimped like a crust, with a bundle of plastic knives for cutting and a recipe card on the side. The wrap? A recycled pie tin with a gingham ribbon on top.
- The gift? A fresh batch of cookies to an office mate. The packaging? A cold pint bottle of milk and a few cute paper napkins. The wrap? A red pail.
- The gift? A specialty, sugar-free cake mix for a diabetic in a remote region. The packaging? A beautiful yard sale cake knife, colorful birthday candles and funny party hats. The wrap? A huge Happy Birthday banner painted by the kids.
Your turn! Let the glue gun cool off a moment, and share some of your homemade gift packaging tips with us!
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13 Responses to “Cheerful Frugality, Packaged”
November 26th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I read an interesting article one time – tie in the packaging with the gift. For example if you are giving some kind of music related gift (cd, instrument, mug with musical notes on it – whatever) then wrap the gift in old sheet music. If the gift is a book about the sea – say Moby Dick – then wrap it in some blue paper, wrap around a strip of netting that looks like fish net and attach a sea shell.
I can’t remember all the examples and obviously it will only be cheap if you have the items on hand or can get them cheaply.
Every year for Xmas I give my fil a HUGE amount of candy/chocolate (just finding inexpensive stuff here and there) and then find a cheap interesting container. This year I’m using one of those cheap popcorn tins (about $5 filled with 3 types of popcorn – eat the popcorn and you have a tin…some tins have each popcorn flavor in a sep bag inside – so you could take those 3 bags out and use them as sep gifts (along with something else) – so it’s not like you are spending $5 JUST for the tin).
November 26th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I just thought of one that I left out. I am giving a gift certificate for a ham to one brother-in-law. Instead of handing him just the gift card, I picked up a specialty mustard at Big Lots and am tying the gift card around its neck with ribbon.
Just a little thing, but I do think it enhances the gift.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Love your ideas! It’s getting my creative juices flowing…..
November 26th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I just linked to you. I love your posts, as always, Meredith.
November 26th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Thanks for the reminder about scraps of cloth instead of purchasing ribbon!
I love getting the kids to decorate paper to wrap with.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
This year I’m giving my parents a coffee basket for Christmas. Money is tight and coffee (which they love) is the first thing they scrimp on. I got a great deal, so I’m passing it along.
Anyway, I’m using a 12″ square decoupaged wooden teak tray ($0.25 at a yard sale) as the base for the gift. (I’m decoupaging pictures of my kids and a saying onto it.) I’m including two containers of ground coffee, two brand-new Christmas coffee mugs (secondhand for $0.25 each), 4 homemade chocolate-and-sprinkles-covered plastic spoons, and flavored creamer. Not bad for costing me less than $5!
I shared this gift idea earlier, but I’ll post it here again since it’s relevant. I’m giving my sister’s family a “Family Night” basket. I bought a BIG plastic popcorn bucket secondhand for 50 cents, so that’s my “basket”. Inside are popcorn (old-fashioned kind), seasonings (cheddar, ranch, sour cream ‘n onion – mostly “stolen” from my regular cooking supplies), some concession-style candy and a CD of A Christmas Carol (Dollar Tree).
November 27th, 2007 at 7:01 am
My husband teases me for saving every scrap of ribbon that makes its way into our house. I adore ribbon (and buttons and rickrack and…) and have mine very well organized, ironed (if appropriate) and ready to use). I find that a nice crisp ribbon, not even necessarily a bow, wrapped over plain colored paper makes a lovely coordinated presentation.
Once in college when the budget didn’t run to specific holiday wraps, I used plain brown craft paper with twine. The gift cards (cut from manila folders like you use at the office) on one side had that lyric from the Sound of Music…”brown paper packages tied up with strings…” and on the other side I wrote that the recipient was *also* one of my favorite “things”. People seemed to get a kick out of it and it allowed me to create a “theme” and make a virtue out of a necessity.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:54 am
I must confess that I am a terrible wrapper. I usually stick the present in a plastic bag or spend money on a gift bag. I will be watching this post with wide eyed expectation. ;0) Thanks for inspiring me. :0)
November 27th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I SO agree about the packaging. This is a great post and I am going to link to it on my Frugal blog I like it so much!
November 27th, 2007 at 10:02 am
[...] a great post at Frugal Hacks about the importance of the packaging and wrapping of Christmas gifts. Here is a link to the post. I believe that the way a package is wrapped is just as important as what is inside. It [...]
November 27th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
For the teacher gifts this year, we bought oversize coffee mugs at the Dollar Store and inside these we will tuck a package of hot cocoa or coffee blend, a treat (probably chocolate covered pretzles but maybe cookies), and either a chocolate dipped spoon or chocolate dipped candycane.
We tend to give bread (banana nut, apple cinnamon, pumpkin, or zuchinni) to our neighbors and co-workers. I wrap these first in plastic wrap and then in plain brown craft paper. I finish this off with a raffia or twine bow and a label. For family, I will generally put together a basket (from yard sale of course) with the bread, a dishtowel, and some honey or apple butter.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Hardware stores are a great place to pick up frugal gift containers. I got wood grained paper paint buckets for a $ to wrap a large batch of cookies for a man.
I have also used their empty paint tins to package a Decorate Your Own Cookie Kit. I make sugar cookies in assorted shapes. Add a small packet of red hots labled “noses” and some of those small decorating icing tubes that are on sale at the holiday time. This is a great gift for working moms of little kids. They can just take out the stuff and the kiddies can start decorating.
December 12th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
[...] our faithful fearless Frugal Hacks to the rescue yet again. For those of us (like me) are shall we say “gift wrapping challenged. [...]
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