Free Christmas and Holidays gift ideas !

Free Christmas gifts ideas we can all use! Holidays seem to always leave most of us short on funds. Especially in today's economic times. First up lets fill those stockings for young and old. Samples samples samples of all kinds. Samples are great stocking stuffers. I especially like getting perfume or cologne sample vials as stocking stuffers for adults. I find samples such as candy or stickers for kids. Some sample vials of designer fragrances cost up to $10 or more each if bought online, but samples sites can help get some for free. As well as liking Facebook pages. Such as Este Lauder and watching your newsfeed for posts about samples not seen on the page itself. These posts will not share though. I tried forwarding the posts to friends however it came to them as invalid link so each person who wants to see the posts will need to like the page themselves. Also going to product websites and finding samples that may be on the site is a great way to find samples. Just google the home page for any given product and search "sample". Sometimes you get samples for signing up for newsletters also. Back to the samples websites I mentioned, some samples sites are a mess to navigate so check reviews on which sites are the best sites for actually receiving free samples. I like hunt 4 freebies however I have not checked out a lot of the sites myself yet. I do plan to however and may even do a later story on the best ones I find so make sure to follow me as an author on Vocal Media.

Of course self made items can save money as long as you don't go craft happy and spend more than buying manufactured items. LOL Not that I've ever done that.....Anyway back to free hand made gift ideas. You can repurpose many household items. Look around for what junk you may have laying around or stored. Make a list then Google each by search phrase such as "repurposing ---------" and fill in the blank with the item you have on hand such as old dressers or window frames even lamps or bottles and so much more !

Trade good items you no longer need for items that would make good gifts for your loved ones. I use social media buy sell trade groups for my city and close by cities. Also buy sell apps are great for trading. Sometimes you can even see free items on these groups and apps.

Offer any skilled services as trade for items that would be good gifts. I sometimes trade photography or wedding officiating for something that someone I am gifting would love. Many people offer common skills that may be needed by some such as house cleaning or errand running also. There really is no limit besides staying within the law and your own capabilities of course.

There is also the time honored tradition of hand made treats. The ingredients may not be free however if you have extra flour and such around you can find holiday recipes to match your on hand ingredients without having to get much if anything to make it. Cookies and holiday breads are usually the cheapest treats to make and can be separated into individual gift treat bags.

Base cookie recipe : Here is a base cookie recipe I use for making different types of cookies based on what ingredients i have on hand. To make the base add the following ingredients:

2 1/3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups of butter

1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar ( or 2 cups of white sugar if no brown sugar is on hand)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Once the base is made you can add things such as 3/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 - 1 cup of chocolate chips or almonds even white chocolate chips or shredded coconut and caramel chips. The ideas are endless with what you could add to this cookie base. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sometimes I shape the dough into holiday shapes but due to the way cookie dough spreads out I stick to basic shapes such as a cane or tree shape. You can even choose to add sprinkles or icing on top to decorate the cookies. I get the holiday colored plastic bags for putting a handful of cookies in for each person. I have also used plain paper sacks tied with a ribbon which actually looks very traditional.

Just remember that it really is the thought that should count and just knowing someone cared will probably spread a lot of happiness this season. The thought and effort behind a gift is always the part that I love the most and many others feel the same way. This in mind try to pick budget ideas that match each person you are wanting to gift. I hope everyone has a great holiday season filled with love and peace and may all your needs be met.