HELPFUL Holiday Tip Guide

[nursegirl6572]

It's always hard to know what to give people like the mail carrier, teachers, etc.  This is a good guide.

Why You Shouldn’t Skip the Tip This Holiday Season

"Planning for the holidays can be hectic and time consuming. While the holiday season expresses a spirit of giving, holiday tipping may be difficult to manage in terms of who should be tipped and how much should be given.

Over the past few years, consumers have set a tight budget on holiday tipping due to the nation’s frail economy. However, with a five-year high on consumer sentiment, recent labor reports, and a rise in contributions to 401(k)’s and rising house prices, a number of indicators show that the economy is steadily improving."

Click the link to see the whole guide.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/holiday-tipping-guide-2012-190918182.html

[orphanedhawk]

My daughter likes to take her girls to those pottery places where you do the glazing yourself and give the finished products as presents.
The girls love doing them and they are one-of-a-kind gifts.

Back to the photo ideas, don't forget that you can also take photos of your kid's art work to display as well as 'straight' shots.

[nursegirl6572]

Love the photo calendar too.  We did one of those for our parents one year, my mom LOVED it!!!  Photo gifts are one of those easy, but very special gifts, and with all of the programs out there now, a lot of times, you can do it yourself.

Walgreens.com has a great selection of photo gifts at reasonable prices...from mugs, to puzzles, blankets, really cool stuff.  I've bought photo gifts from there many times!

[specialmom]

Oh, I love the calenders with the pictures.  One year when on a tight budget (ha, ONE year?)--  I got a shadow box at a craft store.  This is basically a frame that you can put things in and hang.  I love that scrap booking aisle and I found great paper and decorations and took pictures of my boys with my husband from our vast collection of them (I'm the parent paparazzi type) and made something for my husband to hang with a father theme inside the shadow box.  He loves it and we made a second one for him to have at his office at work and he has one in his 'man cave' at home.  

[nursegirl6572]

GREAT ideas.  You guys are so creative!  LOVE the dry erase board idea, how cool!

Definitely keep the ideas coming.  It's nice to be able to save a little, but still give something nice, useful, and thoughtful!

[teko]

Speaking of calenders. We had one made for my mother years ago, it portrayed photos of all the families as the months of the year and we had all the birthdays, anniversaries and the like put on it for her as she was always trying to remember dates because our family was so large. After she passed, I kept that calender for myself. Now I know everyones birthdays and such and have added to it as the families have grown.

[orphanedhawk]

Although I've been scrapping for weeks, attempting to come up with good reuse gifts from garage sales and thrift stores, I love the ideas presented here.

I usually make cards for everyone or sometimes calendars.
Photoshop has made it super easy to do.