It’s going to be Valentines Days soon and I was looking for unique, unusual Valentines day gifts that don’t cost the earth. I have done many posts about valentines day in the years past, About My Plans for Valentines Day, about DVD Gifts for Valentines Day, about Fine Wines for Valentines Day, about some of the usual (and cheesy I admit it) Valentines Day Gifts, and I even did a post about some Free Valentines Day Gifts which can be put together with little or no monetary cost but which will fetch you lots of brownie points for time and effort invested.

Now one idea that I had was these Flying lanterns which I can launch for Valentines day. These symbolize knowledge and wisdom and are traditionally used by the Chinese to celebrate their new year; but who’s to say I cannot use them for Valentines Day! They fly up into the air and last about 20 minutes traveling several miles and then the flame blows out and they descend to the ground; quite safe. So perhaps I could write something meaningful on each of them and l could launch several! They cost less than five dollars each.

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Tags: Accessories, Best Deals, Celebrations, Gifts by Nicole Price
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For a bunch of reasons, you will be looking to get cheap gifts for the festive season: first and foremost is financial stringency, secondly there are some people that you simply don’t want to spend that much money on (that’s not being cheap, just practical), then there are those who don’t appreciate expensive stuff and who will promptly break, dismember and/or destroy something expensive (read children). So here are some stocking stuffer ideas under $5:

These fridge magnets are excellent for all the Domestic Goddesses we know out there; the ones with a sense of humor:  I thought they were all hilarious: “Every day I give my family two choices for dinner…take it or leave it”, “Housework is evil. It must be stopped.” “A clean house is a sign of a wasted life” “It’s not nagging if you wave a butcher knife, dear.” For under $20 for a set of four, you can give these to four different individuals! Alternatively these fridge magnets would do great for your girlfriends in office; again those with a sense of humor!

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Tags: Best Deals, Celebrations, Christmas, Gifts by Nicole Price
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Yes I know all the reasons why Valentine’s Day should not be such a big deal: after all why should you wait for this one day every year to tell your loved ones how much you love them and what if you don’t have a significant other in your life right now, etc.

But then there are so many reasons that you should celebrate Valentine’s Day: for one it is a good idea to make the extra effort to make a special someone feel special, and any excuse for a celebration is a good excuse, and so what if you don’t have that one special someone in your life, family, friends, any and all dear ones count. Show them that they count, that they mean something to you; be it by deed, word or indeed gift. This post of mine is about all the things that you can give that won’t cost you a thing; just the thing for the recession:

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Tags: Celebrations, Gifts, Money Saving by Nicole Price
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Here’s wishing all my readers a very

Merry Christmas!

Tags: Celebrations by Nicole Price
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The festive season is the season not only of joy and goodwill to all mankind but also the season of spending. Decorations, parties, gifts and a myriad other reasons to empty our pockets; however this year, with the recession ominously but unequivocally upon us, it may be time to tighten our belts. So I combed the internet looking for the best ways to save money these holidays.

There were some great ideas contributed by the readers of the site themselves. One suggestion was to exchange gifts in January instead of at the actual holiday so that one can take advantage of post holiday sales and also you are not so stressed getting gifts just ahead of Christmas. Another reader suggested giving the New Year party a miss in favor or calling some friends over for a contributory meal where everyone listens to music, plays games and has a better time than if they had gone on to a big public place and spent a bunch of money. And if someone is on a really tight budget, you can get books for $1 or $2 at local friends-of-the-library book sales to give as gifts.

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Tags: Celebrations, Gifts, Money Saving by Nicole Price
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The festive season is the season of giving and I believe that it should be about giving not only to those whom we love and cherish but also to those who are less privileged than us. If you can make a stranger smile with your thoughtfulness then you have indeed got into the true festive spirit! You can donate money or even time to a charity or a worthy cause.

One idea that we had, and which we plan to put into practice this festive season is to buy toys at wholesale prices to distribute among foster homes and/or schools for the underprivileged. We have not got the details worked out yet, but we were thinking toys such as those available here, some outdoor game toys, some educational aids or board games etc. If you are looking for some nice children’s gifts at good discounts, you may want to take a look here as well.

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Tags: Best Deals, Celebrations, Gifts, Kids, Wacky by Nicole Price
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My favorite time of year is coming soon; Christmas. I still remember the excitement of going to bed on Christmas Eve when I was a child; the almost breathless excitement in the anticipation of Santa Claus coming with his bag full of goodies while I slept so that when I woke up there would be all these lovely surprises waiting for me! After all Christmas is all about giving and sharing and gifting, so go forth and shop! If we can find discounts, all the better! And No! It is not cheap to buy discounted gifts, it is merely smart!

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Tags: Accessories, Best Deals, Celebrations, Clothes, Gifts, Home Stuff by Nicole Price
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Now as a corollary to my last post, I have to include a costume idea from one of the commentators here: use some old or discarded clothes to do this DIY fusion outfit: “I cut a shirt in half and an old dinner jacket and some pyjamas and I stuck them together to appear like I had a line going down the middle of me, with a suit on one side and PJs on the other. I even wore one slipper and one shoe, lol!!” Sounds like a good idea to me!

Now store bought decorations, props and outfits may be quick and convenient but also quite expensive. If you take out some time for DIY items, you can save a whole lot of money and have a lot of family fun in the bargain. Over here, I found some really fun DIY ideas for Halloween including making monster footprints, simple-to-make ghosties, green pumpkin, icky cobwebs and a whole bunch of other ideas you can use for a Halloween party.

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Tags: Best Deals, Celebrations by Nicole Price
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Have you ever thrown a party with a mixed group of attendees and had trouble getting them to interact? It can be a daunting task to get guests who have just met to mingle with each other. Yet, it needs to be accomplished since the success of your party depends on it.

I found a site that offers something that can be a great conversation starter. This site offers great wine glasses, beer mugs, coffee mugs, highball glasses, champagne glasses etc with small phrases and witty messages etched on them. The variety is huge according to the theme you may desire. Each set has four different phrases based on a theme, with the set of four of any variety available at $48. If you buy all three sets of any type, you are charged a discounted rate of $129 (a discount of $15 – thats just me, I have to look for discounts everywhere).

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Tags: Best Deals, Celebrations, Entertainment, Gifts, Kitchen, Wacky by Nicole Price
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This post may be a bit late because Mother’s day was two days back. It maybe a bit late to actually start looking for a gift to give or send your mother. But what is the surprise in giving a gift when it is expected? Instead send it some days later and really surprise her . Okay, thats a lame excuse, but since I’m running a bit late this time, that’s the one I’m gonna stick to. Personally I think flowers and candy are just a little bit passé, and they don’t really last for any length of time, so better bet is to get her something that is more permanent and which will remind her for a longer time of what a good son or daughter you are.

While the traditional photo frame is a good idea, if your mother is more techno savvy, give her a digital photo frame. I liked this digital photo frame keychain at Amazon for $14.03. It has a built in rechargeable battery and has a 1.5-inch CSTN LCD full-color display; stores over 60 photos. If your mother is the type who whips out the pictures of the kids to show to all and sundry she will love this!

One idea that grandmothers seem to love is if you bronze their grandchild’s shoes for them. Baby shoe bronzing allows you to celebrate and remember your child’s first experiences in a unique way and it makes a super gift for Grandma! Apparently this process is available in bronze, pewter, gold, porcelain, and silver, and for items other than shoes as well. You can get shoes bronzed here for $39.95 and for an additional $7 you can get the shoes personalized with the child’s name and date of birth! This is a wonderful idea and if I were a grandmother, I would be moved to tears by this lovely idea.

Amazon has some great ideas for mother’s day. They have patio furniture, solar birdbath fountain and garden lanterns for outdoorsy mom, a really good collection of stuff for chef mom, some very elegant items for entertainer mom, tasteful things for decorator mom, and even some very innovative and unusual stuff for trendy mom and mom who has it all! Go on take your pick; you are the best person to decide what your mother would like!

Tags: Celebrations, Gifts, Shoes by Nicole Price
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