xmas pressies - am i being a cheapskate?

hey guys
funds are pretty short this yr (as is time) so i came up with the idea of putting paint on DDs hands and feet and getting her to 'paint' some canvasses...

got 3 canvasses (1 for my mum and dad, 1 for XP and 1 for XPs family) and 3 tubes of acrylic paint....grand total $40.:clap:

i dont have any other family (grandparents, aunties etc) and friends know that i just cant afford anything this year, yet i cant help but feel im being cheap?:wall:

i guess i justified it by thinking its something the family will love....as i know myself i hate receiving useless gifts....:rolleyes:
what do you guys think?

i think its a great idea!

I think it's a great idea. You're not being cheap at all. I hate how people have expectations to spend a certain amount on presents. Your present idea comes from the heart and is unique and that's worth a lot more than spending too much on some gadget or whatever that will most likely be forgotten about.

i think its great you could add a pic as well :) might have to steal this idea myself

i think its a beautiful idea!! it has more meaning to it than something expensive and useless :)
im sure they will love it. if not thats their problem (not that they wont love it)
its more about the thought time and effort put into it, rather than the cost (IMO anyway)
Enjoy the real things christmas brings not the gifts.
xx

we did it for the first 2 christmas's, first round to grand parents second to aunties... they all love it(well except on set of gps...grrr)

OOOHHH I LOVE IT!! And I am going to steal that idea too!! hehe!!

I think it's perfect and YES I AM GOING TO STEAL THAT ONE TOO!!!!!

everyone in our family is getting soap this year from Soapbricks

Between1-4 bars depending on how much we like em ;) !!

Great idea! I did this for Phil for fathers day as one of his presents! It sounds like something they will love even more as the years go by something that in 25yrs will still be a wonderful christmas gift. On the back of the canvass I would write the date you do it dd's age at the time and christmas 2009 so you will know exactly when it was done in yrs to come. I would also do one for you and one for dd otherwise in 25yrs u will kick yourself!

Christmas isnt about spending more than you can afford

In my opinion presents like that mean far more to people than expensive gifts, so no, you shouldn't feel cheap at all.

I think its a great idea. And you and DD will probably have HEAPS of fun making them :)

I too agree , i would love something like that from my niece..
I think i will be pinching this idea too.

Brilliant idea, I love it :) Not cheap at all- beautiful, practical and special.

Glad to know I have started a trend!! :lol:

I actualy stole the idea off a girl I knew, she kept them for herself but with the canvasses and paint being so cheap I thought why not...gona be tough to stop DD licking the paint off her hands!!

I hope it isn't cheap... we painted up DDs feet two weeks ago! They are all wrapped up and ready to be delievered

nope great idea - we did it in April for pressies for the year. You can also get blank puzzles so if you have older kids for gifts you can give them a personalised puzzle.

Stealing the idea too! My sister and mum especially would love it. Small canvas with a handprint from DS on - it can be his gift to them. (He's just "bought" my mum a toy tractor for her birthday as they have an in-joke about tractors.)

I'll look so involved and good-mummy and it's your idea!

I think that it sounds like a fabulous idea. Am going to steal it for next year too :)

Nope, its a great idea!!! we do it at playgroup, not canvas but paper and we laminate with a photo, its a great keepsake.. This time around I finger painted a pic on the paper first, something that applies to the child eg: DD 14 months is Poppy so I painted flowers around the little feet prints...bigger DD got love hearts and DS got a train, they look great. Don't do them too big, people find it much easier to find a place for a small canvas than a big one.
Foot note lol: FEET are heaps easier than hands at a young age.

You are not a cheapskate, and any family member that doesn't love that present doesn't deserve it. Christmas, whether you are religious or not, is about self reflection, being with family and being good to people around us. This materialistic crap of having to spend huge $$$ on everyone and if you don't, you're a cheapskate really gets my back up. I would much prefer a present like that than a gift voucher that has no thought put in to it.

Oh what a lovely idea....im going to steal it too! I love handmade gifts especially ones to do wiht babies :)

x

Its a great idea, I did this for Mothers and Fathers day for the first couple of years of DS life

It's a fantastic idea, it really isn't the amount of money that 'counts' and such a gift is so unique that i'm sure your family members will love it.

I have actually been playing around with a similar idea myself but wondering how i could get both DS's prints on a canvas without messing up 10x before i was happy with it :p

Last Christmas i actually had paper and pencils out for DS (he was about 22 months at the time) and he drew as he pleased and i kept the drawings. I printed out a yearly calander off the computer, added a few small photos of him to the drawing, laminated, bound the two pages together and gave the calanders as a gift to grandparents & aunt & uncle. It's a keepsake that they will treasure forever.

Stick with your idea it's great :D

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Foot note lol: FEET are heaps easier than hands at a young age.

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So very true!! We did DDs foot prints because she wouldnt uncurl her hands

ABSOLUTELY FANATASTIC!!!! You are not being cheap. These pictures/painting are absolutely priceless and I think they will be crazy if they don't love them!!

Be sure to take lots of photos of the process too... we have some cracking pics of DS 'painting' and the new owners of the house we lived in have his footprints all over the cement :redface: precious memories HAHA

What a brilliant idea Emma! So arty :D