Frugal Gift Giving

This week I had two gift giving occasions; my friend Kira moved into a new apartment, and I took a hostess gift to Jerry & Monika’s when they hosted a Bible class.

For both occasions I went shopping in my pantry, which is full of homemade preserves, made expressly for this purpose. I’m always on the look out for unique recipes so my gifts will  be more interesting than what you would typically buy from a grocery store.

Jerry & Monika’s hostess gift included: Salmonberry Jam, Dandelion Jelly, Blackberry-Basil Jam and Raspberry-Peach Jam.

Kira’s Housewarming gift: Blackberry Syrup, Dill Relish and Christmas Jam.

I didn’t have boxes that were the right sizes so modified what I had to serve the purpose.

from this

to this

I used the same thrifted,”All-purpose” gift wrap on both packages, (There was no chance of the two recipients seeing the other’s gift.) My gift tags were handmade by simply layering the gift wrap with red & white paper.

I’m always on the lookout for gender neutral, all-occasion gift wrap while thrifting so when a gift giving occasion arises I can shop from my stash instead of the Hallmark store. I do the same with ribbon, my collection includes of just about any color imaginable.

As for the preserves, I did have to purchase pectin and sugar. Jars, lids and labels were all thrifted. Most of the produce was free for the picking, either growing wild or from the garden (for these gifts peaches and cranberries were purchased). The cost of those ingredients spread over the number of gifts I’ve given makes each gift monetarily inexpensive but comparable to high-end gourmet treats.

Please share your frugal gift giving ideas in a comment.