FREE Christmas stuff!

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Minibit

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I KNOW IT'S EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS BUT I'M OUT OF TOWN UNTIL LIKE RIGHT BEFORE THE BIG DAY SO A LOT OF MY SHIT GETS PLANNED IN ADVANCE SO I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS STUFF SO IT'S WHAT'S ON MY MIND SO ITS WHAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT.

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<3

So anyway, the roomie and I were stressing about money today, and lamenting that all of our christmas stuff is at our respective homes, and wondering how we were going to decorate/celebrate for the holiday in our financial situations.

I said "well, insofar as decoration, don't even worry about it. I'm crafty and thrifty as fuck and we can totally make decorations out of recycled stuff"

and we started talking about stringing popcorn and making paper chain links and such like that

It made me think, what other holiday stuff can you do that's FREE? Let's make a list for broke iwakuans!

Decorations:
  • Paper chain garlands
    (requires paper - I like newspaper ads or magazines because colourful!), and tape or glue)
  • Strung popcorn garlands
    (requires thread, a needle, and popcorn)
  • Orange clove incense
    (one orange, stuck full of whole cloves!)
  • Gingerbread men
    (cut brown cardboard in the shape of gingerbread man; draw or glue paper on for "icing" faces and buttons!)
  • Cards
    (needs only paper and some writing sticks; no cost to make for decorations, few cents if you want to send them out. Letters are about the same price too if you don't think you're artsy enough to make a card.)
  • Snowflakes
    (paper; white preferred but any colour. Fold, cut, unfold, hang)

Activities/other
  • Christmas carols off the internet; make a playlist!
  • Skating in public skating rinks
    (bring your own skates, rentals can be expensive)
  • Build a snowman
  • Tobogganing anywhere there's a good hill
  • Carolling
  • Watching christmas movies (torrenting, yo ho ho!)
  • Snacks
    (You'd be surprised what treats you can make from what's already in your cupboards; use a website that lets you search by ingredient!)
  • Volunteer at a shelter or soup kitchen
  • Make and/or donate scarves, mittens, toques, outgrown coats, etc, to homeless shelters
  • Dress the part! Sparkly makeup and clothes, christmas sweaters, paint your nails, wear a santa hat :)
  • Advent calendar
    (write a lot of A) a cool bit of Christmas trivia, B) A way you should treat yourself today, C) A joke, etc. Something free and pleasant. on some paper pieces or in a note on your phone/computer. Shuffle them and draw one each day leading up to Christmas!)
NEW YEARS BONUSES!
  • Positivity Jar
    Two ways to do this one
    • Through the year, whenever something positive happens, or something makes you smile, anything from a good joke you heard to a good time you had, write it down and put it in the jar.
    • Approaching New Years, write down all the good memories and things from the year you can think of and put them in the jar. Update it as things continue to happen

      At New Years, go through it and look at all the good this year brought you.
  • Watch TV coverage or an online stream of New Years countdowns!
  • Play Never Have I Ever ("This Year" version!)
  • Make resolutions together
  • Have a peaceful, meditative sound and define what you want for your future and what happiness means to you. Set up a plan to achieve it.
  • Try some fortune-telling methods to determine how the next year will go! Google various ways and find one that seems fun to you
 
You got most of the one's I would pick, so I'm simply going to have to say:

Card's Against Humanity, with custom Christmas decks.

Build a snowman
 
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I THOUGHT YOU WERE GIVING AWAY FREE SHIT. NOW I ANGER.

jk jk

jk...

...

Actually, anyone want cool shit for Christmas for real? I love being Santa Claus. I'll give away free Steam keys and shit for Christmas!

Or dick pics, one or the other.

And my man love.


Also I'm not kidding I'll give away free Steam keys or other Amazon Prime gifts if I get addresses from brave people who don't mind getting random shit for a stocking stuffer gift. Just lemme know.
 
IT'S NOT FREE BUT, I always pickup little gift set things randomly during the year when there's like a sale or discounts or something. o__o Cause you never know when you need a quick gift for an unexpected holiday/guest.

I learned this from my oldschool bestie's grandma. O____O My bestie took me with her to her family's christmas celebrations, and even though NO ONE knew me or expected me, there were gifts for me too and I felt welcomed and part of the family. It was really sweet.
 
I THOUGHT YOU WERE GIVING AWAY FREE SHIT. NOW I ANGER.

jk jk

jk...

...

Actually, anyone want cool shit for Christmas for real? I love being Santa Claus. I'll give away free Steam keys and shit for Christmas!

Or dick pics, one or the other.

And my man love.


Also I'm not kidding I'll give away free Steam keys or other Amazon Prime gifts if I get addresses from brave people who don't mind getting random shit for a stocking stuffer gift. Just lemme know.
I will take one of those things...
 
Sledding was a big one we used to do until the houses got built now its not safe to sled on that road well even more unsafe to sled on it.

Fire nice beautiful fire, roaring in your fire place.

Burying children in snow if you can get them to sit still long enough. Which really is the tricky part. Getting them to dig the hole is a breeze getting them to get in the hole while you fill it up not so much.

Got nothing for decorations since decorations kill any holiday for me with having to put them up and deal with them.
 
If you take the time to find decent wood chippings (like, the size of your thumb) you can make some pretty fun stuff. I make those and hand them out at Christmas eve.
 
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IT'S NOT FREE BUT, I always pickup little gift set things randomly during the year when there's like a sale or discounts or something. o__o Cause you never know when you need a quick gift for an unexpected holiday/guest.
I used to always think of the BEST shit to get people for Christmas, and spend probably an unwise amount of money on other people, because I just loved getting them something that I knew they would adore and just seeing their face when they opened it.

One year I had this friend who, for a lot of reasons, was feeling sort of lonely and sort of like she didn't feel connected with a lot of her friends anymore (most of whom were mutual friends between me and her), and it certainly didn't help that, around that time, Pokemon X and Y came out, and pretty much our entire circle of friends was hooked on it -- and she really wanted her own copy (not just because she personally wanted the game but she also wanted to interact with the rest of us and join in on our conversations about it), but she didn't even own a 3DS and certainly couldn't afford to buy one, which, to her, only seemed to reinforce the idea that she just wasn't connected to anyone anymore and that her own economic disparity was pulling her away from her friends, which she really didn't feel great about. And I know it must sound incredibly petty and materialistic to say that she was this beat-up over not having a 3DS, but, eh, it was clear that she was going through some stuff at the time, and this was just one more thing that really hammered it all in.

Sooooo I saw a bit of an opportunity. :3 I wanted to gather up as many of her friends as possible, and have us all contribute some money to buy her a 3DS and Pokemon X -- with, of course, a card that listed every person who contributed, to serve as a nice little reminder of all the people who are still her friends and still love and care about her. I thought it would be a pretty awesome way to get her something that we all knew she really wanted, while also being symbolic of so much more. ^^ And, yes, she did love it -- and the fact that she could also play the game that so many of her friends were hooked on probably really did help her re-connect with a lot of us, and boost her overall mood.

I realize that this was really off-topic, but Diana's comment made me think of it and I guess I felt kind of compelled to share. ^^"

Unfortunately, though, do to a combination of financial reasons and just a straight-up lack of free time, it seems I won't be able to manage any gifts that would be nearly as extravagant this year. @_@ In fact, I still have a lot of thinking to do about what I'm getting people...
 
I used to always think of the BEST shit to get people for Christmas, and spend probably an unwise amount of money on other people, because I just loved getting them something that I knew they would adore and just seeing their face when they opened it.

One year I had this friend who, for a lot of reasons, was feeling sort of lonely and sort of like she didn't feel connected with a lot of her friends anymore (most of whom were mutual friends between me and her), and it certainly didn't help that, around that time, Pokemon X and Y came out, and pretty much our entire circle of friends was hooked on it -- and she really wanted her own copy (not just because she personally wanted the game but she also wanted to interact with the rest of us and join in on our conversations about it), but she didn't even own a 3DS and certainly couldn't afford to buy one, which, to her, only seemed to reinforce the idea that she just wasn't connected to anyone anymore and that her own economic disparity was pulling her away from her friends, which she really didn't feel great about. And I know it must sound incredibly petty and materialistic to say that she was this beat-up over not having a 3DS, but, eh, it was clear that she was going through some stuff at the time, and this was just one more thing that really hammered it all in.

Sooooo I saw a bit of an opportunity. :3 I wanted to gather up as many of her friends as possible, and have us all contribute some money to buy her a 3DS and Pokemon X -- with, of course, a card that listed every person who contributed, to serve as a nice little reminder of all the people who are still her friends and still love and care about her. I thought it would be a pretty awesome way to get her something that we all knew she really wanted, while also being symbolic of so much more. ^^ And, yes, she did love it -- and the fact that she could also play the game that so many of her friends were hooked on probably really did help her re-connect with a lot of us, and boost her overall mood.

I realize that this was really off-topic, but Diana's comment made me think of it and I guess I felt kind of compelled to share. ^^"

Unfortunately, though, do to a combination of financial reasons and just a straight-up lack of free time, it seems I won't be able to manage any gifts that would be nearly as extravagant this year. @_@ In fact, I still have a lot of thinking to do about what I'm getting people...


o god my feels. ;__; That's so sweet.
 
For people with kids, making Reindeer food is fairly cheap and a pretty fun activity to do. All you really need is glitter, cheerios and oatmeal (Original, instant or whatever.) You just mix it up and let them toss it out in the yard on Christmas Eve before they go to bed. My kids used to love doing it when they still believed in Santa. (I kind of miss those days)
 
Unfortunately, though, do to a combination of financial reasons and just a straight-up lack of free time, it seems I won't be able to manage any gifts that would be nearly as extravagant this year. @_@ In fact, I still have a lot of thinking to do about what I'm getting people...
If only you knew someone who was good at low budget no-time presents OH WAIT!

Here's some of my go-to's for that situation

  • Gifts from the kitchen! There's a lot of cookie recipes you can make with five items or less. If you're missing something like flour or an egg and don't want to buy it just for a small portion, just ask someone you know for it; I called a friend and asked if she would trade one cup of flour for one cookie.
  • Favour coupons! Action never goes out of style! Promise housecleaning, hang out time, car washes, a movie night, coffee on you next time you see them, pet-sitting, dog walking, haircuts, whatever's in your power to freely give. Make them fancy or write them in crayon on construction paper like grade school.
  • Christmas decorations, if you've got a thrifty mind and a crafty eye, make great gifts. Google about cheap Christmas crafts; I'll link you some of my turbo-easy faves later
  • The gift of FEEEEEEEELS. Got a knack for words? Write a letter to the person and pour your fucking soul into it. Tell them why you love them and what they mean to you. Include special memories you share. At the bottom, tell them to collect a big hug, right now.
  • Hand-Me-Down. Got a book, game or movie that you never use anymore because you know it by heart, but don't want to lose because it's close to the same? Give it as a gift to a friend or family member with an "I really enjoyed this and want you to, too" attitude. it's close by in your life and accessible, and being used; win win!
I'll probably update later; gotta get to class!
 
If only you knew someone who was good at low budget no-time presents OH WAIT!

Here's some of my go-to's for that situation

  • Gifts from the kitchen! There's a lot of cookie recipes you can make with five items or less. If you're missing something like flour or an egg and don't want to buy it just for a small portion, just ask someone you know for it; I called a friend and asked if she would trade one cup of flour for one cookie.
  • Favour coupons! Action never goes out of style! Promise housecleaning, hang out time, car washes, a movie night, coffee on you next time you see them, pet-sitting, dog walking, haircuts, whatever's in your power to freely give. Make them fancy or write them in crayon on construction paper like grade school.
  • Christmas decorations, if you've got a thrifty mind and a crafty eye, make great gifts. Google about cheap Christmas crafts; I'll link you some of my turbo-easy faves later
  • The gift of FEEEEEEEELS. Got a knack for words? Write a letter to the person and pour your fucking soul into it. Tell them why you love them and what they mean to you. Include special memories you share. At the bottom, tell them to collect a big hug, right now.
  • Hand-Me-Down. Got a book, game or movie that you never use anymore because you know it by heart, but don't want to lose because it's close to the same? Give it as a gift to a friend or family member with an "I really enjoyed this and want you to, too" attitude. it's close by in your life and accessible, and being used; win win!
I'll probably update later; gotta get to class!
A lot of those would be nice if the "straight-up lack of free time" wasn't also a huge contributor to my dilemma. Though those last two could work...
 
I gift with FEELS and WORDS all the time!

A few Iwaku Christmases ago, I wrote a bunch of cards with sonnets in them (I like writing sonnets fuckoff). They're varying degrees of difficult to write, some more comedic than others, but they're really nice poems. I got mostly good responses. :D
 
And I know it must sound incredibly petty and materialistic to say that she was this beat-up over not having a 3DS, but, eh, it was clear that she was going through some stuff at the time, and this was just one more thing that really hammered it all in.
Nah, I've been there before (with that exact game too) where everyone get's absorbed into one thing so much that you're completely excluded and just left there going "uh... Guys? I still exist! Please notice me..." ;A;

Thankfully one other friend of mine was in a similar boat (but had a shit ton of cash) so he bought a 3DS and Pokemon game for each of us with the condition that I paid him back on Christmas (which I did).
  • Favour coupons! Action never goes out of style! Promise housecleaning, hang out time, car washes, a movie night, coffee on you next time you see them, pet-sitting, dog walking, haircuts, whatever's in your power to freely give. Make them fancy or write them in crayon on construction paper like grade school.
All I can imagine right now.
 
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I THOUGHT YOU WERE GIVING AWAY FREE SHIT. NOW I ANGER.

jk jk

jk...

...

Actually, anyone want cool shit for Christmas for real? I love being Santa Claus. I'll give away free Steam keys and shit for Christmas!

Or dick pics, one or the other.

And my man love.


Also I'm not kidding I'll give away free Steam keys or other Amazon Prime gifts if I get addresses from brave people who don't mind getting random shit for a stocking stuffer gift. Just lemme know.
If I get a basket full of severed penises, I am gonna be mighty cross with you.
 
Hey, if it's for your sexual partner, why not? That's a great idea.
Yeah that's pretty legit. I'd totally love something like this! It's clever, cute, and sexy all at once.
 
Hey, if it's for your sexual partner, why not? That's a great idea.
For most people probably.

I personally wouldn't see myself liking it.
If for nothing more than that the cards seem to imply "I wouldn't normally want to do this, but it's a Gift so I have to".
So any time I had to use one I'd just feel like I'm being forceful/imposing... Which would probably just mean I'd never end up using it. :/

Maybe I'm over-thinking it.
 
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For most people probably.

I personally wouldn't see myself liking it more.
If for nothing more than that the cards seem to imply "I wouldn't normally want to do this, but it's a Gift so I have to".
So anything I had to use one I'd just feel like I'm being forceful/imposing... Which would probably just mean I'd never end up using it. :/

Maybe I'm over-thinking it.
Eh. Giving it out as a coupon means you're willing to it for that person. If it's something that someone wouldn't normally want to do, they wouldn't make a coupon out of it.

I see it more as a special treat that one would ordinarily do for their partner on some special occasion or on some other night they want to spend together, but handing out the coupons in advance means that both partners don't have to wait for this to be some out-of-the-blue thing -- it gives more incentive to have that kind of fun more often.

I feel like I didn't word that well, but, yeah.
 
Eh. Giving it out as a coupon means you're willing to it for that person. If it's something that someone wouldn't normally want to do, they wouldn't make a coupon out of it.

I see it more as a special treat that one would ordinarily do for their partner on some special occasion or on some other night they want to spend together, but handing out the coupons in advance means that both partners don't have to wait for this to be some out-of-the-blue thing -- it gives more incentive to have that kind of fun more often.

I feel like I didn't word that well, but, yeah.
 
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