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27 Neighbor Gifts in 27 Minutes

September 22, 2020 By: Anita

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A few years ago, I was able to assemble my 27 neighbors’ Christmas gifts in 27 minutes. (I did not include the shopping time). Not only was I able to completely assemble these gifts in under half an hour, they only cost an average of $1.47 cents each! That is 27 gifts for $39.42!!

* Note (esp to my neighbors if they see this)- I really wanted to get my neighbors something nice. So, when I was in a thrift store and I saw these really nice candy dishes that I would like so I figured my neighbors would as well.

The dishes were not all the same but each one was a dish I’d be happy to own. So I just gave the bigger dishes to the families with the most kids.

This gift was an efficient use of money and time. Especially for a nice (some genuine crystal) dish, candy, a Christmas card, and a family photo as well!

Supplies

  • Winco bulk candy on sale with a coupon.  Average per dish cost about .40 cents in candy.
  • Thrift stores’ candy dishes (some are genuine crystal) for .50 cents to $1.00 averaging .75 each.  These candy dishes are also great and can be found here.
  • Dollar Tree cellophane for $1.00 a roll (which wrapped 8)  equaling .15 cents each. You can also find the cellophane here.
  •  Christmas cards – they were brand name, All American cards on clearance after Christmas for .03 cents each (and they are cute too!).
  • Family photo printed at Costco for .13 cents each.
  • Family newsletter using home printer (practically free).
  • Ribbon from last Christmas (practically free).

How to assemble them quickly?

1. Quickly wash and dry dishes (5 minutes).

2. Line the dishes up and set out the candy (2 minutes).

neighborgift2

3. Take a handful of each kind of candy in each hand and dropped them in the bowls. This went really fast (3 minutes).

neighborgift3

neighborgift4

4. Take Cellophane and scissors with ribbon and wrap the dishes (15 minutes).

neighborgift5

5. Use scissors to curl the ribbon (2 minutes).

neighborgift6

And you are done!

If you want to add a card with a family photo and newsletter it will add some additional time. Once I printed off my newsletter I was able to put the newsletter and photo in the cards in under 10 minutes.

neighborgift7

Below is a dish for my friend who does not eat sugar so I used sugar-free Werther’s Original. I had a little of this nice ribbon left so I used it and I think it makes the gift look even better (I just didn’t have any on hand or I would have used it on all the others).

neighborgiftribbon

I hope this helps you save a little time and money this season!

Supply List

  • Winco bulk candy on sale with a coupon.  Average per dish cost about .40 cents in candy.
  • Thrift stores’ candy dishes (some are genuine crystal) for .50 cents to $1.00 averaging .75 each.  These candy dishes are also great and can be found here.
  • Dollar Tree cellophane for $1.00 a roll (which wrapped 8)  equaling .15 cents each. You can also find the cellophane here.
  •  Christmas cards – they were brand name, All American cards on clearance after Christmas for .03 cents each (and they are cute too!).
  • Family photo printed at Costco for .13 cents each.
  • Family newsletter using home printer (practically free).
  • Ribbon from last Christmas (practically free).

Anita

 

 

 

For other ‘rich living’ tips and inexpensive gift ideas, please subscribe, like LiveLikeYouAreRich on Facebook, and follow on Pinterest, and Instagram.

I love giving gifts to my neighbors’ during Christmas. I was able to put together these simple Christmas gifts in 27 minutes. Not only was I able to completely assemble these gifts in under half an hour, they also inexpensive. This gift is an efficient use of money and time. Especially for a nice dish, candy, a Christmas card, and a family photo as well!

I love giving gifts to my neighbors’ during Christmas. I was able to put together these simple Christmas gifts in 27 minutes. Not only was I able to completely assemble these gifts in under half an hour, they also inexpensive. This gift is an efficient use of money and time. Especially for a nice dish, candy, a Christmas card, and a family photo as well!

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Previous Post: « Banana Bread Muffins
Next Post: German Plum Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen says

    December 19, 2013 at 2:36 am

    Great idea! SO, so much better than the million cookies I was looking at making this weekend. 🙂

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      December 19, 2013 at 5:13 am

      Karen, your comment made me laugh! I’m very glad this idea may save you hours cooking cookies. I like to keep things as simple as possible (esp. in December). Good luck and just a side note, I did have to go to a few thrift stores to find all 27 dishes but perhaps you will find as many as you need at one to save you even more time. Or Clear plastic bowls (not quite as nice) would still work and be well received.

      Reply
  2. Megan says

    December 22, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    This is such a great idea. Yep the plastic bowls they sell at the $ store I think 6 come in a pack just to save time and everyone really likes the edible stuff anyways hehe. Thanks for this awesome idea.

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      December 24, 2013 at 12:56 am

      Megan- Thanks I’m really glad you like it. Yes the plastic bowls would make this gift even cheaper! Agree, people love the edible stuff 🙂

      Reply
  3. Amy @Europe's Calling says

    March 11, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    Thank you! This looks so easy and inexpensive!

    Reply
  4. md kennedy says

    March 26, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    You are so brilliant! I am so going to do this for our annual block party this summer for take-away gifts!

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      March 26, 2014 at 2:54 pm

      md kennedy- thanks! I hope it makes your block party fun and less time consuming to prep for.

      Reply
  5. Kimberly Silverman says

    September 13, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    I love this idea! We usually make chocolate bark from Ina Garten’s recipe on the Food Network, and wrap on plates I get at yard sales. The recipe is super easy and quick.

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      September 14, 2014 at 3:41 am

      Thanks! That is a great idea too!

      Reply
  6. Carrie says

    September 29, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    You could probably find the candy dishes at the dollar store as well.

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      September 30, 2014 at 8:28 pm

      Thanks Carrie that’s a great idea! Yes if you don’t have a thrift store that sells them for cheap a dollar store would be great!

      Reply
  7. Pat says

    October 4, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    I love that you know your neighbors well enough to know who eats sugar and who doesn’t!!

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      October 6, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      Thanks 🙂 that is kind of you!

      Reply
  8. Kelly Boyd says

    December 14, 2014 at 11:18 pm

    This is a fantastic idea!!! I bet Joann’s or Michael’s have glass dishes in bulk! I’m heading there tomorrow!!! Thanks.

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      December 16, 2014 at 5:59 pm

      Thanks Kelly!

      Reply
  9. Fran Huhes says

    December 28, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    One year I got Christmas mugs at garage sales and thrift shops. I made homemade candy and filled the mugs as little treats for people.

    Reply
    • Anita Fowler says

      December 31, 2015 at 10:15 pm

      Great idea! I love it! You could also stuff it with hot coco mix/packets as another inexpensive way to do a neighbor treat. Thanks!

      Reply
    • Maryann says

      November 18, 2020 at 4:52 pm

      Fran
      Fran, we do the same thing.
      Homemade peanut brittle is our gift.

      Reply

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