Gifting with Refunding

Have you ever wished you could save on your holiday and occasion gifts the same way you do with your groceries? You may be surprised to see how easy it is to do just that.

I have been refunding/couponing on gifts for years. I'd like to give you some ideas you can start with. Once you try it, you'll be surprised at how easy the ideas take shape.

Naturally, there is the obvious. If your child is asking for a toy, check the form boards and displays for rebate forms. If you come up empty handed, be sure to save your packaging and CRT. An offer may come out after you make your purchase.

Most of my gifts are ensembles of small items presented in a festively wrapped basket. I try to go with a theme of some sort, geared to the person. If I don't have a theme, I give a group of items every household needs, figuring that everyone likes to save a few dollars and is glad to get stuff they can use. I've always found this type of gift most enjoyed and useful when I have been the recipient. But I assumed it was too expensive to buy a bunch of items and often went with one common item, like a single article of clothing. Then I realized how I could save big and give nicer gifts at the same time.

Let me say right here, that I never used to do an offer that required shipping and handling. I resented the fact that the company making the offer didn't just run a rebate form instead. Then I realized that oftentimes I couldn't buy that item in a store for the price they were asking, so I started doing these types of deals when I felt they were worthwhile.

Back to my pizza kit. Once I have the paddle, hot mitt and trivet, I will most likely group them with a package of Pizza Quick sauce [gotten on sale and with a doubled coupon, of course], maybe some shelf stable grated cheese, such as Kraft, and a shaker of Pizza blended spices. If you do any of the toll freebies or World Wide Web freebies, you may have recently gotten a package of Italian blend spices. Single Italian spices like Basil and Oregano would be fine too. If you have a spice garden, you could dry some leaves whole and put them in a small Ball jar. Last year when I bought a case of Ball jelly jars there was a sheet of coupons inside that were good on related items which was a nice surprise.

Other ideas for this ensemble could be a red & white checkered tablecloth, some cloth napkins with rings, a subscription to a food magazine, or maybe some Italian recipes you got from other offers. You can make it very basic or quite elaborate, based on how much you want to spend.

Using the pizza paddle as a base, attractively arrange the items, and wrap. To wrap this I will use red cellophane, laid out under the pizza paddle, folded over, and gathered in a bunch at the top of the paddle's handle. I'll tie it with a few strands of coordinating curling ribbon.

In all, I will probably spend between $10 and $15 on this gift. It looks nicer than gift sets you see prepackaged in the department stores, and the receiver will know that you put personal thought into it. It can be used for a couple, a student going off to college, a young person getting their first apartment, a wedding shower, or for someone who loves pizza!

Okay, now you have the idea. There are lots of other occasions where an ensemble gift is appreciated and enjoyed. You will realize that when you see a free item for something you have no opportunity to use at home, that you will be able to use it for gifting. That is the case for me with baby care items. I have had all my children, and with them being 13, 11 and eight my grandparenting days are quite far off. However, any great deal on baby stuff is sure to be tossed into my shopping cart. Why? I do have friends and relatives of childbearing age, and never know when I will have the occasion to give a baby shower or new baby gift.

A new mom can use lots of baby supplies to get her through those early weeks when she is not yet up to doing her shopping regularly. I often fill a plastic baby tub with bath and toiletry items. A small basin in the color of the nursery [with the same kind of items] is needed for the early days when sponge baths are the norm. Once that time passes mom can use the basin for storing toys, or soaking bottles.

Maybe your store is having a great sale on diapers and wipes, well, you can be sure that they will be appreciated and put to good use! A new baby will go through a pack or two of diapers a week.

Before you write off those Gerber coupons, think twice! Baby food has long expiration dates. A plastic travel dish filled with jars of food is another idea. You can add a bib, and wrap in a cloth diaper, receiving blanket or towel. If you find stockpiled jars of baby food or cans of formula are getting close to expiration date, you can donate them to a local shelter or food program. These programs are grateful for the donation and you benefit by getting a tax writeoff for the value of the food. Make sure to get a receipt from the organization if you plan to deduct the amount from your income taxes.

The gift I have given the most is a personal care kit. I do them in two different ways, either as a basket or as a travel kit.

When I am making a basket I line it with a nice, plush washcloth or hand towel. I fill the basket according to the person's gender. For a lady's basket I would use ladies' razors, [did you get the B1G1F 5pk. Bic razor coupon in the June 16th Sunday supplement?] the Pure Silk I got with a full purchase price refund, a bar of beauty soap, a ladies' deodorant, a scented candle, box of pain reliever [especially for a mom of young children!]. The possibilities are endless.

For a teenage girl you might want to give makeup items, often available with full purchase price rebates in the major chain drugstores like Walgreen's, Rite Aid, etc. Young ladies are often experimenting with new colors and brands. I would hesitate to give makeup items to a grown woman, however. I think an adult is more set in her color/brand choices and unless I knew for sure this was a product she would use, I would be leery to give it.

A man can use many of the same items, in the masculine version. A masculine deodorant, shave cream, and razor are a good start. Add an aftershave, shoe insoles, a sports, computer or financial magazine for bathroom reading, or athlete's foot spray.

When working on a personal care kit, keep an eye out for trial sizes of commonly used items. There are often free coupons for these items. There are many offers to find out on the World Wide Web and toll free numbers, [many listed here in Moneytalk] where you can get samples free for the asking. Again, select items to be included based on whether you have a man or a woman to give a gift to. Take all your trial/travel size items and fill a travel bag with them.

If you know an upcoming travel destination for the person you are giving it to, you could call a toll free number [look it up on the www at AT&T's toll free directory. The address is www.tollfree.att.net or call 1(800) 555-1212 for toll free information.] and get information for their travel destination and pack it inside the kit.

One last idea I recently learned from a fellow refunder gave me a good laugh. For a bridal shower, one of the gag gifts she gave was a pair of socks. She attached a note telling the bride they were to be used in case she `got cold feet.' I thought this was hilarious. I also immediately thought of the Hanes Head to Toe offer that is good until October. You can get a pair of socks for four Hanes UPC's with no handling fee!

I hope these few ideas have given you a springboard to go from. Once you do it a few times, the ideas will just keep coming. Enjoy!

I am a stay at home mom in my early 30's, 3 kids 14 y/o son, 11 y/o daughter and nine year old son. We moved out of NYC about 2 years ago to live in a semi-rural setting about 70 miles north of the city. Hubby's commute, children's 'needs' such as $80 sneakers, feeding our exotic pets and real estate taxes cost a fortune so I try to be frugal any way I can. I am big into coupons and refunds.

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