Every end of the year, it seems that parents spend more and more on gifts. There are simply too many stuff to buy, and everything goes on sale all at once! Save up some cash for that new computer memory or that new gaming gadget by cutting costs. While there is no way to save on expensive gifts (the costs of which depends on the generosity or marketing strategy of the manufacturer), one way to save money is to recycle your gift wrappers from the previous year or from other events during the year.

It seems wasteful to toss out brightly colored ribbons that came with the gifts during a birthday or Halloween party. Take note of the wrappers used for large presents because they won’t be too crumpled. If the wrapping paper is wrinkled, you can iron the paper on the wrong side by using low heat. Learn origami and craft some nice holiday decors using the recycled wrapping papers.

Here’s the thing with teeners: they have to ask parents for party budget and they can’t party all night. So, when planning a party for a teenager, make sure to include activities that can be done during the day. For food ideas, you can opt to do a DIY… translated as potluck!

Someone brings the popcorn (when you’re watching movies on someone’s new Viewsonic monitors), or someone can bake a ref cake (when you’re planning a tea party). Energy is high in teen parties, and the activities must at least involve some competition.

1. Divide your group into teams and shoot pool – A billiards competition will make any part exciting. You can teach each other some cue tip tricks and use the sport to exchange some friendly jibes.

2. Tug-o-war beach picnic – The way you will perform in a tug-o-war will impress even the world’s top olympic tug-o-war team (if there’s such a thing). The combination of fresh air, beach wind and bikinis make this activity fun and exciting. Have someone’s mom bring pizza and you’re all set!

3. Poem Reading Night – An artsy group of teenagers can come up with the most touching poetry! You can do this with candle light or bonfire. Or you can simply sit inside a tent with your homies and exchange friendship poems.

The best giveaways for a teener’s party include friendship bracelets, framed polaroid photos and the like.

Gift baskets are the giveaways of choice in corporate parties. Every holidays we see office staff gift wrapping a few household items and canned goods for arranging neatly in gift baskets. What are the elements of a gift basket that is meant to be given away in a corporate affair?

1. A nice looking container that will look nice on a kitchen table even after the Christmas season is over.  Some good ideas include dainty wicker baskets or decorative hampers that are large enough to accommodate everything that you need to put inside your gift baskets.

2. Your products – Giving away product samples is tacky only when

• the giftbaskets contain ONLY your products
• the products are not placed in separate bags or packages inside the gift basket (I saw a gym giveaway re-distributing samples of partners’ products in dainty sachets in the past, i.e. protein bars, diet pill etc.

3. A handle – Some gift baskets look like they’re just meant for display. Invest on a sturdy handle for your gift baskets for your employees to conveniently carry them off after the corporate party.

4. A gift card – A nicely printed “seasons greetings” and your company logo on a gift card will add a personal touch to your employee’s gift baskets.

5. A theme – Sure, the theme is Christmas, but you don’t have to leave it at that. You can go for a “white Christmas” look and add cut out silver snow flakes inside your gift baskets.

If you will remember, I talked about Sports Fanatics Parties and how a game watched over the television could excite and entertain several family members (and even neighbors) for the duration of the party. Now, I’m going to talk about what gift to bring when there’s a kiddie party at a neighbor’s house, and there just happened to be a baseball game on TV. Two wonderful reasons to throw a house party.

The best gift for a 12-year-old boy who is having his birthday during a baseball game is something that’s related to the game and will encourage dreams of being a baseball star someday, such as Baseball Gloves!

Specialty Kid Sports accessories stores such as this advertiser, Kid Sports Inc, offer ready-to-use kids’ baseball gloves that you can just purchase, wrap and give. However, regular leather gloves need proper breaking in before usage. You can spare the little leaguer the trouble of breaking in a tough leather glove by giving some extra gifts:

1. Glove oil – to be used sparingly, or applied in small amounts until the leather softens up.

2. Petroleum Jelly – to help maintain the look and feel of the glove

3. A Glove Care handbook – To create a sense of responsibility for a treasured possession

After the game and the party, friends and neighbors can play baseball and the celebrant can properly break in your gift further! Have fun!