Cheap Baby Shower Gifts: Thoughtful Ideas That Won't Break The Bank

Here is a great list of cheap baby shower gift ideas that won't break the bank. Enjoy!

1.Books. Buy baby board books online for less than $5 a pop (shipping included). Get discounted rates when buying on a bundle.

2.Baby Clothes. Any new Mom will appreciate a set of clothes as a baby shower gift. However, if you plan ahead, you can give the Mom-to-be toddler clothes instead of infant sets. She'll surely appreciate the vision. Another tip is to buy off-season, while the clothes are on clearance. You can surely fit more than a piece for under $10.

3. Engraved Charms. If a silver or gold bracelet is out of your budget, why not give a personalized jewelry charm? Choose from several shapes, with heart as being the most popular. It can be used as a pendant or bracelet charm. Have the baby's name and birth date engraved at the back of the charm.

4. Basket of Goodies. In dollar stores, purchase an inexpensive woven basket and decorate it with leftover holiday ribbons. Line the basket with pastel confetti and fill the basket with goodies, like purse versions of lotion, cologne, powder, diaper pins, wet tissues, anything that the baby needs. Some of these miniature items are grocery give-aways, so the over-all price comes really low.

5. Painted Pots. Paint clean clay pots with pastel colors and use stencils to place simple designs. Give a set of three to give the Mom-to-be a handy desktop storage for cotton balls, Qtips, diaper pins, etc.

6. Hand or footprint kit. These are kits that have materials to imprint the baby's hands or feet onto framed shadowboxes. Most kits are at $10.

7. Framed Cross-Stitch. For a personal touch, buy cross-stitch materials and sew the baby's name and birth date on a rectangle piece of cloth. Have it framed for a lasting gift. If you are short of time, give her a short and sweet note written on a copy of the pattern to say, "gift is work-in-progress, will be done in time for his/ her birth."

8. Plant a Tree. Various government-sponsored companies are promoting tree planting and this is definitely a great gift for a baby shower. Most tree planting gifts come with a certificate complete with the baby's name and a personalized dedication. Some companies offer a dollar for every tree, so your $10 can buy 10 trees. Now that's a guarantee of fresh air for the baby's future.

9. Baby Website. For the tech savvy Mom-to-be, create a free website for the future newborn. This gift will last until the baby grows up and can personally edit his or her website. If you know that the parents already have a web host, why not pay for the domain registration of the baby's name so for the next five years, the future new born will have his or her own e-niche.

10. Pamper Mom, Too! Who says baby shower gifts are only for babies? Be creative by giving the Mom-to-be a gift, instead of the baby. After all, the occasion is, in fact, a celebration of her strength and dedication in carrying another life for nine months. Dollar stores frequently offer pampering gift baskets or customize your own, similar to the basket of goodies described above.

Setting Up Your Craft Show Booth

Have you ever walked into a store and immediately been so frustrated that you couldn't even begin to think about spending your money there? Things are haphazardly strewn about, there is little organization, and then to top it all off, when you walk up to an item that you might consider - it has no price tag on it. Don't let this happen to your craft show booth. You need to keep in mind the same principles of good marketing and merchandising when you set up for a craft show.

The first thing you need to do is have a plan. That means putting together an idea of what your craft show booth is going to look like in advance. I've seen so many people just lug their craft show items around in the back of a big van with a few extra stands and tables to place them on. These are the same people that ask, "why didn't I sell anything this weekend?".

Planning your craft show booth involves a couple of things: first, you want to talk to the craft show organizer to see how much space you have, and if there are any restrictions to what you can have in or around your booth. Also, ask if you have a reliable power supply to run your booth. This is important. The next thing you want to do is to get a floor plan of where your booth is located so you can figure out the best set up to keep people moving in and through your craft show display.

When you go to set up you craft show booth for the show, there are a couple of things you MUST keep in mind:

No clutter! Keep your crafts well organized into specific areas. If you are a knitter and you have sweaters for kids and adults, you don't want them together because people will be frustrated with having to sort through the kids sweaters to find the one adult one in the pile.

Spend time perfecting your merchandising skills. If you have a special stained glass window hanging, it would be time well spent to purchase or build a window that you can display in your booth with one of your window hanging's in it. When people see the item in action, they can picture it in their own homes, or they can picture using it. If they can do this, then they are more likely to part with the money to buy it.

Keep items no lower than waist level - No one really wants to bend over after they have been on their feet all day at a craft show. Keep items within a person's reach and they will be more likely to pick it up and examine it closely - which leads to more purchases. Leave the floor area for extra stock (in boxes) that you can fill your racks with.

Price everything you have - Make it easy for people to buy your crafts. If you don't have a price, they may think twice about taking the time to ask - they may just go elsewhere to purchase something at this craft show.

Eliminate log jams. There is nothing worse than having people frustrated by the lack of good flow in a craft show booth. Try and create a natural flow for people to look at your craft show items, be nudged along by others coming through, and right through to the till at the end. If you create to many spaces where people are bottle-necked or they have trouble maneuvering to see different crafts, you are limiting your sales.

Keep your aisles wide and keep everything streamlined. The frustrated customer does not spend their money in a craft show booth that frustrates them.

Remember, you are running a business. Think of that store that you despise going into versus the one where everything flows so nicely, the displays are appealing and all of the price tags are on the items for sale. Make your craft show booth resemble the store you like - and you'll find that people will spend more money on your crafts!

Scented Candles And Their Soothing Power

Are you sick and tired of thinking of the perfect gift to give to your friends on their birthdays? Maybe you want to give something a lot more personalized aside from your homey but boring batches of chocolate chip cookies. You hate the thought of giving out generic gifts because you also very much abhor receiving run-of-the-mill gifts that go straight in your basement. It's high time you learn some do-it-yourself potential gift items that truly make the recipients feel honored to have you as a friend. One time, while I was out shopping, I came across this quaint specialty shop downtown which sells exquisite how-to book on scented candles. The hard-bound book, which include materials for trial, is fairly cheap so I immediately purchased it and went home delighted. The first batch of candles I made wasn't exactly perfect but was good enough to display at my room.

If you're the kind of person who likes romantic candlelight dinner dates or whose idea of relaxation involves quiet reading time by the nook, then the scented ones are for you. These candles come in variety of shapes, sizes and yes, scents that can surely fascinate anyone. Not only are these scented accessories a beauty to behold, they also have the ability to soothe you after a tiring day at work. One has the option to perfume these wax-made products using either synthetic fragrance or essential oils. Both smell terrific but the latter produce more aromatic scents that can generally ease stress. Essential oils, originating from barks and stems of certain plants and flowers like jasmine, lavender, cedar wood, calendula, and lemon grass, lend unique vibrancy and authentic sensuality to a candle. Fragrance oils, on the other hand, are less expensive but also very appealing.

Do scented candles really have certain health benefits or do they also have negative effects on your body? Actually, there are particular kinds or methods of producing candles which are thought of as harmful. Candle experts agree that wicks that are made from metal are dangerous because they often cause lead poisoning and air pollution. Always make sure you purchase a candle made from paper, hemp, or cotton wicks as they are more health and nature-friendly. Beeswax and soy varieties are also safer to use instead of paraffin. When buying questionable products, meticulously ask the vendor about the candle's method of preparation or the ingredients used. Make sure the ones you buy don't have chemical additives. Better yet, do your own ration of the candle. Through personally sourcing the materials and preparing them yourself, you can be assured you're using and giving your loved ones only the best.