Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Young Women

Here are some cheap gift ideas that we leaders have done for our class members.

Christmas 2003

We made small Christmas ornaments for each girl based on a Christmas ornament the Beehive counselor had at her house.

We printed a black and white picture of the Savior on some ink jet overhead projector (clear plastic) paper. I got my paper at Staples, but I think Wal-mart carries it, too. We cut the circles out and put them inside clear acrylic ornament balls I bought at Oriental Trading ($2.49/dozen). Then we put a cute tag on each that said, "Merry Christmas 2003 Love, Janet and Jenny".

Here's a better picture of the ornament photographed in front of a white sheet of paper and with the acrylic ball opened up

Here is the image of the Savior as a clipart file.

Time Capsule Photos

I took digital photos of our class in various poses after church one Sunday so that each girl could have a picture of our Beehive class for her time capsule. It cost 30 cents each to have these pictures printed at Walgreens, but you can get them as cheap as 16 cents each at Costco or Sam's Club.

I stood on a chair and took this one of the girls and other leader. Some of them complained about lying on the floor, but this was everybody's favorite picture when it was printed.

The other pose we had included each of the girls' and leaders' names, so they could remember the names of each girl in their Beehive class at some future date. (I didn't post that picture here -- you never know what kind of wackos are online!)

Youth Conference 2004

This necklace charm was created by our Stake as a gift for each person at Youth Conference. It looks to me like it was done with one of those laser cutter prototyping machines (based on the slight burns on the back). Each charm is about 1 3/4 inches tall.

I don't know how much these cost, but I doubt they were terribly expensive given our budget.

Christmas 2004

This year the Beehive counselor and I gave each girl in our class an Italian link charm bracelet. These modular charm bracelets are very popular here, and I could get them really cheap on eBay. We decided to make a photo charm with a picture of our local temple on it so the girls could remember our temple trips together.

Here's a scan (my camera is STILL broken) of my bracelet with the temple charm on it:

I bought a lot of 10 bracelets stamped with a heart on each link for about $10, a kit for making photo charms for about $10 (included enamel, hardener, mixing cups and sticks), and a lot of 20 blank photo charms for about $5 on eBay. I printed a tiny picture of the temple from my list of temples that was 4.5mm high and 8mm wide on high quality photo paper (I've tried them all many, many times and prefer Kodak brand). I think it came to about $3.00 per bracelet.

I found it worked best to put a little smudge of the epoxy on the photo charm to help hold the picture to the charm while you position the photo. Bubbles didn't seem to be a problem. The main trick was making sure I didn't put too much epoxy on--I wiped any excess I could see with a paper towel. I mixed the epoxy slightly more than 1:1, more like 1.5 parts hardener to 1 part enamel, and I let it dry overnight. When they were dry, some of them still stuck a little bit, but I was able to separate them easily with a very tiny flat bladed screwdriver that I stuck up between the hook and main charm (from the back, so as not to damage the epoxy).

A note: BE SURE to glue the pictures on right side up! On these bracelets, it was with the little hook to attach the next charm to on the right.

(I bought my little liahona and LDS charms here.)

Valentine's Day

Isn't this cute? This woven heart was given to me by another leader for Valentine's Day. Get the pattern, instructions and poem for this craft.

Temple Dress White Hanky Card

These white dress hanky cards would make a nice gift for graduating Laurels, Standards Night, or Christmas. (Yes, that IS a Kleenex -- couldn't find my lacey hankie!)

Get the pattern and instructions for this craft.

White handkerchief poems and traditions (converting a white handkerchief into a baby bonnet).

Something to Remember

My store carries Remember necklaces for $3.50. But if you buy the Remember charms in bulk, you can buy the chains from another of my vendors, and make your own Remember necklaces for $2.63 each or less! Here's the products to order:

Click to see the charms - available in gold, silver, antique gold, and antique silver (Buy them in packs of 6 for the best price.)

There are silver and gold chains available. $1.98 for 18 inch necklaces, $2.49 for 24 inch

More low cost gift ideas

• Young Women Value Socks - $4.95 each. I just LOVE these! I gave the cTr Ankle Socks to the other members of my Relief Society Presidency last year. The Legend of the Christmas stocking makes a terrific card to go with these socks.
• Prayer Rock - $3.95 each. Another great reminder. Use under your pillow, or it comes with a magnet on the back to stick in a locker or on the fridge.
• ValueBeads Bracelets - $4.99 each. I was surprised when I picked one of these up at how heavy they were. Very good quality, especially at this price. Has beads representing each of the seven values.
• Arise and Shine Forth Pencils - 7 pack for $2.99; Good reminder for this year's theme.
• Remember Bracelets - $3.50 each. Include the quote from President Benson about "Remember" being the most important word. If you are crafty, you could make your own Remember jewelry or scrapbook pages with these Remember charms They're just 55 cents each or in bulk for 41 cents each.
• Young Women Lockets - $6.95 each. Put a picture of your class or the Savior inside and keep it close to your heart.
• Young Women Spinner Key Ring - $6.99 each. The center of these unique keyrings spins! Displays the 7 values and colors. Would make an excellent gift for YW leaders.
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• Jenny's TOP TEN LDS Gifts under $5.00
• Jenny's TOP TEN YW Class Gifts - my favorite LDS products for Young Women