4-Week Holiday Savings Plan

One Week to Go

Decorating

Decorate on a dime. Lara Shriftman, coauthor of Party Confidential (Bulfinch Press, $30, amazon.com), suggests creating a candy bar. “Fill various sizes and shapes of glassware with red candy and set them on a tray as a centerpiece,” she says. “You can put Red Hots or peppermints in small round bowls, red and white M&M’s in glasses, or licorice in vases. It’s chic, creative, and inexpensive.” And it’s edible.
 
 

Gift Wrapping

Keep it basic. Get creative with gift tags―ticket stubs, playing cards from an incomplete deck, and paper coasters from a local watering hole don’t cost a thing. Use a hole punch and attach them to gifts with ribbon or tape. Or don’t use tags at all: Wrap presents in white paper and arm your kids with crayons or markers to write the recipients’ names all over their packages.
 
 

Last-Minute Gifts

Give a gift certificate. Still stuck on what to get your neighbors or the drivers from car pool? Try giftcertificates.com. Its SuperCertificates can be personalized, have no maintenance fees or expiration dates, and are accepted by hundreds of well-known merchants.