5 Cheap Knick Knacks for an Easter Basket

You can get some fun gifts for the Easter basket that are just as cheap as chocolate-- and a whole lot better for your teeth. Here's five:

1. Money-- but not what you're thinking. Salvage one of those hollow plastic Easter eggs and stick a Sacajawea dollar coin or (even better) a $2 bill inside. It's not much, but their rarity makes them fun to receive.
2. Slinky. Go old-school with a toy that requires no batteries or electric plug.
3. Stickers. Tiny holiday-appropriate ones can even be used for some last-minute Easter egg decorating.
4. A book. The only think I remember in the Easter baskets of my youth (besides the annual white chocolate bunny) is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book that Mom and Dad stuck in there one year.
5. Sidewalk chalk. What better reminder that sunny days are around the corner than a bucket full of pristine pastels?

White Lies .. and Affordable Wedding Gifts?

I opened my mailbox Saturday and there it was.

The first wedding invitation of the season.

And while I won't be able to go to all -- or even most -- of the happy events over the next few months, I will be buying them all gifts. I try to look at the newlyweds' registry, but when I'm sending a gift or flying to the ceremony with only a tiny suitcase, I tend to choose something small and easy: a gift card.

Don't want to go that route? Earlier this month the New York Times published an article with tips from etiquette experts about affordable wedding gift-giving. One tip especially caught my eye:

“I always go to a small, unknown antiques shop and buy something very inexpensive,” [etiquette expert Letitia Baldrige] said. “I write a lovely note on the card that this item is very old, perhaps 100 years old, and from Vienna. Just that note makes the gift rise in value. It’s called a gentle white lie.”

I'm all for creative presents, but it seems like this is going a bit too far. Surely you can think of a good gift without resorting to lies, white or not! Thoughts?

5 Cheap St. Patrick's Day Food & Drinks

Tomorrow's the big day celebrating everything Irish: St. Patrick's Day.

But not everyone has the cash (or vacation days) to take the day off work and spend it downing Guinness in the local pub. If you're hosting or attending a St. Patrick's Day Party, here's 5 cheap "Irish" foods you can present with a few bucks and maybe a bit of food coloring.

1. Potatoes are Irish. Green is Irish. Put a little food coloring in your mashed potatoes for an Ireland-inspired treat. Fun for the kids, and easy.

2. Don't put away the food coloring yet-- now it's time for an adult treat. Bars don't have to be the only ones to serve green beer. Get your favorite light-colored alcoholic beverage and tint it to your heart's content.

3. For a cheap and easy side dish on St. Patrick's Day or any day of the year, cut up a head of cabbage and place it in a large microwavable bowl. Top with a couple of tablespoons of butter and some salt. Heat until the butter is melted and the cabbage is warm. Yum!

4. Drinks all around-- the non-alcoholic kind. Make some Irish breakfast tea for the crowd.

5. No green food coloring in the cupboard? Don't have time to go to the grocery store for some sauerkraut? Tie a big green ribbon on your serving dish and call it a day.

5 Cheap Wedding Favors

Like it or not, the wedding favor has become a staple in the modern day wedding.

But that doesn't mean they have to break you nuptial budget. The gifts for your guests can be simple, elegant and, yes, even cheap.

Here are 5 cheap wedding favors for receptions of all sizes:

1. We had nearly 300 guests at our 2003 wedding, so a cheap wedding favor was essential if I didn't want to break the bank (or, to be fair, my parents' bank). I went to the restaurant supply store GFS, which sells large bags of fortune cookies. I wrapped each cookie in blue plastic wrap and attached a note telling our guests how "fortunate" we felt having them participate in our big day. The other side of the note listed our new address.


2. Instead of individual favors, my sister opted for table-wide gifts at her 2008 wedding. She picked out Hershey's Kisses in silver and rose-colored wrappers (the wedding colors) and sprinkled them in the middle of each table. Each favor doubled as a centerpiece. Certainly sweet on the pocketbook!


3. A friend married in early July, just a few days before Independence Day. She and her husband wrapped a few sparklers with a pretty ribbon for each guest and included a matchbook that proclaimed that they were "A Perfect Match."


4. Cheap and green: Take a cue from my cousin and distribute flower bulbs or seeds to your guests.


5. You can buy tealights in bulk for only a few cents apiece. Wrap each one in netting or cloth and attach a personalized note. Perhaps: "The Light of Our Lives" plus the date of the wedding.

Favors are a nice way for a couple to thank their guests, but you don't have to wipe out your savings to show your appreciation. Cheap wedding favor is *not* an oxymoron!

5 Cheap Valentine's Day Gifts

You can't buy love.

Right?

Yes, that old-as-time saying still holds true, but the fact is that many people still expect a gift on Valentine's Day as proof that their significant other is as in love with them as ever.

Even typing that sentence kind of made me want to gag. I know my husband loves me, and a gift -- no matter how expensive (or cheap) -- won't prove he loves me any more (or less).

That being said, a small token of remembrance does warm my heart. Here's 5 cheap ways to say "I love you" on a budget:

1. Instead of the standard dozen roses in a vase, "hide" a flower in a different location around the house- inside a kitchen cabinet, next to her toothbrush, on the driver's seat of the car. And you don't have to get roses. Consider something cheaper but just as sweet, like daisies.


2. Buy a pack of his favorite gum and attach a note: "I'm stuck on you!"


3. Boxes of fortune cookies are available at many grocery stores for a few bucks. Wrap, and attach a note: "Every day I feel more fortunate to have you by my side."


4. Pick up a tin of Altoids and attach a note: "We're 'mint' for each other."


5. Choose her favorite candy: a chocolate bar, a bag of Tootsie Rolls, whatever. Attach a note: "Each day with you is sweeter and sweeter."

Cheap Valentine's Day gifts don't mean you love your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend any less. In fact, think of cheap Valentine's Day gifts as a way to show your creativity and love at the same time.