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We joined some of our fellow Savings.com DealPros for a Secret Santa Challenge. We thought, what better way to show our readers how to stretch a buck during the holidays than to do it ourselves and share the results! We used Elfster to draw names randomly and secretly. It’s a free service and gives you the ability to create wish lists and ask your gift recipient questions without revealing your identity. It was fun learning who was randomly selected as our gift recipients.

Our maximum out-of-pocket budget was $15 (before shipping). We were allowed to use credits we earned through referrals on daily deal sites or through programs such as Swagbucks without it counting towards the budget. We could also make things or use freebies, as long as what we spent did not go over $15.

Our gift recipient was Lisa of Smart Spending Spot. We asked her about some of her likes, one of them about what she collected and it turns out that she collects Hallmark Ornaments. So, we were able to get her the 2011 Hallmark Ornament and saved $5 by using the $5 off $10 purchase printable coupon. By using our Hallmark Gold Crown rewards card, we also earned points with our purchase. The ornament came out to about $6.

We also included a beautiful wallet from Claire’s, which we found in the clearance section that cost only $2.50. We gave her a wallet with sections to hold money, coupons, and her business cards. The journal was $0.50 on clearance from Michael’s dollar section. We gave her the journal to help her keep track of her to-do lists and also to help her keep track of all the money she’ll be saving throughout the year. The Giftionizer we had received as part of a Couponizer package. We gave her a Giftionizer because as DealPros, we take advantage of hot deals that can be used for gift-giving throughout the year. The Giftionizer helps you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions throughout the year, as well as keep track of the gifts you’ve already purchased. Overall, we spent about $13 out of pocket and were able to give her four gifts we hope will make her life a little easier!

We received this wonderful gift from our Secret Santa, Briana of Bargain Briana. She sent us a book with a cut-out (perfect to hide our candy stash from the kids), a Blue Avocado insulated bag (nice and roomy to fit our groceries in to replace up to 3 plastic bags), and a $10 iTunes gift card (we’ve been downloading karaoke songs for inexpensive family fun, so this will come in handy). Thanks for the thoughtful gift, Briana!

What are some gift ideas you have that are $15 and under?

Take a look at the other gifts our fellow Secret Santas gave:

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ASavingsWOW!

A Savings WOW! is dedicated to helping you enjoy your life without breaking the bank by providing money-saving resources such as classes, coupons, deals, freebies, giveaways, and reviews. After you use the tools we give you, people will say to you “What a savings! WOW!” after you tell them how much you paid versus how much it should have been.

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