Winter holidays generally mean buying gifts for loved ones, but this holiday season, people are looking to yesteryear for affordable gift-giving ideas. People often feel that they have to spend a lot of money on a gift for it to be appreciated, but that's not always the case. As more shoppers move away from traditional commercial shopping, people are getting creative with their shopping plans. In parenting support groups across social media platforms, many parents are turning to gently used items. But parents aren't the only ones looking for gently used things; across social media, people are doing a "no-buy" Christmas. This year, they're looking to trade things instead of purchasing new, with some even offering up services to exchange.With more people thinking outside the box on how to gift-give this holiday season, it's no surprise that there's also an uptick in the vintage idea of handmade gifts. During World War II, funds were tight so families tried their best to make the most of the holiday season with less. This included handmade treats, gifts, and other more affordable options to reduce the cost of holiday gifting. Here are some things making a comeback: @melissayurt handwritten letters for the friends and fam this year ❤️#christmas #giftideas #christmascard #fyp #creative #friendsgiving #christmastiktok #christmastree ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) - Danilo Stankovic 1. Handwritten lettersWhile handwritten letters were more common in the '40s, it was still a treat to receive a handwritten card in the mail. Many people still send out holiday cards, but some are going the extra mile. Instead of just the typical card with a family signature, some may consider writing updates by hand on stationery paper to loved ones they won't physically see this holiday season.2. Wrapping gifts in paper bagsIn decades prior, rolls of brown paper were fairly cheap; nowadays, it's about the cost of regular wrapping paper but you get a lot more per roll. Savvy shoppers are saving even more by cutting up a brown paper bags and reusing brown packing paper tucked inside of delivery boxes. Families in the '40s also saw no issue with wrapping a gift in newspaper. It made the wrapping paper unique, and if you use the comic section, it gives people something to chuckle at before the gift is even opened. Many local papers still sell print copies in gas stations and bookstores if you want to try out newspaper wrapping. @blackcountrylivingmuseum 1940s brown paper wrapping is back on trend, cor do without sticky tape though! #christmasgiftwrappingchallenge #1940s #museumtok ♬ We Wish You a Merry Christmas!(1381868) - SK MUSIC 3. Easy and cheap homemade treatsThe list of easy and affordable homemade treats is long, but to kick things off, let's share a few. Rice Krispies Treats are almost always a hit. They take very few ingredients, and one box of cereal makes several servings of treats. If you want to make them festive, buy red and green or blue and white sprinkles to top them with before placing them in a holiday to-go container. @shans_sweet_tea Let’s make four ingredient Cornflake Candy #cornflakecandy #christmastreats #christmassnacks #easyrecipe #recipe ♬ original sound - Shans Sweet Tea Another easy treat is Peppermint Bark. Again, you can count the ingredients on one hand and still have fingers left. You don't even have to have an oven to make it. Just melt down some chocolate, mix in a little peppermint extract, then spread it on a cookie sheet before topping it with crushed candy canes and placing it in the fridge until it's hard. Wrapping a mallet in plastic wrap and whacking it until it's broken into enough smaller parts is a favorite amongst littles.Cornflake Candy is just one more cheap, easy holiday treat families can make together. A big box of cornflakes, corn syrup, sugar, and peanut butter makes enough treats to spread the love. Some fancy folks like to include festive food coloring. All of these treats are easily found online with clear instructions. @tealoving_ginger Gave myself a $100 limit per kid for gifts + stocking stuffer. I’m done shopping for my little family and am either thrifting or making items for our extended family! #fyp #holidays #thrift #thrifting #christmas ♬ Library Vibes - Cozy-Cozy-Moodscape 4. Thrifting is good for giftingAs mentioned previously, many people are looking for gently used items to gift. Shoppers can save a good deal of money and likely time by heading to local thrift stores for used items that look brand new. Some hits are vintage picture frames, vases, and serving platters. Oftentimes, items like these can be quickly cleaned up and made into something special by adding a family photo or printing out license-free artwork to place inside the frames. Grabbing a bouquet to put in the thrifted vase or baking cookies to present to the host of the holiday party on the new to you platter makes it feel more personal. @kaittyyk Is anyone else partaking in #thriftmas ?!?! #christmasgifts #thrifting #thrifted #thriftfinds ♬ Christmas Is Coming - DM Production 5. Handmade craftsMaybe you know how to sew or you're pretty good with a crochet hook. In the '40s, hand-making dolls or wearable items not only helped them save money, but they also made the person receiving the item feel special. Scarves, hats, cross stitch, handmade candles, and more are all ways you can combine your crafting skills and holiday gift to brighten someone's day. @kira_goode Such a cute but simple handmade Christmas gift or table favour ? #crafts #christmas #diy #handmade #fyp ♬ Christmas Is Coming - DM Production 6. Offering a ServiceMaybe you're not great at crafting, or there's no money in the budget to pick up a gift. Time can be a wonderful gift to provide for a loved one. Presenting someone with a coupon for babysitting one night, helping with a household chore, or offering to run an errand for them can help lessen their load. People are brilliantly coming up with unconventional ideas to make the holiday season feel special without spending loads of money. Turning to decades past to see how prior generations saved money during financially hard times seems to be the best way to get inspiration without reinventing the wheel.

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The Seattle Public School system is forcing students — from kindergarten to fifth grade — to read books that push and teach fluid gender identity. HOLY SHIT: Seattle Public Schools (@SeaPubSchools) has lgbtq resources on their site for KINDERGARTENERS, teaching them that they can be transgender. They want to push made-up pronouns, promote gender ideology, and tell little kids they can be the opposite s*x Seattle Public… pic.twitter.com/7hXNukUdGQ — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 1, 2025 On this episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey Holmes and Lyrah Margo analyze the woke curriculum and how there are still traces of indoctrination in the education system. They discuss the ridiculous lessons taught in different gender identity books such as Introducing Teddy, My Princess Boy, and Red: A Crayon’s Story. (RELATED: Opt Out of Gender Propaganda) Tune in to hear their discussion! Read Ellie and Lyrah’s writing here and here. Listen to the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Spotify. Watch the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Rumble.

I first met Rob Reiner the first week I moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 1976. He was a friend of a close friend. We all sat around a sandwich cafe in West Hollywood, or what became West Hollywood. We were on opposite sides of the political fence. I had just recently been an apologist and speechwriter for Richard Nixon. He was a strict leftist. His father, Carl Reiner, had been a superstar co-star of Sid Caesar, a gigantic TV star of my childhood. We got along great from the first minute. The first second we met. I make it a point not to argue politics with anyone in Hollywood. Why bother? They won’t change me, and I sure as shooting will not change them. After that, I saw him often in passing. He was a huge star in Norman Lear’s world. The “meathead” on All in the Family. I was a small writer in Norman Lear’s cosmos. But I was famous as a conservative who had dared to come to Hollywood. Time passed. Rob became a blazing star as a director. I still ran into him at Morton’s on Melrose and at Mr. Chow. He was a leftist in leftist Hollywood. It did not matter to me, and I don’t think it mattered to him. We were friends. Not opponents: FRIENDS. (RELATED: Rob Reiner: A Salute) He was partnered with a much closer friend who was married to another superstar named Sally Field. That made us run into each other a lot more. I did not know his son at all. Not one bit. When I woke up Sunday morning and then followed the news until Sunday night and saw and heard that he had been murdered in his home along with his wife, apparently by his son, Nick, I was in shock, and I still am. (RELATED: Hollywood Horror: The Murder of Rob Reiner) I don’t care at all that he disliked Mr. Trump. I don’t think his dislike of Mr. Trump had one thing to do with his death. NOT ONE ATOM. What I do think is that even among successful men and women in this world, and in this Hollywood, there can be deeply troubled families. There can be deeply sick children of rich, stupendously successful couples who live in top drawer neighborhoods like Brentwood Park and Beverly Hills. Is it because of drugs? I think so. I know that I have been driven to insanity by meds that were supposed to help me — and to the brink of homicide by “doctors” — even at Yale when I was a law student there. I know that when a young man or woman is driven to homelessness by whatever was driving him — or her — he or she is on a dangerous precipice and coming back is ultra-risky. I do not know, not at all, what brings humans, even in America, to consider murdering their parents. I know that as a child, I had such thoughts. I thank God that I never took up the blade or even close to it. I do know that our son, child of my wife, the world’s finest human, and me, did some dangerous things — and then, despite being loved beyond measure by us, took himself to eternity as a young man. Was he drugged wildly incorrectly by his “doctor”? Did drugs given as anti-depressants drive him to despair? I don’t know. I just know that something took him in a desperately wrong direction. And he is missed horribly every minute of every day. What drove Nick Reiner to do the unspeakable? The crime mentioned over and over in the Bible? We don’t know. We will probably never learn. Just as I believe we will never learn what pushed our angel over the brink. I just know that it had nothing to do with Mr. Trump. It had nothing to do with politics, but it has to do with a pit opening up straight to hell. God bless you, Rob, and your wife. God bless our beloved son. God bless my wife, the world’s finest being. God help us all. God, dear God, you made him. Why couldn’t you save him? READ MORE from Ben Stein: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We Are Not Depression Proof Saving Is a Must

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