starshine

Actually there is a monthly secret pal swap that Lori hosts. It is a good fix while we wait for Santa's swap.
And it is a good idea to keep an eye out for things during the year. Last summer I went to a church "garage" sale and saw a couple of very small china tea cups one included a saucer. I bought them thinking they could be used to make a pretty pin cushion-they were less than $1 a piece. When I got my person for the swap she either had listed she collected teacups or she had put it in a posting on the board somewhere and I read it in one of her posts. Either way instead of making a pincushion I sent her the cup and saucer. I just happen to luck out with finding it and then having her as my secret pal. I included other things in the package to to bring it up to the amount guideline. I saw her posting that her package was way over the budget-but I just was lucky in my find. If I had bought it at a shop it may have been over, don't know what it would have been then.

So keep an eye out for some things that are on sale or repurposed like Terri said and it will work out ok. You can look at a few of the previous years to see how much time there is to shop by seeing what the mail by date is after the names are given out.

And some make items too like table runners, wall hanging etc. in seasonal or winter themes.