For LuAnn Levitre, a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, Christmas is a year-round event that begins right after the holiday.

“I keep an eye on things as the price goes down, down, down,” she said. “I wait until it’s 75% off. I get placemats, jingle bells, napkin rings, decorations… reduced down to almost nothing.”

Throughout the year she frequents the clearance sections of the stores she patronizes hunting for bargains that fit in with what she knows her adult children want or need.

Also, she reflected, she listens. “My daughter just said that she didn’t have a potato peeler. So I bought one on clearance for her.”

Levitre is a prolific cook and an ardent crafter, too. Before the holiday season, she sends each of her four children a box filled with her loving handiwork and great buys. Her children’s budgets, taste buds, and holiday decorating needs appreciate her efforts.

Some of her edible treats come from recipes that date back to when Levitre’s own grandmother used to bake her something and send it to her when she was in nursing school. For this Christmas, Levitre has a special gift she’s been creating for each child that assures the legacy from her kitchen will continue.

“I’m handwriting each page in a book.” Using recipes from her “grandmother, mother, friends,” as well as her own, in short, any recipe that holds a memory and a pleasure for any family member is being penned by her into an individual book (no photocopies) each child will receive as a gift this holiday.

The Levitre family abounds with personal and economical traditions. “When the kids were little we got a punch bowl with little glasses. I didn’t want them to drink soda. So every year (at Christmas) I made a fruit punch that became a tradition. Well, we even had that same punch in the punch bowl when my son got married.”

Every year the Levitre family even gets matching holiday pajamas to put them in the spirit of the season.

To accommodate Levitre’s Christmas shopping and gift giving plans, she has “two large designated drawers” that she uses throughout the year to contain her assortment of bargains and handmade projects.

A nursing colleague, Marie Marquis, with her own creative and cost-cutting abilities, pursues gift-making and giving for her 11 grandchildren. She’s already knitted each of them a sweater.

“I started this spring,” she stated innocently, then added she has several extras completed. “I go online to buy yarn. I’ve found quite a few websites that are quite cheap.”

Although Marquis maintains that yarn colors ordered this way usually match their online appearance, when she finds yarn locally that she likes, she notes identifying information to place an order on the Internet.

For her older grandchildren, she buys wool yarn to use for felt purses which she makes by first knitting the purse and then throwing it in a hot water wash so it shrinks into felt.

This year will find all her grandchildren wearing flannel pajamas with a common theme: frogs. When her grandson, Lucas, was almost 3 years old, he brought her to a frog pond and they both noted a “squished frog” unsuccessful in its attempt to cross the street. PJs for each of her 11 grandchildren made with inexpensive frog fabric bought at Marden’s will be a whimsical reminder of this day for them. “Pink frogs on pink fabric for the girls; green frogs on green fabric for the boys.”

Diane Beaucage, another nurse, makes memory books for Christmas presents for her two daughters, a son, and her and her husband’s parents.

“My scrapbooks are from Creative Memories because of the warranty,” she offered, but papers, stickers, die cuts, embellishments and all-in-one kits whose components revolve around a single theme such as Christmas, Valentine’s, weddings, etc., are purchased online at great savings.

Each December, she orders calendars with blank pages so she can create personalized memory calendars for gift giving to family members the following year.

Whether trying to keep holiday costs down, personalizing gift giving, or searching for a creative outlet, there is nothing like homemade or handcrafted to fit the bill. And for the shopper who lacks the time or creativity, or simply shies away from labor intensive projects, a great buy adds to the season’s sweetness. Whatever the circumstance, cost-conscious shoppers can benefit from these nurses’ gift-giving strategies.

Luann’s Holiday Fruit Punch

1 can frozen orange juice

1 can frozen lemonade

1 48 oz. can pineapple juice

1 large apricot juice

(2) 1 liter bottles Sprite

(2) 1 liter bottles club soda

Mix together the juices. Add club soda and Sprite.

For the ice ring to keep the punch cold, add the entire contents of a jar of cherries to your water. Freeze thoroughly before adding to the punch. Enjoy!