Girlfriend Survival Kits

When I have time, I like to make gifts for my friends either for Christmas or their birthdays. I enjoy giving thoughtful gifts from the heart but when I have a lot of friends on my Christmas list I want to give gifts to and can’t spend a lot of money for several gifts so I stay on the lookout for clever gift-giving ideas.

I discovered my “Girlfriend Survival Kit” idea from a book that belonged to my daughter and adapted the idea to grownup girlfriends.

I added some of my own “survival” ideas also. Most everything was either free or under a dollar except for the candles.

The kit includes:

• 1 bandana I found a wide assortment of colored new ones for .99 cents each at a craft and hobby store and picked out colors according to each of my girlfriends’ favorite colors. I also washed and re-pressed them to take out the starchiness but a large, more feminine looking hankie could also be used
• 1 compact mirror check at a dollar store or the stocking stuffer isles at holiday time
• Pack of gum I bought mine in bulk and divided up
• A button dig around in your button box for unique ones
• A small rock I used some smooth ones I’d collected from the beach while on a trip to the Pacific Ocean
• Scotch tape I bought the cheapy kind at a dollar store
• Post-it notes I bought several in a pack and divided
• A band-aid you could get creative here and buy decorative ones if you wanted
• 3-4 Hershey’s Hugs candies a handful for each kit
• Gold string or ribbon check at craft stores for a small spool
• A small scented candle I found different colored and scented tea candles that come several in a pack

I placed everything in a bandana and first wrapped with a rubber band then tied it up with the gold thread/ribbon

and attached a computer printed explanation that I glued onto the backside of decorative scrapbooking paper and folded it, hole-punched the top, and ran gold ribbon through it. 

Here’s what my list read:

This girlfriend survival kit contains

• Golden thread because friendship is the golden thread that ties our lives together.
• Scotch tape because good friends stick together.
• A handkerchief for drying tears (and lets face it, tissues just don’t hold up to a good cry).
• Gum because friends need to get refreshed once in a while.
• Post-It Notes because friends need to remember each other.
• A mirror because you need to see how beautiful you are the way I do.
• A button because if you can’t say anything nice, button your lips.
• A pebble because you’re a rock to me.
• A candle because you shine brightly.
• A band-aid for healing hurts.
• Hershey’s Hugs because you’re sweet and I like to share hugs with you.

This could easily be adapted to suit your recipient(s); you just have to think creatively about the items and what they could represent to someone.

These made really fun gifts for me to give my girlfriends at Christmas time but they would easily work for birthday gifts for grown ups. Plus everything included can actually be used.