The holiday season is almost in full swing and this year, maybe more than many years before everyone is looking for ‘cheap Christmas gift ideas’. Many store offer cheap Christmas gift ideas lists, but be careful, a ‘cheap Christmas gift’ list from a store may not be as cheap as they would like you to think it is, after all, it is their business to get you to buy from them, not save you money.
You may be looking for more frugal ways of gift giving because of the recession (I know I should not say the R word), or because you feel Christmas has become far too commercialized.
What ever your reason, try thinking home-made.Making a gift is far more personal; you have invested time and thought in to the perfect gift for the recipient. You have probably been thinking about the recipient all the time you have been making the gift too. I often tell a recipient a gift I have stitched for them has my love in every stitch! I also tell them to spot the deliberate (!?!) mistake, as there is always at least one!)
So what sort of things can you make, in the next few weeks, which are suitable as cheap Christmas gifts?
Well, for the Men in your life you can’t go far wrong with edible gifts, every man, (and little man) I have ever known has always liked filling his tummy with yummy foods! (Edit by Forest, yes Sue this is very true 
)
Home baked biscuits, wrapped in pretty cellophane, always go down well. You don’t even have to make them the day of giving; they can be made, and frozen a few weeks in advance, then defrosted and warmed just before giving. Fruit cakes actually benefit from being made a little while in advance, it allows the flavours of the fruit to mature. There are literally hundreds of free recipes floating around the ether at the moment; all it takes is a quick Google or a good cookery book! Home made sweets are another favorite; men seem to love homemade truffles even more than some of us ladies! Again a quick google or a flip through your favorite cookery book should get you on the right track.
For the ladies, how about some home made mixes, or beauty lotions? Tipnut.com has tons of ideas, just wander round the site and see!
If you are not that confident in the kitchen, why not try a bit of simple sewing. Get two 4” (10cm) squares of pretty organza material, sew three sides together, turn inside out, fill about half full with Lavender and sew up the final side. Add a pretty ribbon hanger and hey presto, one scented sachet for drawer or wardrobe!
A piece of fleece doesn’t even need sewing to turn it in to a warm and fashionable scarf. Cut to scarf length and width (approx 60” – 152cm for adult size), with about 8” (20cm) extra, cut a fringe 4” (10cm) deep each end, and tie a knot in each strand, and one scarf finished! You don’t even have to be that precise with the measurements, some irregularity will add to the charm of the scarf!
Often a gift that can be used frequently is much more appreciated than something that is expensive, search the thrift/charity shops, walk around with an open mind, but thinking of the people you need to get presents for, often something will ‘pop-up’. I did just this yesterday, I was looking for a gift that would make a friend of mine who has had a hard time recently, smile, and I found a ‘funky’ watch with a smiley face! Perfect for putting a ‘smile on her face’! And it set me back all of £1 (About $1.60 right now!)
Be creative, be inventive, be open to cheap christmas gift ideas and Christmas gift giving will take on a whole new meaning.
Let us know what cheap Christmas gift ideas you have….
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November 24th, 2009 at 12:32 am
A framed photograph can also work well. One can get prints made online for very little at Ritz, and I have found the quality to be pretty good for a basic consumer service. Frames can be found at Amazon.com, and some nice wooden ones are quite inexpensive.
A framed photograph of one or more family members, a landscape near home, or anything of the sort will be very well received and can be put together for little money.
Megan´s last blog ..How to Go Green in Your Day-to-Day Life
November 24th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
@Megan, Yes photos are great gifts. Most people can print great quality straight from their printer these days too.