Cheap Christmas Gifts

For those celebrating Christmas, we all know that December is the most expensive month of the year. It’s a time when most of us overspend on presents, wrapping paper, entertainment and food since we’re spending a lot of our time with family and friends enjoying the holidays. And make no mistake the Christmas season is a jolly good time for laughter and cheer – the only small problem is when January rolls around and the laughter and cheer fall flat as we moan over astronomical credit card bills and empty budgets.

Make a new Christmas resolution and don’t let this happen to you any more! Follow my budget-friendly tips and you’re guaranteed to keep your Christmas costs down this season. Some of the tips work best after this holiday season, but if you follow them, you’ll definitely be ahead the game on savings for next Christmas!

**Christmas Elf’s budget-friendly tips:**

1. Write a list of all the people to whom you intend to give Christmas presents. Keep this list reasonable (I personally keep it to close friends and family); it’s okay not to give gifts to everyone. Next, write down the maximum amount you’re willing to spend on each person. This gives you a good idea of how much you’ll be spending on gifts total. Adjust until you’re comfortable with the expenditure and most importantly keep to the budget as you’re shopping.

2. A good way to make sure you don’t overspend is to leave your credit cards and checks at home. Bring only the specified amount you’re willing to spend in cash to your shopping trip.

3. So avoid credit cards at all costs. They’re too much of a temptation to overspend.

4. See if you can swap tangible gift exchanges with friends in favor of spending quality time together instead. For example, make a date for tea and you can each bring refreshments or special treats. This gives you time to talk and really show how much your friendship means.

5. Keep a closet of small assorted gifts collected during sales throughout the year. This stash can be used for Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchanges. It prevents you from running out last minute to grab these gifts, likely paying more than you need to. You’ll have all your future holiday parties covered.

Read the rest of this entry »

The holiday season is approaching which means that it’s once again the time of year where we focus on shopping and picking gifts for our friends and loved ones. In our extensive gift-giving lists, there are bound to be one or two items that call for presents on the cheaper end of the spectrum.

These are usually gifts for your company’s white elephant exchange or for a casual friend. We’ve all received gifts of this caliber: You can tell they’re cheap, they’re not very useful and kind of tacky sometimes. For these gifts we’re looking for the cheapest item we can find that says, “Hey, I tried.” If you’re lucky you’ll find a present that the recipient will look at for 5 seconds before putting it away, never-to-be-seen again.

Don’t look cheap and give a gift that will make your recipient smile (for real). Here are some alternative cool ideas for inexpensive gift exchanges. Try them out, all for $10 or less:

1. Holiday serving bowl or platter – Kitchen supplies are always going to be useful no matter what the season. Usually people won’t invest in specialty holiday serving dishes since they’re mainly used one season a year, but when that time comes you can be sure these come in handy. Ross or Target has plenty of these items under $10.

2. Fancy chocolate bars tied with a nice ribbon – Anything edible is sure to be used… particularly if it’s something as delicious as chocolate. Take it up a notch and find some really unique flavors or chocolate that is really good quality. You don’t need that many – maybe 2 or 3. Tie with a nice ribbon and you have a really elegant gift.

3. Gourmet jam, mustard spread, or maple syrup – Going along with the food theme, all these items are pantry necessities. A good gourmet spread is sure to be enjoyed by the family for a long time after the holidays are over. Maple syrup is one of those items that everyone has, but usually is just picked up at the local grocery store. The difference between the grocery store high fructose version and real maple syrup is staggering.

4. Movie theater gift certificate – There’s a stigma against buying gift certificates or gift cards for people but trust me, anyone will appreciate these. Considering the prices of movie tickets nowadays even one free movie ticket is sure to receive a lot of gratitude.

5. Jigsaw puzzle – These are fun and addictive, which are killer combos for a gift. If you choose a nice design, then they can be laminated upon completion and hung up on the wall as décor.

Read the rest of this entry »