Ideas for Inexpensive Christmas Gifts

Don’t think you have to spend a lot of money on gifts for them to be appreciated.  As the old saying goes, “it’s the thought that counts”.  And that doesn’t mean, I thought of giving you a present but didn’t get around to it!  The time you take to think about what someone would like is worth so much more.  Put your time into finding something unique that shows you have really thought about the person.  Use your talents to make something special.

Being creative doesn’t necessarily mean you have to know how to sew, cook, or draw.  It means being creative with your ideas.

Assembling quite ordinary inexpensive things into a personal and attractive package makes a wonderful present that shows you have really thought about the person.  Shops do it all the time – they take very basic and cheap items and package them up together to look pretty and charge twice the price.  Don’t buy the packaging, do it yourself.

I once received as a gift a “hot chocolate kit”. Inside a little wicker box was a red jug, a box of organic cocoa powder and a packet of baby marshmallows.  The fact that the chocolate was organic made it especially personal to me. I loved it.

Trawl the charity shops or ebay for interesting jars and containers or porcelain, and fill them with things relevant to the person you are giving to.

What can you do with an old jam jar or a mason jar?

How about filling a pretty jar full of little scrolls of paper tied up with ribbon or string?  On each scroll could be printed or hand-written, say, a new year’s resolution for every day of the year, reasons to smile today, inspirational quotes…..  You could play around with decorative or different coloured paper, embellish the jar…

Here’s a really easy recipe for sweet chilli jelly. Cover the lid with a square or circle of pretty fabric and tie with an elastic band, ribbon or string.  You could also add a gift tag.

How about some Christmassy chutney?  Here’s my favourite Beetroot and Orange Chutney recipe.

A quick search of the web under “gifts in a jar” brings up loads of sites with all sorts of recipes and ideas.  I like the idea of cookie mixes in a jar, particularly for children.  You could attach a cookie cutter to the outside of the jar.

I found some great gift in a jar ideas and here.  Personally, I’d be delighted with some flavoured vinegars or some garlic oil in a pretty bottle.

 

What can you do with a vintage biscuit tin?

Fill it with edible goodies. This is particularly good if you or your family live in different countries.  You can find them things they can’t buy at home.  Adults love favourite sweets from their childhood.

 

Turn it into a sewing kit.

Make a first aid kit for the car.

Fill it with home-made biscuits or a cake.  Or another old favourite: slice dried dates down the middle and stuff with marzipan.  Easy peasy.

Maybe the decoration on the tin would fit more in a bathroom or bedroom, in which case put in a flannel and some soap. Or a selection of make-up…

What can you do with a vintage cup and saucer?

Surprisingly pretty ones can be picked up cheaply.  You could fill them with pretty sweets – like Dolly Mixtures for example.  I like to turn these into candles, using soy wax flakes.  All you need to do is to melt the wax in a saucepan or microwave and pour into the teacup.  Plus they last longer, are more ecological than paraffin wax and don’t give off any nasty fumes or stains.   You may find the soy wax in your local DIY or craft store, or I found soy wax flakes on ebay for around £6 a kilo plus p&p.  Expect to pay another £2 or £3 for some ready-prepared wicks.  If you are planning on making a lot of them, this works out as a very pretty and economical present.  Once the wax has been burnt away, the cup can be refilled again very easily.

Package it up with a packet of flavoured tea.  You could even make little tea bags from small squares of muslin, add a teaspoon of tea, tie it up with a ribbon or string, then pop it in the teacup.

What can you do with recycled paper or old wallpaper?

Make an origami box from some recycled paper, a roll of old wallpaper, or even decorate your own paper.  I found instructions on the net for how to make origami boxes, or here's another origami box tutorial .  You could fill them with sweets, truffles, anything you fancy.

 

What can you do with unwanted or Charity Shop clothing?

Look out for some woollen jumpers in your local charity shop, or use an old one – but they must be made of wool.  Put them through the hot cycle in the washing machine, then in the dryer to shrink them.  Hey presto, you have felted wool which can then be cut up and made into all sorts of things: mittens, Christmas decorations, hottie cover…

Here are instructions for how to make felted wool mittens. Or here's another felted wool mittens tutorial. 

Here’s an easy hottie cover tutorial.

Take some funky or colourful long socks or tights, cut off the feet and make them into legwarmers.  You’ll need to sew up the ends so that they don’t fray. Thread a thin ribbon around the top and tie into a little bow.

Interesting and quirky clothing could make an amazing costume for a child.  Remember to package it up well.

Another idea that costs nothing but your time, is to print or write up decorative coupons, a kind of IOU Slave Day.  It could be for a massage, to cook a meal for someone, to take a child out to the zoo… Adults invariably have a whole of list of things they never get around to doing.  They would love it if someone did it for free without being asked.  Weed a border in the garden, clean out a kitchen cupboard, wash the car, sort the photographs and make an album…or just simply an entire day of service.  And then do it with pleasure.

A photo collage of memories in a decorative frame is another good one.

If you have a huge family and can’t manage individual gifts, make it a collective one.  E’s gift to us this year is to bring us back a good old Christmas pudding and some crackers that we can all share. 

How about this free downloadable calendar.  If you have access to a colour printer and some nice paper, this would make a gorgeous gift.

You can make labels for nothing by printing out these free downloadable gift tags.

Have fun.

Do you have any more good ideas for cheap but thoughtful gifts?