Cheap Holiday Gift Ideas

Inexpensive Gifts to Make and Give

Need cheap holiday gift ideas? Whether you are looking for inexpensive Christmas gifts to make for casual friends and neighbors, cheap teacher gifts, or inexpensive coworker Christmas gifts for your husband to take to work, this info on cheap gifts is what you are looking for.

We have a tendency to go overboard when it comes to giving gifts to friends, coworkers, teachers and neighbors. Except for your very closest of friends, and perhaps your husband's boss, usually you can get away with cheap holiday gift ideas.

Bottom line: KISS: Keep It Super Simple

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Keep Extra on Hand
Its always a good idea to overplan for your casual gifts.

Now, this may seem contrary to cheap holiday gift ideas, but in actuality, you will save more money by being prepared than by trying to get a last minute gift for someone you may have forgotten.

I'm sure you've experienced the helpless feeling of having a neighbor, whom you never once considered someone to exchange a present with, show up with a plate full of cookies wrapped with a bow.

Or your child's best friend's mom drop off a gift bag full of goodies with your name on it. If you prepare extra gifts in advance, and have them wrapped and waiting, you will not need to feel uncomfortable in these unexpected situations.

Keep It Small
The main method with cheap holiday gift ideas is to keep it small. There is no need to spend even $5-$10 on a single item. Keep your gifts small, both financially and physically.

An ornament, a small decorative item, or a Christmas pin are plenty big enough for casual gift-giving, cheap teacher gifts, and inexpensive coworkers Christmas gifts.

Duplicate
These are not the gifts you need to put a lot of thought into!

If you find a gift that meets your cheap holiday gift ideas needs, duplicate that gift for everyone on your list!

Does your child have 6 teachers?

Cheap teacher gifts means giving them all the same thing.

Buy in Bulk
One inexpensive coworkers Christmas gifts solution is to purchase in bulk, or to buy a set and split it up. For example, it could be much cheaper to purchase a set of 8 matching Christmas mugs, open the box, and wrap them separately than to purchase 8 individual mugs. Don't be afraid of repurposing a prepackaged gift to capitalize on cheap holiday gift ideas.

Regift
There is nothing wrong with regifting items that you do not like or will not use. In fact, it is a good thing as you are keeping items out of landfills, and saving money at the same time!

If you receive something as a gift that you do not like, keep it in it's original packaging and put a post-it note on it telling you who gave it to you (its really poor taste to give the same gift back to the person who gave it to you). Then save the gift to regift either this holiday season, or next year's.

Just make sure that if the item is boxed, the box is the right one for the item! For our wedding, my husband and I received, via mail, a really ugly chandelier. We never even took it out of the box and about 18 months later decided to sell it in a garage sale. I opened the box to take the chandelier out to display it properly, and realized there was a really cute plate set inside! Surprise!

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Homemade Gifts
When I was 15 years old, we moved from South Florida (where I was a sophomore in a high school with over 3000 students) to a small town in central Montana (where my new class had 32 students in it). The difference in culture was made apparent to us minutes after entering our new home.

In Florida, we barely knew our neighbor's names, even though we had lived in the same house for over 8 years. But in Montana, within minutes our new neighbors came over with a plate full of cookies and a jar full of spiced tea mix.

I still remember how much that meant to me, that people cared enough to welcome strangers that way. It was truly a gift from the heart.

In this day and age, getting a homemade gift from someone can mean so much more than its store bough counterpart. Which would you rather have?

A 3-foot tall tin of popcorn with Santa on the side, or a plate full of Christmas cookies?

A generic Christmas card, or a hand-stamped one with glitter?

A bottle of store-bought bubble bath, or a bag of handmade bath salts?

In most cases, nearly everyone would prefer the kind of gift that comes from the heart. The one that shows us that someone took the time in this busy world to actually sit down and MAKE something.

But even these inexpensive Christmas gifts to make shouldn't take up too much time - or money- on your part; especially if you keep the above tips on keeping it small and duplicating in mind.

Mason Jars, or Canning Jars, make excellent, inexpensive, and attractive, gift-giving forms. A great way to save on gifts! You can fill them with anything and make an instant gift.

Some ideas:

Flavored Coffees Flavored Teas Beverage Mixes Hot Chocolate Mixes Brownie Mixes Cookie Mixes Cake Mixes Bread Mixes Oils and Vinegar

Muffin Mixes Soup Mixes Spices Dips Nuts Bath Salts Soaps Potpourri Craft Items

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Related Pages

Holiday Gifts for Hubby and Kids

Holiday Gifts for the Extended Family

Holiday Gifts for Friends and Neighbors

Holiday Gift Planning Guide

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