A Christmas Gift Guide on a Budget

WOW. Can you believe it's already December? I constantly find myself whispering under my breath as I stare at my calendar "where did the year go?" Then, I remind myself that well, the year went to lockdown.

I for one love the festive season, ever since I was young I have have been infatuated by the lights, colours, joy and generosity that the time brings, and even though this year has been a tough one, I am still so optimistic to carry that positive energy through this month of December into what will hopefully be a great new year.

With all this being said, I thought I would share a big love of mine, which, is in fact gift giving. My love-language is the love of giving gifts, so I do tend to go over board when it comes to birthdays, thank yous, and of course Christmas. I however, have learnt how to share this love of mine in a way that is inexpensive and from the heart, but still making it so so special and valuable, and so I thought I should share my top tricks and tips for successful Christmas gifts on a budget!

Rule of Thumb for A Successful Christmas Gift:

Instead of spending tons of money on a bunch of different random presents, try to limit it to just 4 simple things:

1. a gift they want (something small that they would like to have)

2. a gift they need (Like a new spatula they desperately need in the kitchen)

3. a gift they can wear (like new underwear/socks with no holes in them)

and 4. a gift they don't know they want, but you do (this requires sneaky detective work)

How to keep your gifts inexpensive and under your budget:

A great tip that I have for when it comes to gift giving, whether it be with friends, family, or your significant other, is to always communicate. This may sound silly, but I have come to learn over the past few years of being involved in a huge family that communication is most definitely key. By communicating as a group, family or couple, you can decide on an agreeable budget or gift count for each other, which will take the pressure off of you to try to match the next person/s generosity, as well as help avoid any awkward Christmas mornings where you may have gone seemingly smaller on your budget compared to your crazy aunt.

Another tip I have for inexpensive gift giving, is going more sentimental than materialistic. These days it is more important than ever to spend quality time with your loved ones than actually spoiling them with materialistic items. I find that simple, yet thoughtful gifts (like knowing that person needs a new pan for their kitchen, or buying a jar full of their fav chocolates) are always the most successful at the end of the day. Another easy way to spend less on gifts this year is to go more old school, and get crafty. In my opinion there is nothing more special than a hand-made gift, and these days you don't have to be the most creative person around, there are easy programs you can use to design a cute card or mug that you can go get printed at any local print shop for cheap!

My list of inexpensive gift ideas:

Here I have put together a list of ideas and gifts that are thoughtful, inexpensive and user-friendly.

1. A mason jar full of the receivers favourite candy / snacks.

2. A gift card to the spa for a treatment

3. A gift card to the receivers favourite store

4. An indoor plant

5. A personalised card (if you don't have design programs available, or aren't really a designer yourself, you can use the site Canva to create amazing graphics for free, and it is so easy. They also have plenty of templates and ideas that you can just take for free!)

6. A personalised mug (the cheapest and best printers in Cape Town are Wizards simply design your graphic on Canva and make your way down to Wizards to help you!)

7. A baked good (you can bake a ton of little cookies and stuff them all into a jar and slap a good bow on the front)

8. Fun boredom busters like scrabble, jenga or even bananarama.

9. On the topic of Jenga...you can grab a bunch of wooden blocks from your local builders store and paint them, making a personalised Jenga set for the receiver!

10. A personalised T-Shirt (again, a DIY situation, but so so easy! Just create your design, buy a cheap Tshirt, and go get it printed at your local printers)

11. A beauty treatment bag (full of nailpolish, face masks, hand creams and lip ice).

12. A little bar set ( take a box and full it with a drinking glass, a bottle of alcohol and some fresh lemon/lime).

13. A summer-ready bag (full a cheap tote bag with sunscreen, cheapo sunglasses and a book from Bargain books / a magazine).

14. Create a personalised playlist (go onto itunes and create a playlist of songs that the receiver loves and share the link with them, then they can download the playlist to listen to all year long!)

15. A book of compliments (buy a cheap journal / notebook and at the bottom of each page write a different compliment or positive thought to the receiver).

Although it is an exciting time with all the sales, presents and parties, Christmas is always truly about the quality time, value and thought for one another, and at the end of the day it's all that really matters. So I hope I helped in some way to show you that you can display your love and thoughtfulness to your loved ones without having to break the bank, but by rather doing small things that really do come from the heart.

xx