Christmas is probably THE most expensive time of the year, so we thought we’d share with you a few inexpensive gift ideas that you can shop for or make ahead of time, whilst being kind to your budget.
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
This is a delicious chocolate sauce recipe which can be eaten hot or cold. Make up a sundae gift box with a jar of this chocolate sauce, along with some chopped nuts, sprinkles, mini m&ms, mini marshmallows, waffle cones, brandy snap baskets, wafers and/or chocolate wafer twirls.
http://www.creationsbykara.com/2012/12/hot-fudge-sauce-christmas-neighbor-gift-idea.html/
Covered Folders & Notebooks
This is great for a student or the home office. You can use any type of material you like for this idea. I’ve used cotton and washed it to ensure it doesn’t shrink. See our tutorial here to see how we did it.
Handmade Washer & Organics
A lovely gift to give someone who needs a bit of pampering. You can make your own face washer using cotton or bamboo yarn which can be purchased online or from Spotlight. www.ravelry.com is a great free website that has tonnes of different patterns to knit and/or crochet. Great to do in the evening and well before Christmas. Team up your own handmade washer with some beautiful organic shampoo/conditioner, body wash, facial wash and/or moisturisers for a truly indulgent gift.
For the Tea or Coffee Drinker
For the tea lover, what about a teapot cup with a selection of beautiful herbal teas? And for the coffee lover, try a glass mug or espresso cup with a selection of different coffee capsules. Team it up with some shortbread biscuits, chocolates or candy canes – or maybe a miniature bottle of whiskey for a post-Christmas pick-me-up!
Beer Lovers
Gather a selection of craft/international/Australian beers to give someone a variety of different beers to try. You can pick up individual bottles of beer from around $4 upwards. Picking up a bottle or two here and there is a great way to spread the cost over your weekly/fortnightly shopping run.
Framed Picture
You don’t have to look far for some beautiful artwork for your walls. Select a gorgeous birthday card and pop it in a frame. Alternatively, use a hot glue gun to glue buttons on a piece of card/paper in a pretty shape and pop it in a shadow box.
Garden Pot
For the garden lovers in your life, put together a nice pot with some quality gloves, small gardening tools and some seed packets. To personalise the gift, why not buy a terracotta pot and decorate the outside to the individual person. It’s a great way to get the kids involved.
Craft Box
This is a great gift to give a child who has everything, or you’re just plain stumped what to buy. Gather an assortment of different craft items from the cheapie shop such as stickers, wooden balls/pegs/cubes, paint, feathers, glue, beads, twine, textas/pens, glitter, bells, googlie eyes etc. You can also add some general household items too such as small bamboo skewers, toothpicks, cotton balls and different lengths of ribbon. It works out reasonably inexpensive as you can split one packet of craft items between a few kids, just divide and place in small ziplock bags. Pop them all in a Christmas box and let the kids get creative during the holidays.
Happy Christmas!
