I tend to make presents for my friends and family. It's inexpensive, filled with love, and can be used as a cute decoration or accent. Sometimes I use my embroidery machine to make initial-embroidered household items. It's a simple, easy gesture that would be worth a lot of money if done by a professional.
Personalize and send a free E-card instead of buying and mailing a card. Bake some cookies and put them in a gift box or gift bag, if you have one around. I'd wrap them in plastic or foil first. If you don't have any gift containers, you can just bag them up -even a plain brown lunch bag will work -and tie the bag with a ribbon.
A favor usually works out well. It could be house cleaning, babysitting, gardening - whatever you can think of or are good at really. Several years ago, my late brother did some household repairs for me in lieu of a Christmas gift and I was delighted. Having this stuff taken care of was a real weight off my shoulders and the feeling of relief was one of the best gifts anyone could have given me.
I think it's a great idea Denis. The sky really is the limit here because, like you said, everyone is good at something so 10 people will be good at 10 different things. We really should start putting more focus on this, and stop worrying about how not shopping for Christmas gifts will effect Wall Street. As if Wall Street has any effect on US anyway. I'm good at writing, so there's a gift I can give someone. Their resume, a term paper.......anything really.
Well, if you think about it, most gifts probably were gifts from the heart in the beginning. Online shopping wasn't always a thing. In fact, there weren't even always stores. People made each other clothes, scarves, blankets, food, furniture, and accessories. Stuff like that was a nice touch. I'd love to receive some nice, hand crafted items as gifts.
I would probably cook a meal for them as well. I've done this in the past for Fathers day with my dad. Instead of getting a gift card at some steakhouse, which would cost several times more because I would have to put enough on there for at least 4 people, otherwise he would feel guilty seeing everyone else pay while his meal is free - I would just pick up some fresh NY strip steaks or ribeyes from the local butcher, and bring over some other ingredients to make a couple side dishes as well. For less than what I would pay for one person at a good steak house, I can make a meal for all 5 of us and we don't have to be bothered with a busy restaurant, or slow service. Even if steak isn't in your budget, you can make plenty of restaurant quality meals out of budget ingredients too. A "sunday sauce" for example could be made out of inexpensive Italian sausage, home made meatballs, some beef or pork ribs, some cheap roast, etc... Or you could do some roasted pork loin (which is almost always on sale and super easy to cook), or even just butterfly some chicken breasts and lightly flour them, brown them in some oil, then cook in a basic wine/butter/lemon sauce. Or maybe make some home made ravioli or manicotti from scratch. a "birthday breakfast" would also be cheap too.
When I am broke and has nothing left for buying gifts, I would just probably write an IOU to my circle. I already did that when I got a job and I had no budget for gifts on the first Christmas. To avoid disappointments, I printed a cute card of IOU which said that my Christmas gift is kinda delayed because Santa had a flat tire. My Christmas gifts to them were delivered on the following summer.
There are pens that go on sale for .99 for 10 or 12 them, put a bow on each and you got 10 or 12 gifts. I've given a gift like this and people are tickled when they get it for everyone uses a pen and you remembered them. Crispy M&M's is on sale goes for 2/$1 and is just 100 calories; put a bow on it and a gift that makes the receiver smile. It really is the thought that counts and that you remembered them to give a gift to that matters. I've done both and people did react as I've written.
I like to make gift baskets, but you can even make some really inexpensive ones that still look nice to give as gifts when you're broke. One year, it was especially tight, because we were moving, and I still needed lots of gifts. I made up gift baskets including the bath set style ones that you see during the holidays. Even the cheap ones of those cost upwards of ten bucks, but I made all of mine for around half that price using pretty items I found at Dollar Tree.
Small gestures like baby sitting, dog walking, cleaning the house, cooking a meal are always appreciated as 'gifts'. I also think things that you put together yourself like a beautifully written poem, a thoughtfully put together playlist, a nicely framed photo or a nice collection of photos can really put a smile on someone's face. Sometimes people actually appreciate these types of gifts more, as they feel you took the time to give something of yourself.
A friend of mine will not be giving any gifts, and that's perfectly fine because I know he is saving up for a wedding, and likewise he wouldn't want me to put myself out if I was seriously stretched that far.
Offering a service is a great idea especially cooking or cleaning or taking a pet or a child out to give the parent a moment of time for themselves. People need a hand often like waiting for a repair person or dropping something off at the library or cleaners. So many ideas, pulling weeds, cutting the grass all of these services can be gifts.
I go to my local library and read the crafting books. You will be surprised by what you can make with everyday household items or with things that you can buy at the dollar tree. I have bought some pretty candles on clearance and gifted those. Food gifts are also great! I make candy or baked goods.
Gifts for kids are probably the easiest to come up with when you're broke, since most are easy to please. An assortment of art supplies such as crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, glitter glue, or stickers can make great gifts without costing a lot. This will provide the child with hours of fun for just a few dollars. I don't know any kids that don't enjoy some sort of coloring, drawing, painting, or crafting.
There are a lot of great ideas for inexpensive gifts already posted. I agree with homemade gifts to save money, also homemade gifts are more sentimental. Making a loved one their favorite meal, a plate of their favorite cookies or other dessert, homemade candy or baked goods are inexpensive and can be relatively easy to make. In fact, depending on which you choose to make, you might already have the ingredients in your pantry ready to use. Other homemade gifts that I have received from others and appreciated are homemade blankets, tote bags, and recipe mixes in jars. This year for Christmas, I plan to make homemade Christmas stockings out of an old red sweater, as well as t shirt art canvases. There are a lot of great ideas for homemade gifts on Pinterest!
