The Saving Advice Forums - A classic personal finance community.

Quality Inexpensive Gift Ideas

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
Collapse
Forum Posts
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Quality Inexpensive Gift Ideas

    Just because a gift doesn't cost a lot of money doesn't mean that it's cheap. There are a lot of quality gifts that you can give that won't burn a hole in your pocket. In fact, taking the time to plan and give from the heart instead of something hurriedly purchased at the store will likely produce a gift that is much more appreciated. Here are some quality, yet inexpensive gift ideas for any gift giving occasion:

    Memory Jar - Simply find a nice jar and cut different colored paper into small, note-sized pieces. Write a single memory you have had with that particular person on each sheet and place it in the jar. Continue doing this until the jar is full. Add a nice ribbon around the jar and you have a wonderful jar of memories to give.

    Letter In A Bottle - This gift is actually a mutual activity that you do together as part of the gift. All you need is an old wine bottle that has a cork and a few pieces of nice stationery wrapped in a box. When the recipient opens the gift, you explain that you will write a letter, place it in the wine bottle and cast it off together into the sea. You can write whatever the two of you desire, but you should make sure that you enclose an address so that if someone does find it, they can get in contact with you. To make it a really special gift, you can have a free personalized bottle label made to stick on the outside of the bottle.

    Organize A Scrap Book - Chances are that you have a lot of photos, souvenirs and other items from the past sitting in a drawer somewhere in your house waiting to be sorted. If you do, you have yourself an instant gift ready to be made. Simply go through the drawer taking out the photos and other items that apply to the person you need to give a gift to. Arrange everything how you like adding your comments to each page and you turn the items that were gathering dust into a memory album that will be cherished.

    Sample Basket - A good friend of mine makes sample baskets every year and I know from conversations with those who receive them that they are one of the most highly anticipated gifts received each year. The best part is they are practically free to make. My friend loves to apply for freebie offers and does so whenever she can. She then takes the freebies she receives and arranges them into sample baskets to give away as gifts. The sample baskets are always loaded with all kinds of interesting items and the only cost is the basket that they are displayed in.

    <script type="text/javascript">google_ad_client = "pub-8949118578199171";google_ad_width = 728;google_ad_height = 90;google_ad_format = "728x90_as";google_ad_channel ="";google_color_border = "EAEAEA";google_color_bg = "EAEAEA";google_color_link = "4271B5";google_color_url = "99CC66";google_color_text = "000000";</script>
    <center><script type="text/javascript"src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></center>

    Future - Give a gift of the person's future in your own unique way. First, get on your computer and write the recipient's future fortunes on fortune cookie size paper. Be creative and fun and make them so that the person who receives them knows that they could only come from you. Then bake up a special batch of <A HREF="http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,fortune_cookies,FF.html">fortune cookies</A> as a gift. If you are not the baking type, it's also possible to buy a bag of pre-made fortune cookies, take out the original fortunes with a pair of tweezers and then insert your own fortunes. Either way, you have a truly personalized gift that will be remembered for a long time.

    <b>I Love You</b> - A simple gift that says it all is to tell your significant other "I Love You." Instead of saying it once in English, however, say <A HREF="http://www.galactic-guide.com/articles/2R95.html">"I love you" in over 50 languages</A>.

    Your Time - There probably isn't a greater gift that you can give to someone than your time. Doing so is quite simple by creating a coupon book. A coupon for a 30 minute back rub will always be highly regarded. Add in coupons for a walk in the woods, a day at the beach, a game of tennis, a visit to a favorite museum, a picnic lunch or any other activity that the recipient would enjoy and you have given a wonderful gift at practically no cost.

  • #2
    Re: Quality Inexpensive Gift Ideas

    Good ideas for some great gifts. Also, for gifts that need to be wrapped, rather than buying expensive, one time wrapping paper, you can make your own gift bags.

    I can remember my mother saving wrapping paper to reuse. However, I can also remember that when she went to reuse the paper, it was wrinkled and torn. Recently a friend of ours gave us a gift that she put in a cloth gift bag that she had made. The cloth gift bag is great; we can recycle it over and over again. If it gets dirty or wrinkled, we can wash it, and it is like new again. After talking with my friend, I decided to make one of these cloth bags. It was so simple, and easy to make.


    · You can use any material that you have (we found cotton material works great). You can use scrap material, or recycled material.


    · Depending on the size of bag that you need, take your material and cut it in one long strip. Fold the material over once, and that will be the size of your bag. If you want a smaller bag, then just reduce the amount of material.

    · With the material folded, sew a seam about 1 inch where the top of the bag will be. This seam will be where you will use yarn, ribbon, or string to put in a tie to close the bag.

    · Then, turning the material inside out, iron the seams (about ½ inch) on the sides. Then sew up the seams on both sides to just below where your bag will tie.

    · Using a safety pin, pin your yarn, ribbon or string, and pull it through the top of the bag.


    The bag is now complete. Those people that we have given the bags to think they are just great. It is a wonderful way to recycle and reuse. Plus, if you use old material rather than buying wrapping paper, you will end up saving money!

    These cloth gift bags are so simple to make, yet so practical to use!

    Cathy

    Comment


    • #3
      I love the memory jar idea! Definitely great for friends, especially ones you haven't seen in a while.

      Comment


      • #4
        I am thinking of all the unredeemed coupons my kids gave me over the years. "Rake the Lawn"- try getting that one redeemed! lol

        Comment


        • #5
          I went out and bought a couple of those silicone ice trays with different molds - do you think that Plaster of Paris casting of 'My Little Pony', 'Hello, Kitty', and teen-aged mutant ninja turtles would be stocking stuffers for neighbor kids? I have tons of them.\

          Any suggestions of something else I could use as a mold that is not too cheap and easily turned out.?
          I YQ YQ R

          Comment


          • #6
            I think those would be great, GrimJack, especially if the plaster of Paris can be painted or inked with marker by the kids.
            "There is some ontological doubt as to whether it may even be possible in principle to nail down these things in the universe we're given to study." --text msg from my kid

            "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." --Frederick Douglass

            Comment

            Working...