Luckily you don’t have to break the bank to find a meaningful gift that your friends and loved ones will enjoy.
Every year, the average person is spending approximately $1000 for gifts during the holiday season alone. Then throughout the year there are birthdays, baby showers, weddings, graduations, housewarmings, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Days – and more. You want to acknowledge each of these wonderful events with a great gift, but the spending can get out of control. And the reality is that an expensive gift is not necessarily one that will have the greatest meaning to the recipient.
Luckily you don’t have to break the bank to find a meaningful gift that your friends and loved ones will enjoy. Many times an inexpensive, yet thoughtful gift is the one that is cherished the most. Keep these ten low-cost, meaningful ideas in mind next time you need to find just the right gift:
1. Baked and Other Homemade Goodies
The holiday season warrants some of the best baked goods of the year from gingerbread and yule log cake, to rugelach and linzer cookies. These holiday treats make for a thoughtful gift that’s great for your parents, grandparents, teachers, or holiday party hosts. Baked goods at any time of year are a low-cost gift with simple ingredients like flour, eggs, and butter that go a long way, so you get the best bang for your buck.
Prefer cooking over baking? How about giving a reusable container of your homemade chicken soup – and a handwritten copy of the recipe – as a housewarming gift for your niece or nephew’s first apartment? They’ll appreciate the homemade dinner now and the opportunity to try their hand at replicating it later.
2. Shared time and experiences
When it comes to your loved ones, memories of time spent together are more valuable than any tangible gift. Take your grandparents out to dinner, go ice skating with your niece or nephew, or be a tourist in your own city with your partner. Capture a moment (or two!) with your phone/camera. Opting for an experience over a physical gift may not only save you money, but the shared memory of your time together will last forever.
3. Family heirloom
Does your teenage daughter look forward to those “special occasions” when she gets to wear the pearl earrings you got from your grandmother? Give them to her for her next birthday or high school graduation. Items you have like family photo albums, jewelry, watches, dishes, furniture or artwork are great gift ideas that cost nothing, but can have so much meaning. Are there stories that go with the items about who it belonged to or how it came to become a “family heirloom”? Document that for the recipient. Family heirlooms make for the perfect low-cost gift and can be passed down for generations to come; they are truly the gift that keeps on giving.
