The holiday gift season is fast approaching. With it comes packed malls and rabid consumerism. Somewhere along the way we've lost touch with the real spirit of giving. You shouldn't have to break the bank to show someone you care about them. Also, this is the one time of year when you can give a gift to someone without it being too weird. Gift giving is an awesome way to strengthen a relationship, even the smallest gestures can result in huge dividends.
Here are the top 4 ways of giving this season while staying within your budget:
1) Regift
Regifting is a great way of purging unnecessary stuff from your life, creating space and at the same time giving somebody something they may want or need. One of my favourite regifting ideas is to give away books you've already read. If you've discussed the book with someone than it becomes an excellent gift idea. A great way of personalizing the gift is to write a brief message inside the book.
Here are the top 4 ways of giving this season while staying within your budget:
1) Regift
Regifting is a great way of purging unnecessary stuff from your life, creating space and at the same time giving somebody something they may want or need. One of my favourite regifting ideas is to give away books you've already read. If you've discussed the book with someone than it becomes an excellent gift idea. A great way of personalizing the gift is to write a brief message inside the book.
2) Make Something
4) Donate to Charity in Someone's Name
Making someone a card or something artistic can be a great gift idea (painting, sculpture, pottery, etc...). Even writing someone a song if you're a musician can be a great gift. If you're a great cook or just want to practice a new recipe, making a great meal for friends is a great holiday crowd pleaser.
3) Provide a Service
For those of you who are professionals or trades persons with skills such as hair dressing, repairing cars or carpentry. You can give friends and family a free hair styling session, do a check up on a friend's vehicle, or fix something around their house. Hiring a professional to do this work can cost people a fortune. If you know how to do these things, you can save your friends and family a ton of time and money.
For those of you who are professionals or trades persons with skills such as hair dressing, repairing cars or carpentry. You can give friends and family a free hair styling session, do a check up on a friend's vehicle, or fix something around their house. Hiring a professional to do this work can cost people a fortune. If you know how to do these things, you can save your friends and family a ton of time and money.
4) Donate to Charity in Someone's Name
This is a great gift for the person who has everything. I find parents are especially difficult to buy for. A small donation in their name to a charitable organization is always a great gift. My personal favourite is the Heart and Stroke Calender lottery. This is a triple wammy of a gift. Firstly, it's practical because it's a calender. Secondly, the receiver of the gift gets a chance to win cash everyday of the year (giving them a reason to wake up every morning). Thirdly, it's a donation to a very reputable charity. Here's a link if you're interested:
If you have any interesting inexpensive gift ideas please feel free to leave a comment.
Happy holidays and keep on savin'.
