Xmas Gift Ideas: Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Smaller Budgets

Some people think that Christmas shopping for gifts on a small budget means they have to get everyone on their list the tackiest, cheapest looking gift available. There’s certainly a lot of junk being sold around Christmastime that caters to smaller budgets. However, just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to buy it.

With some thought and preplanning, you can actually find many inexpensive gift ideas that will make your recipients happy, as well as, your wallet. The first thing you want to think about is the people on your list. What types of items do they like?

Do they have any special hobbies or interests?

Most people do. If you know something about them, then you know that there’s something that they really enjoy doing. It could be eating, it could be exercising, it could be knitting, it could be watching their favorite show on TV, it could be baking, it could be telling jokes, it could be growing fresh vegetables in their home garden, etc.

Let’s take these examples and see what kind of gift ideas we can come up with that are cheap, but very thoughtful.

Gift Recipient #1 – he’s a food lover and enjoys chowing down on typical American style food. He loves steak and potatoes, fish and shrimp and has a sweet tooth for pies and cakes. A $15 - $20 gift certificate to a restaurant that serves his favorite food is a good choice. You could pick up a cake, pie or box of cupcakes at your local bakery. A $10 gift certificate from his local grocery store allows him to buy whatever he wants.

Gift Recipient #2 – she enjoys working out at home and has several pieces of exercise equipment and lots of workout DVDs. You could get her an environmentally friendly water bottle, a mini massager for tired muscles, a pedometer to measure walking steps or a CD with great dance music for her workouts.

Gift Recipient #3 – she’s a person who loves to bake all kinds of homemade goodies. She’s probably already got all kinds of bigger cooking gadgets, so focus on smaller things. You could get her a nice mixing bowl set, a cooking timer in a unique shape or an illustrated cookbook about baking a specific type of food.

Gift Recipient #4 – he loves telling corny jokes. Anything that makes this guy laugh is a good choice. A book of 101 jokes, a book on how to be a stand up comic, a 365 day humorous desk calendar or a DVD featuring his favorite comedian.

Gift Recipient #5 – she has a home garden and loves growing her own fresh tomatoes and other fresh vegetables. She may like a book of gardening tips, a gardening bucket or tool set or gardening knee pads.

Gift Recipient #6 – he’s hooked on a couple of popular TV shows. You can get him a DVD set of his favorite show, a t-shirt from his favorite show, a poster featuring a favorite show or snacks to munch on while watching the show.

Gift Recipient #7 – she loves to knit sweaters, scarves and blankets for friends and family. She would love reams of knitting yarn in various colors, knitting pattern books or a knitting needle kit.

As the above examples prove, an inexpensive gift can also be a special gift that the recipient really appreciates and will also enjoy using.