It’s never too early to start planning for the holiday season. Christmas is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. If you wait until the last minute and buy all your gifts at the mall a week before December 25th, you will end up paying more than necessary.
However, if you take the time to make your own gifts or research cheap store bought gifts, you can save your bank account some agony. In this guide, we’ll give you plenty of cheap Christmas gifts ideas for everyone in your life. You’ll become an expert in finding Christmas gifts for women and Christmas gifts for men on your shopping list.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Gift Ideas
A great way to give gifts without breaking the bank is with homemade gifts. Often, DIY gifts are perceived as thoughtful and sentimental. Anybody can go to the store and buy something, but taking the time to make a gift shows people how much you care about them.
Some of these ideas may be time-consuming, but if you are a creative person that enjoys arts and crafts you will have fun putting these presents together.
For Your Spouse
Homemade Cologne is a great Christmas gift for men. It’s a quick and simple process that you can create with ingredients found in your kitchen. There are plenty online instructions that involve different combinations of essential oils and rubbing alcohol or vodka mixed in a spray bottle. You can experiment with different formulas and give your husband a few different bottles.
A customized deck of cards is another great option for a sentimental Christmas gift. You can customize these cards by printing photos on them, drawing pictures, or include any other design that your spouse enjoys. The materials are inexpensive, and the creative design options are seemingly endless.
Handcrafted jewelry boxes are an inexpensive and thoughtful Christmas gift for women. Giving your wife a jewelry box that you constructed will show her how much you care about her. If you are handy, try making the box out of wood. You can choose the dimensions, sand it down, and stain it to an appropriate color. Engrave her name, your initials, or something else meaningful into the box as well.
You can also make your wife something to go inside the jewelry box. DIY jewelry is another cheap gift idea. Your wife will be happy to wear your handmade gift and feel special every time that she puts it on. Necklaces, bracelets, and rings are all options for homemade jewelry.
For Your Kids
If you have young kids, you can make homemade play dough from scratch. All you need is flour, water, sea salt, and food coloring. These ingredients are cheap, and likely already in your kitchen cabinets. If you properly follow instructions, your kids will not know the difference between your play dough and store bought play dough.
Kids love sweets. Give your children some homemade candy or even a s’mores kit. Your children will have a great time roasting marshmallows and making sandwiches with graham crackers and chocolate thanks to your gift. It’s also an excuse for a fun family activity and bonding time.
If you are especially creative, try making your kids a DIY beanbag chair. They will love using it to relax around the house, watch TV, or play video games while sitting on their new chair. Although making a chair may sound like a bit of a project, it’s not super difficult, and all the materials are inexpensive.
Another option is a homemade cell phone case. You can customize these cases with color schemes and patterns that match your kid’s interest. Try including some logos from their favorite sports teams or music artists as well. Make a few different phone cases, so your children have options for different days of the week.
For Parents
Regardless of your age, your parents will always love seeing a photo collage or photo album. Get together your favorite family photos of your parents. Include everything from events and family vacations to candid photos around the house. Your mother and father will enjoy their photo collage for decades to come.
You can also make customized towels or decorative pillows for your parents. Put their names or initials on a set of towels and screen print a family photo on a pillow for their living room or bedroom. Family pets are another great idea for screen-printed designs on a customized pillow.
Painted mugs or glassware is a cheap gift idea for Mom and Dad as well. Your father can sip his morning coffee in a customized mug that you created. Mom can drink her evening glass of wine in a pained glass with sentimental meaning. Your parents will love taking these homemade gifts out anytime they have company over the house.
Try making your parents Christmas ornaments for their tree. Each Christmas while they decorate the tree they will constantly be reminded of your gift and generosity. Make two customized ornaments, one for your Mom and one for your Dad.
Homemade soap is another fun and cheap gift idea for your parents. There are different recipes you can follow based on the type and scent of soap you are looking for. Your parents will love putting these gifts in the bathrooms around their house.
For Friends/Anyone
If you and your friends exchange gifts every year, you shouldn’t have to break the bank. Try giving them something thoughtful and creative that they can enjoy, such as infused vodka. All you need is a bottle of vodka and varying fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, or watermelon. Infused vodka is a hit at any party, and your friends can start indulging as soon as they receive it.
If your friend has a dog or cat, you can give them pet food as a cheap gift. You don’t need to spend lots of money on pet food; you can make food at home by following recipe guidelines with food around your house. Also, check out How to Save Money by Spending Less for other pointers and tips while shopping and making gifts.
Pet food is not the only edible gift choice for your friends. Preparing lunch, dinner, or dessert for a friend or group of people is a great cheap gift idea. You’ll also get to enjoy the meal yourself.
A creative approach to a cheap DIY gift is a painting or sculpture. If you have an artistic background, give your friends a gift that cannot be replicated. An original piece of art is something they can proudly display in their home and keep for a lifetime.
Store Bought Gift Ideas
Not everyone has time to spend hours making a gift for their family and friends. For those of you that would rather buy something without spending lots of money, there are loads of options for cheap store bought gifts.
Cheap Clothing
People love getting clothes as a gift. There is no reason for you to have to spend $50 on t-shirts or hundreds of dollars on jeans as a gift. We’ll help you find stores, websites, and brands that offer affordable clothing you can buy as a Christmas present.
Forever 21 has store locations across the country and has a virtual shopping experience through their website. Although they have a men’s section, Forever 21 is primarily targets women’s fashion. They have a large selection for teens, young adults, mature women, and plus-sized women as well.
10 Dollar Mall is a website where everything costs less than $10. Again, this is another platform that primarily targets women. They have everything including sweaters, cardigans, blouses, body suits, blazers, shorts, leggings, and rompers. 10 Dollar Mall also has lots of sales up to 20% off items, so you’ll likely spend less than $10 per piece.
Old Navy has clothing for men, women, and children. Their diverse selection makes them a top choice for doing all your shopping in one place. You will be able to find something for your kids, parents, and friends all in one place. Old Navy has store locations nationwide and an online store through their website.
In addition to these companies, some other places to look for cheap clothes include Mad Deals, Styles for Less, Rue 21, Deb, Asos, Sammy Dress, Urban Original, Boohoo, Amazon, Topman, Zara, H&M, River Island, Target, and Necessary Clothing. These websites all have a wide array of gift options.
Affordable Jewelry
Jewelry is another popular gift choice. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on diamonds and gold to get someone a gift. There are plenty of affordable website brands that offer discounted high quality jewelry.
Mejuri has rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. They manufacture their products in Toronto, Canada, and Seoul, South Korea. Their jewelry is made by hand with, which results in high quality and care. All of their pricing is reasonable as well.
Bella Hadid is an American model known in the fashion industry. She also has her own jewelry line. Bella and her sister Gigi have a website to distribute their clothing line as well as custom jewelry. Their products are affordable and make a great gift.
Wanderlust jewelry is trendy and inexpensive. Most of their products are geared towards women. Their most popular items include rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Check out their online website for unique gift ideas.
Stella and Bow has been featured in People Magazine, Vogue, Who What Wear, and the Hollywood Reporter. In addition to conventional jewelry choices, Stella and Bow also has hip and stylish chokers.
Other companies that have cheap jewelry include Baublebar, Mango, Bronzallure, Shashi, Gorjana, Laura Lombardi Jewelry, Clover Post, Jules Smith, Kenneth Jay Lane, Theodora Warre, Maria Black, Vanessa Mooney, Big Bang NYC, Jane Stone, and Sugar Bean Jewelry.
Cheap Appliances
Appliances are practical gifts that will get used almost daily in every household. If you know your loved ones have a broken appliance or need an upgrade, you can help them out around the holidays. Although most appliances aren’t as cheap as a $10 t-shirt, you can still find high quality products at an affordable price if you buy from the right brands.
KitchenAid has a wide range of products from coffee makers to dishwashers. They have countertop appliances such as blenders, microwave ovens, toasters, food processors, hand mixers, blenders, and slow cookers. Kitchen Aid also has major appliances like refrigerators, wall ovens, cooktop stoves, grills, and water filters.
Another popular and reputable company is Electrolux. Electrolux sells laundry equipment such as washers and dryers at an affordable price. They also are known for their high-quality vacuum cleaners, filters, and other accessories.
SpeedQueen, LG, Whirlpool, and GE are some other companies that manufacture high quality washing machines and dryers. These brands have other household appliances that make great Christmas gifts as well. Other affordable brands include Bosch, Samsung, Wolf, Maytag, Viking, and U-Line.
Cheap Technology/Electronics
Kids and adults are both intrigued by the latest technology and electronics. Cell phones, tablets, mp3 players, Bluetooth headsets, and speakers are all thoughtful gift ideas. You don’t have to pay unrealistic prices for big name brands. There are plenty of websites that have high quality electronics from lesser-known brands. These products work just as well, if not better than name brands.
The TechBargains website sells laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, televisions, and accessories. They have smart TVs as well with new technology and applications automatically built in. TechBargains also sells components such as power supplies, memory, and video cards for the technology experts on your Christmas shopping list.
Microcenter specializes in laptop computers and desktop computers. They also have all the computer accessories that you could imagine. Microcenter sells PC and Mac products, so you’ll have options based on the personal preference of whomever you shop for. If the person on your shopping list has an iPhone, you can find an Apple product that is compatible with their device.
Some other companies that offer discounted electronics for gifts include Sick Deals, Ben’s Bargains, Deal News, Deals Plus, Deal Catcher, and Fat Wallet.
