Most students are already home for winter break and starting to think about the holidays. This is the time of year to show your appreciation towards someone by getting them a thoughtful gift. Shopping for gifts can be overwhelming, though, especially if you're a broke college student. Luckily, there are many inexpensive and meaningful gifts to choose from if you're trying to work around a budget this year.
1. Picture Gifts
These can range from picture collages in a frame to custom photo mugs, depending on how much you're willing to spend. If you really want to get creative, try gathering pictures of yourself and the other person from major events in that person's life and make a scrapbook. For example, their 21st birthday, high school or college graduation, or the first time you two exchanged gifts during the holidays. If this is for a family member, then take pictures from family functions. Either way, this is a great gift to show someone you value every memory you both share and thought they might too.
2. Giftsets
Although they aren't sentimental, giftsets are great for the holidays and you can't really go wrong with these. There is such a large variety to choose from, so it makes gift giving easier because there is a giftset for just about anyone. For those who want to spend a little more, you can get perfume or cologne giftsets. If the person you're buying a gift for loves food, grab them a chocolate giftset, or maybe a fruit basket. Some people worry that giftsets just don't look thoughtful, but there's a easy quick fix for that. You can always buy a bath and body giftset for around $5 to $10, take the products out of the box, put the products in a nice basket, decorate it, and wrap it up. This way it looks like you made the gift basket from scratch and put more thought into the gift.
3. Give Them The Day Off
If you really don't have any money to spend, give your family member the day off. Offer to do all the cooking, cleaning, driving around, running errands, shoveling snow, taking care of the pets, etc., for that person. Relaxation can be a great gift for someone who practically acts like the Energizer Bunny; plus, this shows how grateful you are for all that person does in your life by giving them the day off.
4. Get Crafty
Anyone can buy someone a gift, but creating something with your own hands shows that you care about that person enough to give up your time and energy making them something nice. If you're feeling crafty, try making a snow globe for a family member or friend. All you need is a jar, a hot-glue gun, decorations, water, and glitter. Use the jar lid as your base, and glue whatever decorations you want onto it. Fill up the jar with water and glitter, then close the lid tightly so none of the water leaks out.
5. Burn A CD/DVD
Since when did a CD/DVD go out of style as a gift option? Burning a disc for someone can be a great gift, considering you can burn them a music album, computer or video game, or even a movie. Of course many people can just download music or movies nowadays, but it's nicer to have a disc. This way the person doesn't have to worry about accidentally downloading a virus on their computer or wait for the movie to buffer. Giving a CD/DVD as a gift is really worth it, and if you already have the disc of their favorite game or album, it won't even cost you anything to burn them a copy.
This is the time of year when family and friends come together to create lasting memories and reminisce on old ones. You don't need a lot of money to give someone a great gift for the holidays. It's not about how much money you spend on someone; it's about how much thought you put into their gift.