We are a fairly sociable couple, and our families are a decent size too. I’m not bragging, I’m just making the point that we have a large number of people in our circle, because it’s pertinent to what I am writing about today: inexpensive gifts that still feel special. Otherwise known as the Holy Grail. Or unicorn gifts. Or something like that. Probably.
My point is, we have a lot of birthdays and anniversaries to buy for (and remember!), not to mention Christmas ewhich comes around like an explosion in my bank account each year. So we have had to get pretty good at buying gifts that are cheap enough to keep us in baked beans, but thoughtful enough to still feel like a gift and not an insult.
That’s a skill a lot of people could do with learning nowadays, thanks to the cost of living, so hopefully I can help at least a few of you out with this one!
The good news is that gifts don’t have to be expensive to feel special. In fact, some of my favourite gifts have been inexpensive but perfect for me in that moment. It’s all about buying the right gift for the right person at the right time. Here’s how.
Make it Personal, Not Pricey
So far so generic, but hear me out.
The gifts we remember are rarely the most costly, but the ones that make us feel known, valued, or understood. Now, it’s hard to offer specifics here because the right gift will be unique to the receiver, but I once bought my fella a really well made corkscrew and bottle opener because he likes posh beer and good wine (and cheap chicks 😂). Even today, he still tells me how much he enjoys using it every time he opens a beer.
Literally. Every. Time.
It didn’t cost a lot, but it was a top quality version of a cheap item, and it was the perfect little gadget for him. So sometimes, you can think small instead of big and get the best available version of a cheap item, still not spend a lot, and win at gifting.
Another approach is to make something. I created a Spotify playlist for one of my best friend’s when she turned 40. It followed the journey of our friendship from junior school to now, and I also had someone on Fiverr create a little video that mashed them all together and played them alongside photos of us and the places we used to hang out. She was in bits.
For my Dad one year, I created an artsy list of my favourite memories of him and me. “Remember when we won the Daddy/Daughter race at school.” “Remember when we danced at my wedding.” It had little sketches and I used a calligraphy tool to make the writing look nice, then stuck it in a frame. It took time, but it didn’t cost money.
If you want something for grandparents from the kids, just get the kid to make it. Almost anything will do. Grandparents melt faster than an ice cream in July if you give them something made by tiny hands!
A Little Effort Saves a Lot of Money
Along the same lines, you can make something yourself, and even if it isn’t personal or meaningful, it will still feel more thoughtful than a shop bought equivalent.
A lady from my choir makes her Dad a massive lasagne every year on his birthday. He can’t cook and it’s her special recipe, so it’s his favourite meal in the world. She cooks a huge dish of it then portions it out so he can have some on his birthday then freeze the rest for the following few weeks. He looks forward to it all year. How lovely is that?
I’m not saying you should start gifting lasagne left, right, and centre, but maybe there is something else you can put together for someone. An afternoon tea. A posh continental breakfast basket. Loads of different individual teas and coffees with some home made biscuits. Homemade sourdough. There are no rules, it’s all based on the person you’re ‘buying’ for.
One of my tricks is I make my own homemade bath salts. I rescue empty jars of jam (or whatever) from the recycling, clean them out, then add some Epsom salt, some lavender or other herbs, some combination of essential oils, and voila! Tie a pretty ribbon around the lid, write “Calm in a Jar” on the tag, and you have a lovely homemade spa session.
I have friends who still live down South, and for a while. whenever we visited one another, we brought something homemade. Sweet or savoury, it didn’t matter, it just had to be something new, and it had to include the recipe. Then the other person could make it themselves if they enjoyed it. Yes, we could have just text the recipes to each other, but this made it feel like it was special. Like it was a gift.
You could make a candle, or crochet or knit something too if you are able. I’m useless at stuff like that but I would love to be on the receiving end of a home made blanket 🥰
Experience Based
No I’m not talking about those rubbish mystery experience days your mother in law keeps buying you event though you never use them. If you want something that feels special, you need to arrange it yourself. Again, you need to think about the person you are ‘buying’ for and do something for them.
My fella had a brilliant idea for one of our friends. He genuinely surprised me with this because he is usually rubbish at gifts, I was speechless for a few seconds 😲 Our friend is single, is no good at DIY, and has a house full of problems. Not serious stuff like a leaking roof, but dripping taps, doors that stick, a towel rail hanging off the wall, that sort of thing. My man suggested I take her out for the day while the kids were at school, and he would go round her house and fix everything – what a brilliant idea! He managed to ruin it a bit with his phrasing: “Why don’t you take her shopping and for a brew or whatever girl stuff you like doing, and I’ll go round a fix anything that pi**es her off”
Charming. But what a birthday present. So if there is a skill you have that someone else might appreciate, wrap it up in tissue paper and give it as a gift.
IOU vouchers are always a good one if you get the right thing. A lie in, a date night, a massage, a home cinema date, babysitting tokens, whatever you think the person might like the most within the realms of what you can afford. You can add to them as well so they are a bit more special.
A movie night at home with posh popcorn, hot dogs, and cheesy nachos costs maybe a tenner, but if your other half loves movies and you let them pick the film, that’s a lovely evening for them. Maybe the lie in could be accompanied by a small gift (a book for bedtime reading or a new scented eye mask), followed by their favourite cooked breakfast and you clean the house while they are sleeping. An extra 90 minutes in bed is lush, but waking up to the smell of scrambled eggs and avocado on toast, freshly brewed coffee, and a clean smelling living room? That’s an experience.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully this has helped you begin to think differently about the way you give gifts. It’s so easy to log onto Amazon when present shopping, but often, being a bit more creative will result in a much better gift.
Oh, and if you end up giving something physical rather than experience based, here’s a final tip: fancy wrapping adds a good 20% to how special something feels. Keep any nice boxes when you buy things and have a handy stash of colourful tissue paper handy and you’re onto a winner.
At the end of the day, a truly great gift is not about the money spent on it, but the time and thought put into it. So if your budget is stretched and you need inexpensive gifts that still feel special, sitting down to have a think about what someone might really appreciate will usually pay off, both in how hard the gift hits, and how much money it saves you!