Christmas time is one of the most joyous times of the year at our house, but if you’re not careful it can also be one of the most expensive times of year. If you’re trying to cut down on spending, like we are at our house, it can become a challenge to find creative gifts to give.
Today I thought I would try to put together a list of ideas for some good frugal gifts that you can give this Christmas. (The frugality of the gifts vary from gift to gift, but I’ve linked some possibilities on Amazon. You can probably find some cheaper ways to put these things together yourself if you try.)
50 Frugal Gifts
- Baked goods: I don’t know any guy who wouldn’t love to get a box full of cookies, banana bread and pastries! (Hint: not good for someone on a diet)
- If you’ve got an old laptop, make a frugal digital picture frame out of it!: At 14-15″ it’ll be bigger than most you buy at the stores, and cheaper since you’ll be using old parts!
- Personalized Calendars: Most photo processing places will have these personalized calendars you can buy, or pick up pre-made ones in Target’s dollar bins. Get photos of you and the person you’re giving the gift to in each season, and place them in the appropriate month/season of the year!
- Themed gift baskets: Give a themed gift basket. For example, a movie night theme basket with microwave popcorn, a movie or two, and some cheapo popcorn buckets from Target dollar bin.
- Custom t-shirts: Create your own custom t-shirt for a family member on Cafepress. It’s cheaper than you might think!
- Scrapbooks: Make a scrapbook for a close friend showng moments you’ve shared together. My wife did this for a friend’s wedding. Very meaningful.
- Donation to a local charity: Give to a local charity in someone’s name. Make sure it’s a charity that they would actually give to.
- Handmade Christmas ornaments: make personalized Christmas ornaments for your friends and family!
- Board Games: buy a board game, a gift that gets the family together and keeps on giving all year long! Even better, if you can find some board games at garage sales or on ebay, create a themed game night gift basket (see above)!
- Family history DVD: Put together a family history DVD with photos, writtten family histories, video and anything else you can think of.
- Framed family picture: Take a picture at a family event, frame it, and give it as a gift!
- Coupon Books: Make a personalized coupon book with such favorite coupons as “back rub”, “dinner” or “clean the house”.
- Make a blanket: make a nice fleece blanket. Instructions here.
- Make some custom painted wine glasses: Make some custom painted wine glasses, and then give them along with a bottle of wine. Instructions here.
- Give a magazine subscription: My brother loves reading National Geographic and the Economist. We gave him subscriptions as a gift.
- Romantic evening gift set: Candles and fake flower petals! Cheap and fun!
- Keeping warm gift set: Give a gift set of hat, scarf and gloves. Add long underwear as well if you wish!
- Leatherbound journal: buy a nice leatherbound journal at your local Borders or Barnes and Noble. They make for a nice gift. Add a nice pen if you want to pay a little more.
- Craft Kit: Put together a crafting kit with things like markers, glitter, scissors, clay, crayons, glue, paper, etc.
- Photo Collage: If you’re handy with Photoshop or another image editing software, create a photo collage/montage, print it out and frame it! Or if you don’t have Photoshop, print separate pictures and create a collage.
- Movie Tickets: Buy a pair of movie passes or a movie gift card for someone to go see a movie. Not as cheap as it used to be
. - Buy a single stock: Buy a family member a single stock to get them started, and give them a copy of a finance book like Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (although you may want to stress that you’re giving it because it has helped you. People can get touchy about money related gifts)
- Flannel Sheets and PJs: Buy a keeping comfy gift pack with flannel sheets and pajamas!
- Coffee Lovers Gift Pack: Buy some gourmet coffee and a personalized coffee cup for the coffee lover on your list.
- Set of soaps, towels and soap dish: Put together a nice matching set of hand towel and soap dish, and then give some handmade soaps.
- Big breakfast gift pack: Put together a gift pack with pancake mix, batter dispenser, syrup and pancake mix-ins.
- Puzzle day: Give a gift pack of a puzzle and snacks to eat while you do the puzzle!
- BBQ Kit: Get some BBQ sauce from local source, and add it to a nice BBQ Utensil kit.
- Basket of spices and seasonings: Put together a basket of seasonings and spices from a local spice or grocery store. Make sure to get a good mix for cooking, BBQs, etc.
- Netflix subscription: Pay for someone to have netflix for a couple of months. If they have a connected device, they can even stream movies!
- Deck of cards and book of card games: Buy a cheap pack of cards, and a book listing the rules of different card games. Good for hours of fun!
- Cheap keychain digital picture viewer: Buy someone a cheap digital picture viewer keychain (around $20?) and fill it with pictures.
- Bath time gift pack: Buy a nice wash clothe, some bath oils/beads and even some lotions at your local bath store.
- Mix tape: Make a mix CD from Itunes with some of the person’s favorite music on it.
- Botanicals: buy a nice low maintenance plant to brighten up their day, along with a small watering can.
- Make a recipe box: If you’re good with wood, make a nice recipe box, and fill it with blank recipe cards.
- An appreciation book: Get a nice journal, and write in it to the person about how much you appreciate them, things you love about them, shared moments and experiences and general encouragement. Even add a few photos.
- Book gift pack: Find some books on your own shelf that you’ve already read, and put together a gift pack of books
- Chocolate attack!: Put together a gift pack with all kinds of chocolate. Hot chocolate, chocolate bars, truffles, etc.
- Car wash kit: Put together a kit for washing the car. Can include things like sponge, tire brush, bug remover, car soap, etc.
- Regifted items: Did you get a 2nd crock pot last Christmas that you haven’t used? Give it away this Christmas (to someone other than who you received it from)
- “That’s a spicy meatball” gift pack: Give them a nice italian dinner with a pasta bowl, pasta, strainer, fancy olive oil, pasta utensils and even some sauce.
- Give your service: Good at cooking? Offer to come over and cook a gourment meal. Are you a designer? Offer your design services for free. Good with computers? Offer free tech support. You get the idea.
- Wine and cheese gift pack: Buy a variety of specialty cheeses, crackers and a bottle of wine. Put it together and you have one gourment evening!
- Picnic pack: Put together a picnic pack with a blanket, a basket, some cheap utensils and plates.
- Sewing Kit & lessons: put together all the sewing essentials (thread, needles, pins, etc) and then give the person lessons on how to sew.
- Gardening gift pack: Buy the person gardening gloves, gardening tools and some seeds. Put them all in a small bucket or waterging can.
- Handmade jewelry: Make a handmade necklace or bracelet at a local bead or craft store. Give it as a meaningful gift.
- Music lover’s delight: give an itunes gift card, along with a book about their favorite artist or band
- Beer afficionado gift pack: Give a beer mug, snacks and gift card from a local brew pub.
Now that I’ve given you some ideas for some frugal Christmas gifts, why don’t you give us your own ideas! Leave a comment with your idea for a good frugal Christmas gift below!
More Ideas
50 ideas not enough? Here’s some more ideas for a frugal Christmas!
- Frugal Gift Ideas @ beingfrugal.net
- Books to give for the holidays @ moneyning.com
- Frugal Holiday Gift Ideas @ frugaldad.com
- 5 Gifts That Will Bring Your Family Together @ ptmoney.com
- Netbook Computers: The Frugal Laptop Alternative That Won't Break The Bank
- Summer Savings Series #1: Food Is A Big Expense. How Can You Save?
- Nuru Personal Finance Flash Cards: Review and Giveaway
- Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps By The Numbers: Getting Started
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This is a great list – so comprehensive! There’s something for everyone here!
Thanks!
Some great gift ideas. I am a fan of the baked goods. For me. Also, books are a great frugal gift. Paperbacks can be had rather inexpensively, and if you go to a used book store, you can get some in good condition for cheap.
Mirandas last blog post..5 Tips for Dealing with Anxiety Brought on by the Economy
Awesome list!
FFBs last blog post..Personal Finance Books For The Holidays
Great list, Pete. Something here for everyone. Thanks for sharing my post as well. Happy Holidays!
@ptmoneys last blog post..ptmoney: 5 Gifts That Will Bring Your Family Together This Christmas: Is your family in need of more quality time? Here a.. http://tinyurl.com/6ek74s
Great ideas! My two favorites were the puzzle and snack pack idea and the deck of cards with a book on playing cards! Great ideas for grandparents to give to families or to the grandkids. And lots of fun to play with them after the gift
I’ll be saving this list! Thanks 
Kayes last blog post..…To Grandmother’s House We Go
I got a subscription to National Geographic last year for Christmas and I loved it! I hope someone does the same for me this year.
Jeff@MySuperChargedLifes last blog post..Personal Finance Budgeting Priorities In An Income Crisis
Great list! Really love the BBQ kit idea… sent BBQ items to my dad this year, but went thru online BBQ company… definitely not as frugal as your idea!
Kristine@EbizTaxTipss last blog post..Max Out Your Retirement Plan (Year-End Tax Tips)
For beer lovers out there, another thing to add would be Beer of the month club.
http://www.amazingclubs.com/beer.html
Pete,
thanks for putting all the time into this! Great list, this is really valuable in this economy!
ChristianPFs last blog post..National City offers $150 gift card to open a checking account
Awesome list of ideas. I made this list of cool cheap christmas gifts I found while browsing the net. They’re all less than $20. http://www.redux.com/playlist/cheap_christmas_gift_ideas_20
i love the picnic pack idea!
i went the board game route this year with my family though. i love sharing my favorite games with them.
I love number 7 – donate to a charity in someone’s name.
My fiance and I do this for each other every year and this type of gift giving has become a very special holiday tradition for us.
Jason from Money Theorys last blog post..It’s all about the food choices we make!
StoryCorps, the largest nonprofit national oral history project, has some great meaningful gift ideas. Give the gift of Listening is an Act of Love, a paperback compilation of some of the interviews we’ve recorded or conduct your own interview with a family member or loved one, honoring them by asking questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Find tips at http://www.storycorps.net.
Kathleens last blog post..StoryCorps 93: Talking Back
This is some list to keep and use in the future. Lot of good suggestions. You did coffee gift pack– what about a tea cup with tea?
Suzi’s last blog post… ~ a merry little Christmas ~ with a few favorite things to make using baskets…
Good suggestion.. Maybe I can add onto the list – bring it to a cool 100!
My dad is notoriously hard to shop for, but I made a mix CD for him one year with a bunch of the old songs that used to come on in the car when I was a kid and he was driving me around (I hated those oldies stations then, heh), and he really enjoyed it.
Lindsays last blog post..Using Keyword Research to Write Pinpoint Articles (How to Build Passive Income with Article Sites Pt 4)
Hey – thanks for this great post. I linked to it on my Last Minute Frugal Gift Ideas post – http://www.hereverycentcounts.com/2008/12/last-minute-frugal-gift-ideas.html
her every cent countss last blog post..Last Minute (Frugal) Gift Ideas
These are some great ideas to consider for Christmas. I especially like the idea of the Netflix subscription. Giving a customized or personal and original gift shows the receiver that they are truly cared for.
Awesome write-up, really! I really love this time of the year! Snowman and Cookie – Yah!
This will really come in handy for the extended family. Thanks for the suggestions!
Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last post ..Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards – A Different Take
I don’t see why these are “frugal” ideas, but it’s a great list for gift ideas nonetheless! Thanks!
leslie´s last post ..Ditch the routine and make things special again
maybe not completely frugal – as in free – but they’re more frugal than some gifts my family would like to give – like ipods and laptops, etc.
I think most of these will be under $50-75 dollars
I agree – many of these are definitely cheaper than what I see most people give as gifts.
I didn’t realize this post was actually from last year, but of course this is a useful resource for every Christmas holiday. Thanks for putting it together!
Steven Handel´s last post ..33 Questions from Dragos Roua
Maybe I should have mentioned, I updated a bunch of the gifts this year as a bunch of them were no longer available. Updated for 2009 goodness!
I up for number 50! I’ll have to put that on my wish list.
I plan on buying the digital key chain for my mom this year – filled with the grandkid’s pictures. And a few mixed CDs for family members – better get on it! Time is running out! Great list!
Money Funk´s last post ..$25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
This is an awesome awesome list! Thanks for sharing.
Mrs. Money´s last post ..The Many Uses of Coconut Oil
Some great ideas here… will have to start shopping soon!
Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog´s last post ..What Is A Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)?
This is a great list!
I always give home made things, I love to make jam, (sometimes in a basket with scones, tea etc.) Also, my husband is a certified message therapist , he helps me get my co-workers stress out by giving a Christmas gift to each office employee – a mini message for 15 minutes per preson, this is very cheap 15.00 each. This goes over really well not to mention the stress that is released from the hussle and bussel of the season!
I really like the collage idea. Take a special occasion that the person attended or gave during the year that meant a lot to them. Take the pictures from your PC and have them printed and put them into a nice large frame with decorative dried flowers, or ribbens and maybe include the invitation from the event.
Sadly, I’ve already used a good portion of that list, guess I’m more frugal than I thought….
This is a great list! Thanks for updating it for the 2009 season, as well. I’ll look forward to seeing maybe seeing updates for next year also (hint, hint!)
My favorite is absolutely choice #1 – I’m all about giving baked goods for the holidays. It’s inexpensive, people love them, and they are consumable. Of course, as you suggest, one should be aware of diet concerns.
Thanks! And have a happy New Year!
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