If you are in a real hurry, you can use this link to jump down to last-minute christmas gift ideas. For thrifty christmas gifts in more depth, and some advice on choosing gifts in general, just keep reading!
Showing our love to friends and family through presents is a cherished custom at christmas time. (For christians, christmas presents even symbolize the gift that was given by God to humankind.) But no matter what you believe, you don´t want to spend hours of your time and heaps of money just for your friends or family to declutter them only a few months later (they may have no other choice, considering the lack of space in many homes). So let me make some suggestions for thrifty christmas gifts that don´t make you look cheap or lazy, and at the same time don´t clutter up your our your friends´ homes.
To buy the best thrifty christmas gifts, it´s best to prepare in time
The first thing I recommend is this: Prepare! Keep a list – at least in your mind, but better on the “notes” page of your pocket calendar – of things people say they would like to have, or need. Don´t buy those things at once, but find out some time relatively close to christmas whether there still is a need or desire for them. Adults may have bought the item themselves, children may have developed completely different interests over the year.
On the other hand, try to avoid last-minute christmas shopping. Stores will be crammed with people, but oftentimes devoid of useful, high quality items! Be careful with “special christmas offers”, They may be a good deal, but frequently they are just a way for storeowners and companies to get rid of inferior goods.
Jewellery or perfume? Yes, but maybe not last minute.
If you are a man: Please don´t buy last-minute jewellery or last-minute perfume for your wife or girlfriend. She will notice. Believe me, she will. Even if she never said anything. Both can be great gifts if you choose them with care, of course. Whether they qualify as particularly thrifty christmas gifts, is a different question…
But, speaking of perfume, there is one major advantage to it: It is an item to use up!
And that is my main piece of advice to you: Try to find presents that the recipient can use up. Of course, what exactly that could be depends on the person that will receive the present.
Consumables don´t contribute to cluttering
For adults, food is very often a good choice. A box of chocolates normally falls into the “lazy” category unless you know that the recipient really is crazy for chocolates and these are something special.
So you may have been travelling not too long ago. Maybe you had a chance to bring a specialty? In Europe, examples would be Belgian chocolates, Spanish wine, Black Forest smoked ham…
Even better: Perhaps you can make something yourself? Some special christmas cookies, christmas Stollen? Pralines?
Make sure your gift serves a purpose for the recipient
Make sure your self-made presents are actually useful. In Germany, many families make calendars for close friends and grandparents: You buy a calendar with all the days and dates on it, and glue in a photo of your children, or a picture they painted, for every month. Well, this sounds like a good idea. But it actually is not. Because you – or your children even – spent a lot of time and effort making this present, but it always ends up in a corner beside the closet and a different wall calendar is actually in use. Why? Because these calendars usually don´t provide any writing space. You can´t use them to remember important dates and appointments. Additionally, many people already have a calendar. After all, christmas is at the end of December… So if you want to give someone a self-made family calendar, make sure it provides writing space AND give them a hint some time in October!
Self-made presents that will be valued
If you can sew, knit or crochet, it may be a good idea to make a useful household item for someone. For example, napkins or a table cloth. Or even cozy socks or potholders – I´m serious. They will be appreciated by most people. But it will be good to respect the aesthetics of their household and use the colors and kind of pattern (or non-pattern) they prefer, rather than what you like or happened to find among your leftover fabrics and yarns. (Check them, though – you might have something that happens to match their preferred style.) Yes, we are looking for thrifty christmas gifts here, but thrifty doesn´t mean cheap!
Shopping for special presents at special places
Perhaps you don´t have the time or skills to make something yourself. Then perhaps you can get something special on a market or in a shop where local products are sold? In Germany, advent is when many churches and old people´s homes organize fundraising bazaars. I would not call them jumble sales because “jumble” is kind of pejorative and just does not match the kind of thing that´s sold there. You are likely to find on them some special and personal, yet at the same time very thrifty christmas gifts! They do sell used books, but not so much tattered romance paperbacks as aged hardcover books that can be very special. You may find something for a lover of books. You could, perhaps, combine it with some snacks or a special drink.
But back to self-mades: What about homemade jams, chutneys or sauces? If you can´t make them, buy them. Or maybe some elaborately decorated gingerbread?
Christmas gifts for children
Children would mostly be disappointed by that kind of gift, obviously. They hope for toys – so give them toys. And of course, those should not be “used up”, unless it´s crafting supplies. On the other hand, you don´t want toys to spread over the whole house, especially when you suspect that your children hardly ever really play with them.
Give them the kind of toys that they really play with
My solution for this is to give children add-ons to the toys that they really use. For example, if your children love legos, the can probably use some more of them. Generally speaking, it´s better to give versatile toys rather than things they can use only for one specific purpose. Staying withing the lego example, give them plain building blocks or a set of special building elements for the type of thing that they provenly like to build (e.g. spaceship elements), but don´t give them those model building sets that can only be used to make one specific item, unless you know they are really into modelling and are collecting these sets.
Activities as presents? The best of gifts – if you do have the time
Children are excited to receive gifts that promise them activities – like a ball or an apron+cookie cutters set or a swimsuit. However, don´t give this type of thing to them unless you are sure that you actually have the willingness and, more importantly, the time to do this activity together with them. I am speaking from sad experience – I must confess that when my first child was still very young, I had a habit of giving her presents that promised fun activities simply because i liked to IMAGINE doing these things together with her. But we were in a situation at the time that didn´t make it possible for me to keep these unspoken promises. Don´t do it. Really. If you plan to give activity-promising presents to somebody else´s children, do check with their parents first if they will be able to engage in the activity linked to the gift. If you, or the parents, have that time, plans for shared activities or activity-promising gifts certainly are the best presents you could ever make!
Last minute christmas gifts
But if you do have the time, activities are probably the best gift to give to children and adults alike! As I said, make sure you have the time and willingness to engage in the promised activity. And also make sure that it is a thing the recipient would like to do – not just you. I have heard of men gifting a hunting trip to their family every year – which, to the family, felt more like a punishment than a present!
To get back to the positive side of things: Shared activities are great gifts in general, and also a great idea for a last-minute-gift! They involve so much more thought and consideration than just a token from some store. And yet, depending on the activity that you choose, they can at the same time be very thrifty christmas gifts. Some great activities could be entirely free! If your chosen activity requires tickets or a reservation, you can probably get that done online or per phonecall, so you don´t have to dive into the masses of last-minute christmas shoppers pushing each other through the stores. You could then make a token or gift card yourself – or order one if you don´t feel like crafting.
Giving your time and effort as a present
Another good, yet simple present for adults – depending on your mutual relationship – is a token for you to do some work for them. I think this is a particularly suitable option for siblings or close friends, or spouses. And of course, an even better present for teenagers to give to their parents. It should, of course, be something that you would not be doing anyway or that they would otherwise pay you for. Be careful, though – between adults, this requires a good deal of tact.
Personalizing a money gift
Even just money can be a nice gift if you don´t just hand over a crumpled banknote, which I´m sure was not your plan anyway. There are some really nice suggestions on how to make a gift of money. I have linked for you some suggestions for giving money here and some more money wrapping ideas here. You can add emotional value by being specific about the purpose, like “this is a contribution to your driving lessons” or “this is for the XYZ you wished for, let´s go buy it together after christmas”. Children and teenagers might wish for music lessons or similar activities. Check in advance, though.
You may even find good presents at the grocery store
Let me come back to consumable presents. If you choose “luxury items” from local grocery stores, you can buy them relatively quickly. Pack them nicely and they can be a useful and personal gift! For example, you can fill a basket with fruit and nuts. Select fruit that looks immaculate and that people don´t eat every day because it is either expensive or very seasonal. In my part of the world, that would be exotic fruit like lychees, khaki, golden kiwi, karambole, but also a big and very good quality pineapple, avocados, mangos or even organically grown oranges.
And while hazelnuts and walnuts do grow a lot in Germany, it is something special to have those very large and regular-shaped ones that come from slightly warmer parts of the world. Some high quality, pure fruit juice would round that off. Or so would some special coffee or tea, or a bottle of wine. A brightly colored selection of dried or sugared fruit is also appreciated by many recipients!
A quick, but personal gift idea: Supplies for an enjoyable afternoon
It might also be a good idea to give someone a special selection of hot drinks. After all, the real winter is yet to come! Look for some nice packaging. For example, you might get a coffee bag, possibly sew it to a smaller size. Or even a nice tea towel, which would be an additional gift.
You could also put together some consumable items with other things that serve a common purpose – for example, pack a box for “a cozy afternoon” with chocolate, tea or coffee and a well-chosen CD, book or magazine. More is always possible – you could also add a candle, incense sticks, a cozy blanket etc. depending on how much you want to give (and are able to). Of course, you could instead choose any other theme that is likely to interest your recipient (like running, camping, cooking,…)
For those of you who are in a particular hurry to get a last-minute-present, here is a quick list of the suggestions I made above:
Six thrifty and useful last-minute presents
- Self-made cookies or other consumables you can make yourself easily. Pack them nicely and you have a great gift!
- A token or tickets for shared activities – provided you will have the time to really keep your promise (being specific about the date helps with this)
- A token for some work you will do for them – careful, this one requires some tact and a close relationship!
- Money, especially for a specific purpose.
- “Luxury” items from the grocery store, nicely packed e.g. in a basket
- A basket, box or other pretty vessel filled with everything needed for a nice afternoon/evening, e.g. “cozy afternoon box”.
What are your thoughts?
Have you tried any of these gifts? Did your friends and family like them? What are your personal suggestions for quick and thrifty christmas gifts that are at the same time personal and non-cluttering? Please use the comment box (below the subscribe form) to share your experiences!
If you would like to read about christmas time in Germany, please read my three-part series of “Christmas in Germany posts”, using this link.
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