Great Low-Cost Holiday Gift Ideas for 2020

The holidays are the season of giving. Everyone in your circle of loved ones deserves a gift that reflects how fondly you think of them all year long. Gift-giving is a chance to show how well you know someone by choosing something they would love, or considerately choosing something they can enjoy for family you don’t know that well. Of course, just because giving is in your heart doesn’t mean your pockets are overflowing with cash to buy fantastic gifts for the whole family.

Fortunately, you’re not the first to be shopping for holiday gifts on a budget. There are tons of great ideas for giving truly wonderful and personal gifts without breaking the bank. You can separate those ideas into two categories: low-cost gifts and affordable DIY gifts. Low-cost gifts are storebought but are chosen from the heart while DIY gifts are handmade wonders that use personalization instead of expense to show your love.

Let’s dive right into our best budget gifting ideas that your family will love.

Awesome Low-Cost Gifts

– Framed Poster Print

A printed poster is one of the lowest-cost ways to decorate your walls, but you can get prints of absolutely anything. Whether you’re gifting to a teen with a favorite band or a cousin who adores nighttime cityscapes, you can find a beautiful print. Add a low-cost but nice frame and it’s a great gift to unwrap on the big day.

– Journal and a Nice Pen

Have a friend who loves to write, draw, or journal? A blank journal can be a wonderful gift, showing that you support their self-expression and providing them with dozens more pages to fill with their art. Combine the journal with an elegant pen or a set of new pencils to complete the gift.

– Old-Fashioned Board Games

The holidays are a time when many people disconnect from email and phone games to enjoy each other’s company. Nothing is better than an old-fashioned board game with wooden pieces and cards or dice to drive the action. For relatives that love a clever tactile gift, a board game or cards can be perfect.

– Smell-Good Bath Treats

Every woman (and some guys) love aromatherapy in the path. Give a set of bath-oil balls, bath-bombs, or bubble-bath so the recipient can unwind in their favorite place. For multiple relatives, buy bath-treats in bulk and package them adorably for separate gifting.

– Plush Robe and Slippers

Another great bathtime gift is a plush robe (surprisingly inexpensive from the right sellers) and a matching pair of slippers. Give your love done the gift of comfortably lounging around the house.

– Stack of Puzzle Books

Have a relative who loves puzzles? A stack of puzzle books costs very little but can provide hours or even weeks of entertainment. Puzzle books can be a great gift for any age, as long as they love puzzles.

– Great Book to Read

Or you can gift a new copy of a personal favorite book to someone who loves a good read. If you know someone who is always looking for a new book to consume or might really enjoy a book’s contents, by all means, gift those pages. Physical or digital.

– Mini Succulent Garden and Desk Decor

Succulents are beautiful, hardy little plants that are all the rage for desk gardens. They require very little soil and minimal water, so even black-thumb gardeners can enjoy a little desk greenery. A succulent garden or some other adorable little desk decor can be the perfect gift for the right person.

– Hilarious Hat or Throw Blanket

Never underestimate the power of gifting a laugh. If you see the perfect hilarious hat for a loved one, go for it. There are also some great fleece throws made to look perfectly like pizzas, tortillas, and the like that can make hilarious and useful winter gifts.

Affordable DIY Gifts

– Home Cooked Holiday Treats

When your budget is low, you can always show your family a little food-love. Invest your gifting budget in baking supplies and make some superb holiday treats to share. Go the extra mile by making nut-free cookies for your allergic nephew, gluten-free brownies for your celiac aunt, and triple-chocolate treats for your chocoholic cousin. Your family will know you care.

– Handmade Ornaments

Beautiful handmade ornaments can actually be made surprisingly cheaply. The two best deals at the craft store are either bead-and-wire ornaments or pick up some plain glass orbs and paint-pens to draw your own tree decor. Personalize, wrap, and gift!

– Mason Jar Snowglobes

You can make some incredible snow-globes with nothing but a jar, oil, glitter, and anything you think might look good inside the swirl. Personalized jar snowglobes are a great way to show your creativity without breaking the bank.

– Hand-Knit Hats

If you knit or crochet, this is the perfect avenue for affordable and personalized gifts for the whole family. Look for cute, stylish, or hilarious designs depending on who you’re gifting to and let the yarn fly.

– A Mix CD or Playlist

Sometimes the most heartfelt gift is one of music. Mix-tapes have been an expression of love for nearly 50 years and the trend has never gone away. For one or two of the right relatives, a mix-cd or a digital playlist of handpicked songs can be more meaningful than any physical gift.

– Rice-Bag Warmer Pads

Ever wish you had a pocket-warmer, belly-warmer, or muscle-ache heating pad? So have your family members. You can make beautiful and very cheap warmer pads with handmade bags of rice. Use low-cost fabric or even recycled fabric scraps and a large bag of rice to make warming pads for the whole family. And a few for yourself at home.

– Favorite Color Tie-Dyed Stuff

Thinking about giving shirts or tote-bags? If you’re gifting low-cost fabric this year, consider custom tie-dying it as part of the gifting process. Tie-dye with your relative’s personal favorite colors so that each gift is unique and clearly made with their personal preferences in mind. Not to mention, the right colors will increase the chance that your gifts will become new favorites in their wardrobe.

– Mason Jar Treats

Finally, never forget the value of simply filling a mason jar with candy. Or other goodies. Buy a set of jars of any size and fill them with decorative low-cost treats. These treats might be candy, hair accessories, art supplies, or anything else that will make your relatives smile when they see your ribbon-wrapped jar.

—

Giving wonderful and personalized gifts to your family this year doesn’t have to cost a fortune. A bit of strategic shopping or a quick trip to the craft store might be all you need to make sure your warmth and love shine through happily received gifts this year. For more great gift ideas or ways to save money during the holiday season, contact us today!