The holiday season is fast approaching. As soon as November hits, the holiday fever hits. The holiday season brings many joys: food, family, breaks, and fun events. It also brings presents which can often break students’ banks. It is all too easy to get carried away gift-giving to all of the important people in our lives. How can you give people the gifts they deserve without completely draining your bank account? This holiday season The Informed Consumer is here to help. Here are a few ideas on how to gift on a budget.
Succulent Crafts:
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Why spend way too much on gifts when you can craft your own? Homemade gifts are unique and very thoughtful. There are so many great gifts you can make with succulents. Here are two of my favorite:
Mini Succulent Kokedama:
Image: Anne Behler
Kokedama craft: Sylvia Rushing, resident instructor of floral design and botanical crafts at The Makery in State College. The Makery has a wide variety of crafting classes and are currently offering holiday themed crafts. Sign up for a class to make an awesome gift this holiday season!
This Japanese style moss ball plant only requires 3 things: a succulent, peat moss, and yarn. With a total cost of only $8-$10 this gift is lean and green!
Steps to make one:
- Soak a solid chunk of peat moss (you can get this at a home improvement store or from nature) in water for about 30 minutes then wring it to remove the excess water.
- Grab your succulent, soil and all, and use your hands to shape the soil into a circular object, rather than its typical square shape.
- Then place your succulent in the middle of the moss and wrap the moss around all of the soil, leaving just the plant exposed.
- Now wrap and tie about 3 feet of yarn around your moss ball to keep it tight and in place.
- Optional: you can use yarn to tie a hanger for your succulent as well.
Care: Soak the moss ball in a bowl of water once a month for up to 5 minutes. Leave in a location with bright light, but not in direct sunlight.
Succulent Terrarium:
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These are very easy to make and offer plenty of opportunities to get creative. All you need is a jar, some soil, a succulent, and decorations of your choice. You can decorate the terrarium with rocks, jewels, and plenty of other objects to customize your gift. These are easy, cheap, and make great decorations. Go green tip: Reuse a mason jar or any small container that you have to be more green! There’s no right way to make a terrarium, each one is unique. Check out this article to get terrarium inspiration.
Other Gift-making ideas
Not into crafting? No worries, there are plenty of other ways to save money on your holiday shopping!
Experiences over gifts methodology:
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This is the idea that people should substitute experiences for gifts during the holidays or for birthdays. While certain experiences like vacations and road trips can get pricey, there are plenty of ways to have budget-friendly experiences. Some ideas are to:
- Drive around and look at Christmas lights
- Get coffee/hot chocolate and catch up with friends
- Check out local holiday events
- Ice skating
- Stay in and watch holiday movies and bake yummy treats
Even just getting dinner or seeing a movie with a group of friends will save you more money than if you bought each person a present. Plus the memory of your experiences will last longer than a gift.
Gift Exchanges:
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Another great way to save money within your family or group of friends is to do a gift exchange game such as Secret Santa or White Elephant. These games typically involve each person buying 1 gift and exchanging it with 1 person rather than buying individual gifts for an entire group. These games usually have a budget built in so no one overspends. This is great to do with friends who are also looking to save money during the holidays. These can be a lot of fun.
Create a gift budget:
Speaking of budgets, it’s also useful to come up with a gift budget between family or friends. This way you don’t worry about how much you should spend on someone and likewise how much you think they’ll spend on you.
If you follow a budget during the year, don’t forget to set aside some savings in November and December for gifts/holiday expenses. That way you will know how much you can spend without breaking your budget.
If you choose to go traditional gift shopping, make sure to look out for special deals and price compare to make sure you aren’t over-paying.
Gift giving and receiving is always fun, but don’t forget the holiday season is about spending time with loved ones and appreciating the people in your life.
Check out this document that outlines some other resources and provides a budgeting worksheet for the holidays.
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