Creative and Easy Gift Ideas on a Budget

Need some easy and creative gift ideas on a budget? Here are a few ideas that are easy to make at home, or buy cheap in the store.

Now let’s get into Christmas mood!

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Customized Mugs

Basic mugs are super cheap to get, and easily customizable with a ceramic pen or some chalkboard paint. This gift idea is always good, because it is so personal, and literally everyone can use a mug.

Cake in a Jar

Everyone knows about cookies in a jar, where you place the dry ingredients of a cookie recipe inside a jar, and add a note with the recipe. But you can do that principle with all kinds of baked goods!

You can do a cake, bread, gingerbread, pie, and so on. Endless variations!

Related: What to Ask for Christmas as a Student

Soap Bars

You can either buy soap bars or make them yourself. There are lots of recipes on Pinterest, like this one.

There are all kinds of different scents for soaps, and they are also a good way to teach some sustainability to the person getting it. It is zero waste!

Photo Calendar

I used to make one for my parents every year, and it is still a perfect gift. You can design it in different ways and add different pictures to it.

Sometimes I did a theme of pictures with my siblings only, or only pictures of my parents, etc.

You can either buy an empty calendar, print pictures, and create one like that, or you design it online and pick it up at your local pharmacy/drug store.

Wall Art

Another one of creative gift ideas on a budget is wall art. You can find high-resolution quotes online and print them big. Then, just add a frame and you’re done!

Notebook

You can’t do anything wrong with a notebook! (unless it’s a crazy design with the opposite taste of the other person…).

Notebooks are very inexpensive and you can add some personal notes or pictures onto some pages.

Bath Bombs

Bath bombs and other bathroom essentials are also good and creative gift ideas on a budget. They are easy to make or buy in a store and are pretty to look at. Besides, they are actually useful.

Homemade Scrub

Scrubs are 1. very easy to make. All you need is salt/sugar, essential oils, and maybe some food coloring.

I actually made a few scrubs in my teens, wanting to start a business with it. That never happened, but it was still a fun time making scrubs myself.

2., they are basically for free, and 3. everyone can use a scrub sometimes. It can also be packaged very cute.

Coupons

Like I mentioned in my previous post of what to ask for Christmas as a student, coupons for experiences and spending time together is really the best gift ever.

Those can be free activities, you stop giving away and receiving things you don’t need, and you make good memories at the same time.

If you need ideas for coupons, search on Pinterest.

Thrifted Items

Another tip is to go to a thrift store in your area, and maybe get some DVDs, disks, or other treasures you can find in a thrift store.

Just keep in mind to check DVDs for scratches. You want the items to still be either in good quality, or super vintage.

These are all of my creative gift ideas on a budget for now! Do you have more ideas? Share them in the comments!

Until soon,