Budget-Friendly Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas on a budget can be a delicate balancing act. When it comes to the people we love, it can be very difficult not to overspend on presents to make them feel loved on special days. Especially if you’re already short on money.

Making your friends and family feel loved this Christmas doesn’t have to cost the earth. Debtco Group has put together a list of budget-friendly Christmas gift ideas that will make your friends and family feel loved–even if they’re not the most expensive. These are gifts that everyone will like.

Read on to discover Christmas gift ideas on a budget and how to spend less during the festive season.

Christmas Gifts for under R150 to R200

These are gifts you can make for under R150 to R200. You could wrap them in brown paper or magazine paper with string if wrapping paper is an issue.

The Three Cs of Budget Christmas Gifts

Meet the three Cs of budget Christmas gifts: Christmas cookies, candles, and cards. These are gifts you can make on your own.

Christmas Cookies

If you’re down and out and can’t afford to buy expensive Christmas gifts, make everyone German Christmas cookies. They’re easy to source ingredients for, since the recipe was formulated by Omas (grandmas).

You’ll need:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 14 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

To make them, mix all the wet ingredients together well, then add the dry ingredients. The dough should be stiff. Refrigerate for at least two hours, then roll them into little balls and press them down with a fork (or mould, if you have one). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

When they’ve cooled, tie them up with string and put them into little paper bags. Ta-dah! If you want to find another recipe, Google “Spekulatius”.

Candles

Making candles is as easy as melting wax and adding food colouring(optional)  and essential oil, spice, or fragrance of your choice (vanilla essence or cinnamon is cheaper than essential oils).

You can get a kilogram of paraffin wax for about R70, which will make about 6 candles (more or less depending on the size of your candle). Melt your wax down in a pot on the stove, starting at a low temperature and increasing incrementally until your wax is melted.

Add your food colouring and fragrance in small drops at a time, until you have the smell and colour you want.

Use a ladle to spoon the wax into moulds. You can use anything as your mould, from toilet paper rolls and cans to glass jars or seashells. Be careful when you pour your wax, it’s hot! Cut a long piece of thin string to use as a wick and place it upright while the wax is still liquid. You may have to hold it in place while the wax cools a bit.

Cards

Creating a card that someone can see you really put a lot of effort into is great for when you have very little to no money. All you need is a piece of printer paper and art materials of your choice. You don’t have to be good at art, either–just Google easy Christmas things to draw and copy them, then write something nice inside.

From the Shops

Here are a few cost-effective gifts you can get from the shops from R150 to R200.

Books

You can get books from second-hand bookshops for as little as R70, sometimes cheaper.

Clothes

Depending on where you shop, you can get clothes for R150 to R200, too. Try to look for t-shirts and the like at places like Mr Price, Pep, and Ackermans. You could also try thrifting, just wash the clothes before you gift them.

Photo

You could buy a cheap photo frame at Pep (R25-R50) and print a photo (R50), then gift that. If you want to, you could also decorate the frame.

For Kids

Kids are really easy to impress, especially if your present is shiny or novel.

Glow sticks

The Crazy Store has a pack of 50 glow sticks for R90.

Silly Straws

Kids (and some adults) LOVE silly straws. The Crazy Store has a variety, from ones that look like glasses to bendy straws that look like little worms.

Hacks for More Expensive Gifts

To get more expensive gifts without paying a premium, look for Christmas and November sales.

Around Christmas time, lots of online stores (like Typo) have Christmas sales and mark their stock down by at least 20%, or even 50%. Order online 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas to take advantage of the sales.

Other stores have specials, too. For instance, Clicks has a 3 for 2 sale. You could buy claw clips, lip balm, Oh So Heavenly products, and more for the women you love.

Debtco Group’s Most Important Christmas Tip

Don’t buy Christmas gifts on credit!

If you’re in unescapable debt and need help getting out, we can help you. We’ll reduce your interest, debt repayments, save your assets, and protect you from legal action with a process called debt review. Contact Debtco Group and become debt-free!