This time of year, I usually find myself stressing about money. The people I love deserve the entire world and more, so how am I supposed to buy them something that will accurately tell them how much they mean to me? This year, I decided to mix it up. I love receiving home-made gifts and I love making them even more. Like I said, I can’t buy anyone anything that will show how much I love them, but if I make it, little pieces of me are in it, which I find super intimate and special. This year, I decided to make a list of budget-friendly holiday gifts—some to buy, some to make yourself! The DIY gifts will be marked with a double asterisk in case you want to come back to this list and skip right to the DIY options or the purchase options. Because many of them will be fairly easy to make yourself, you can mix and match a lot of these ideas to give the people you love something they will hopefully love, without breaking the bank.
- A Heartfelt Letter**
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I love writing my friends letters. My roommates and I are constantly giving each other index cards with encouraging words or reminders that we love each other just to add some happiness to each other’s lives. It’s of course important to verbally tell people you love them, but from time to time it’s nice to get a longer letter that you can go back and reread whenever you want.
- “Open When” Letters**
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These letters are traditionally done for long distance relationships, but who says that’s the only situation in which you can write them? I wrote some for my partner Aidan and gave them to him for his birthday, and I wrote some for my best friend Alexandra before she left for a semester in Germany. These are fun because each letter has a theme (open when you’re sad, open when you need book recommendations, open when you’ve had a great day, etc.) and they can be reread whenever the person who receives them needs some extra love.
- Enamel Pins!
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Who doesn’t love a cute enamel pin? My jean jacket, like many others, is full of them. Amazon has some fairly inexpensive enamel pin sets, which means you can get around 6 pins for around $10 (as opposed to one pin for $10, which is what they cost if you buy them in most trendy stores). And, if you’re shopping for a couple pals, packs often come in themed groups, so you and your friends can rock matching themed enamel pins!
- Friendship Bracelets **
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Ah, the lost art of making friendship bracelets. I got really into embroidering over summer which means I have a ton of embroidering thread laying around. The friendship bracelets I’ve made are fairly simple because I haven’t made any in years, but they’re cute and meaningful and have my friends and my favorite colors.
- Matching Socks
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First off, socks are a really practical gift. Second, I love matching with my friends, but many of them don’t like matching in general. The solution? Matching socks! Then we know we’re matching but it’s not as “obnoxious” as complete matching outfits. Forever 21 and Target have some pretty cheap, cute, good quality socks.
- Make Art In Your Preferred Medium
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A couple of my writing pals and I are going to have a writing night where we write each other short stories for Christmas. This is a triple win, because 1) I get to spend time with some of my favorite humans, 2) I get to actually sit down and write, and 3) I get to gift some of my writing to my favorite people and be gifted writing from my favorite people. I guess it’s a quadruple win.
- Matching Pajamas/Pajama Bottoms
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Like I said, I love matching with my friends. Matching pajama bottoms are another way to match without being too “over the top,” if you believe there is such a thing. One of my roommates, Melissa, and I bought some matching pajama bottoms from Target for around $10. We are over the top, so we actually have matching socks, sweatshirts, and pajama bottoms, and we flaunt it, but if you’re looking for something lowkey and cute (especially for when you and your friends have sleepovers or cozy nights in), matching pajamas or pajama bottoms are really cute and fun.
- A Sweet Treat
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I make some excellent Nutella brownies (from scratch!), if I do say so myself. A friend of mine makes delicious macaroons, and another friend makes to die for peanut butter chocolate cookies. If you really know your way around a particular dish, make it for your pals!
- Shop Used!
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I’ve bought many used books to gift to my loved ones. Used bookstores often have a wide variety of books in pretty good condition. Places like Twice Sold Tales in Seattle have “happy hour” where books are 25% off from 6-9 PM every day. Thrift stores and vintage stores are also good places to look, as they often have cute, inexpensive clothes, jewelry, and nicknacks.
I hope this list inspired you to get creative with your gift giving this holiday season. If you couldn’t find anything here, hopefully you came up with some of your own ideas that will work for the people you love. Above all, remember the holiday season is about spending time with people you love, and no one should expect you to spend a ton of money on them. Give the gift of love! Happy holidays!