Twelve good, cheap Christmas gift ideas

by Serena Cowdy on 30 November 2009  |  61 comments
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Don’t know what to get your loved ones this Christmas? Here are 12 gift ideas that should make their day without blowing your budget.

Gifts for free

First, see if you can get a few gifts without spending anything at all (and I don’t mean by shoplifting). Here are some suggestions:

Maximise those points! Make the most of all those reward points and vouchers you’ve saved up - they’re often worth more if you spend them online and not on the high street.

For example, redeem Tesco Clubcard Vouchers for Deals Tokens and you could use them to pay for jewellery, magazines, theatre shows and lots more, which you could then give as Christmas presents.

Go vintage: Community websites like Freegle and SnaffleUp encourage people to give away things they no longer need - anything from furniture and electrical goods to baby gear and bicycles.

Sign up and root around for something that would make a good gift. The other day I came across an old (Victorian) writing slope that would, with a bit of TLC, go down a storm with an antiques buff.

Free gifts: Spend on yourself, and get a free gift to give to someone else! For example, if you spend £22 on No. 7 make-up at Boots at the moment, you get a free No.7 Women's gift bag, containing all sorts of goodies, including mascara, nail polish and lip gloss! Similarly, you get a free £30 gift voucher with Coast when you buy a December edition of Red magazine (which only costs £3.50).

Give an experience

Days out have become a very popular gift idea - with companies like Red Letter Days offering a host of wild, wacky or relaxing experiences.

However, these tend to cost an arm and a leg, so why not create your own ‘experience day’ to give as a gift instead? Build it around what your loved one enjoys doing, and go with them for some quality time together as well.

For example, culture vultures might like a backstage theatre tour (the National Theatre runs these for £6 per person).

Or for older family members, what about a trip to a National Trust property, complete with afternoon tea?

If you’re short of inspiration, have a look at the Visit Britain website. And if you want to include a meal out in the package, visit Toptable and see if you can get a discount at the restaurant you choose.

Impress her for less

If your significant other is into posh perfume and luxury make-up brands, see if you can get them for less.

There are several specialist comparison sites that will check perfume prices at the big retailers and tell you where you can get the one you want at the cheapest price. Try FragrancesCompared and CheapPerfumeExpert for starters.

If you’re after make-up and hair products as well, check out FeelUnique. The firm offers luxury brands at discounted prices, has free UK delivery and - because it’s based in Jersey - everything it sells is tax-free.

Foodie gifts

Let’s be honest, most home-cooked gifts are not to be attempted by the time-poor or the kitchen-phobic. However, some foodie presents are really easy and cheap to make, and can make lovely gifts that say ‘At least I bothered - and I didn’t set the kitchen on fire’.

If you’re no Jamie Oliver, what about these:

Chocolates mug: Buy a nice mug, fill it with chocolates (Quality Street are perfect because they’re colourful and wrapped), pop cellophane around the whole thing and tie with some ribbon.

Jar of nostalgia: For the little boy in your man - buy a big glass jar and fill it with the sweets of his youth (jawbreakers and sherbet dip-dabs anyone?). You could even include a favourite childhood DVD for a real trip down memory lane.

Cookie mix jar: My pint-sized relatives really like this sort of DIY cookery kit. In a nutshell - get all the dry ingredients for making cookies and layer them in a glass jar.

Tie a pretty bow round the top and present with instructions on what they need to add, and what they need to do, to complete the recipe. It should end up looking something like one of these.

Recipe scrapbook: If your loved one is a fabulous cook - but you can’t face the kitchen - you could make him or her a recipe scrapbook instead.

As the name suggests, gather up all the scribbled recipes they have lying around, and collate them - nicely mounted - in a big attractive scrapbook.

Photo and graphic gifts

Technology can lend a hand to make personalised gifts that don’t cost a fortune:

Turn your friends or children into cartoons. The website CartoonMe can turn photos of your nearest and dearest into hand-drawn cartoons for 3.50 Euros (around £3). They’ll email you the cartoon version, which you can then print out/blow up to poster size and frame as a gift.

These days you can get your snaps turned into anything from mouse mats and mugs to chopping boards and clocks. With FabulousPhotoGifts and Photobox you can even order a personalised jigsaw as a present for your child (or your great-aunt, if you think she’d like one!). Prices start at around £8.

Just remember that if you’re getting photos developed as gifts, it’s often cheaper to do it online. At the moment you get 40 free prints when you sign up with Snapfish, for example.

Unique arts-and-crafty gifts

After much deliberation, I’ve decided not to include gift ideas that need a lot of crafty prowess. It’s true that they’re often affordable, personal and special - but they can also take a heck of a long time.

If you’re arts-and-crafty already, you’ll know far more about DIY gifts than I do. And if you’re not, I doubt you’ll be able to knit that jumper, carve that sculpture or learn to blow glass before December 25th.

But don't despair. Buy a unique home-made gift from Folksy, an online market-place for crafty folks, instead! For example, check out these ceramic cupcake holders or this vintage button coin purse or this Scottie dog brooch. It stocks everything from jewellery and homeware to book-binding and metalwork - so you're bound to find a unique, home-made gift for someone special.

More: This scam will ruin your Xmas | Christmas Shopping: Know Your Rights

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