12 Affordable Holiday Gift Ideas

By Vivian El-Salawy on December 15, 2016

Every college student is on a budget this year (as well as every year). Between giving gifts to family, roommates, friends in school, and friends at home – it warms their hearts but pains their bank accounts. Here are a 12 affordable holiday gift ideas:

  •  Personalized coffee mugs (~$10)

Image via Pinterest

You can never have too many coffee mugs. They are fairly affordable and can mean a lot if you get them personalized! Find a mug with quotes from their favorite television show or book, or paint it yourself so they know you put time and effort into making something for them. A little can go a long way.

  • Ornament photographs (~$10)

Image via Pinterest

This is a pretty simple and incredible cheap idea. Buy some clear Christmas ornaments (these can be found almost anywhere – Walmart, Target, Michaels, Jo-Ann’s, etc.) and print out some of your favorite photos with whoever is the receiver of your gift. Cut out the photograph so that it can fit into the ornament, roll it up around a thinner item such as pencil or pen, and carefully insert it through the top or bottom of the ornament (depending on how it opens).  Pull out the pencil and you have an incredibly personalized, creative, and meaningful reminder of how much you care for your friend, family, or significant other for every holiday to come.

  • Baked goods (~$10)

Image via Not Made of Money

While this is something that wouldn’t last, it’s something everybody will definitely enjoy. Find out what your giftee’s favorite holiday good is and bake it for them! Buying ingredients is fairly cheap and it will be something they can share with their closest family and friends as well. Better yet, attach a recipe on a cute little card so that they can carry it with them in the future as well.  Who knows, maybe they’ll share a piece with you too.

  •  Wall décor (~$25)

Image via Art.com

Believe it or not, most posters are incredibly cheap. Check out Etsy or Amazon and if there’s a unique poster that catches your eye, purchase it and buy a relatively cheap frame from Walmart or Amazon. Most frames can come as cheap as $5-$10 depending upon its size.

  • Music (~$5-20)

Image via Buzzfeed

Figure out what your person is into – do they still listen to CD’s? Do they have a record player or collect vinyl? Are they an iTunes hoarder? Once you figure that out – work from there. Figure out what some of the newest (or oldest) albums are that they might love to have. Worst case – get them an iTunes gift card and they’ll do the rest.

  • Cozy socks (~$3-10)

Image via Pinterest

You can’t go wrong with cozy socks. Most of the time, the sizes are pretty broad and come December, everyone could use ‘em. Socks are also something that wear away over time, so there is almost no way someone could have too many socks for their liking.

  • Candles (~$5-20)

Image via Etsy

These make great, house warming gifts – especially around the holidays.  With all kinds of limited edition candles with some of the most favored holiday scents, stock up on their favorite holiday scent. These aren’t sold year round so make sure they get their fair share of holiday joy.

  • Board games (~$20)

Image via Young Journalist Academy

Not enough people play these anymore. With the development some of the coolest technologies, everyone is glued to some kind of screen. Pull your family and friends out of the virtual world and back into reality this holiday season and get them a board game. It’s something that you can play together – over the holidays and in future moments to come. It’s a great way to bond, build memories, and go back to being a child again.

  • Kitchen accessories (~$5-20)

Image via Pottery Barn

Every kitchen is always missing some kind of useful device or accessory. There’s always that one thing that someone would love to have in their kitchen but always forgets to buy. Figure out what they really need and get them something useful (and cute) for this holiday season.

  • Add to a collection ($5-20)

Image via Photo Magnets

You would be surprised with how many different things people collect – stamps, post cards, decks of cards, stuffed animals, watches, perfumes, etc. Figure out what your person likes to collect and add to their collection!

  • Planner for the 2017 Year (~$10-20)

Image via Erin Condren

Everyone always forgets to buy a planner until it’s a little too late. This sounds like a boring give to some, but if your person is someone who is organized – they’ll worship you for getting them a nice planner to kick off the upcoming year. 

  • Holiday Cookbook (~$20)

Image via Amazon

Everyone undeniably loves food. Find a holiday cookbook that you can share with your friends and family and promise to make a few of the recipes in there together with them. You’ll be able to build some memories in the kitchen, maybe embarrass yourself or start a kitchen fire, but you’ll get some laughter and (hopefully) some delicious meals out of it.

Image via Rolling Crest Commons

It is important to realize that the holiday season is not a competition to see who can spend the most money on each other. It also isn’t a competition to see who can buy the most gifts. It is a time to appreciate your dearest friends and family and share that appreciation with them. A little can go a long way, and even if you can’t afford to get many people a gift this year – a heartfelt note should mean more to a mother, a best friend, or a significant other than a brand new Rolex or the newest iPhone. This holiday season, be thankful for what you have and make your time with your family and friends less about buying and more about sharing.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format