With the holidays quickly approaching, many people are searching for gift ideas for friends and family that won’t break the bank. There’s no question that it can be an expensive time of year, but the best thing to truly keep in mind is that thoughtfulness doesn’t always need to come with a hefty price tag. Below are a few ideas for gift-giving this holiday season, using the Dollar Store, which might help you avoid “credit card shock” come January!
Drinks of the Season
Nothing says the holidays like hot chocolate and cookies. A thoughtful and simple idea is to put together little hot chocolate and cookie gifts for those hard to shop for people on your list. Using a coffee mug as a mini basket, simply place inside the packet of hot chocolate, baggie of marshmallows, cookies, or any other little treats you may want to add. This idea works great for many things, including “mug cake” or homemade cup-o-soups!
Dollar Store Shopping List
- Coffee Mugs
- Marshmallows
- Gift Tags
- Clear basket wrap
- Ribbons and bows
- Plastic sandwich bags
- Cookies (unless you want to bake your own!)
- Hot Chocolate Packets (you can also make homemade hot chocolate! I’ll include a recipe at the end)
Baking Trays
There’s no question that taking the time to do a bunch of baking during an already busy season can be a challenge, but if you have a day to set aside to do it, it’s a great and thoughtful gift idea that is well appreciated! For me, Christmas isn’t Christmas unless I’ve done my holiday baking! There are literally thousands and thousands of recipes online with many ideas for what to bake (I also recommend for anyone with a smart phone to download the AllRecipes app because it’s awesome!), and putting together decorative trays is a breeze!
Dollar Store Shopping List
- Trays or holiday containers
- Ribbons and bows
- Gift Tags
- Saran Wrap
Framed photos
Take those precious moments captured of the important people in your life and frame them! There’s no question we live in a digital society now, and most of our memories are on our computers, phones or in cloud. Gone are the days of bulky photo albums on a coffee table. That doesn’t mean that people don’t appreciate having something to hang! Find those candid photos you have with the people on your list, and wrap up some memories for under the tree!
Dollar Store Shopping List
Coupons for dinner out
One particular Christmas came along, and for the life of me I just couldn’t think of what I wanted to get people. I found myself thinking “what do I get someone who I just miss and want to spend time with?” I decided the best gift to give them, was the gift of time. Using a computer, you can design a coupon (or find one online to use… that works too), and make a coupon which entitles the receiver to a dinner out… or a movie out… or a coffee out, whichever fits best into your budget. Call it “the gift of time. “ You can even get super creative like I did, and make up a little poem for it (or again… find one online. What a time to be alive!) Not only is it a super thoughtful gift, but it also eases your expenses during the holiday season, and spreads them out a bit. Another cute idea to attach to the coupon is the little egg timers that have sand in them… that look like hour glasses!
Dollar Store Shopping list
- Envelopes
- Paper for printing coupons on
- *optional* little “hour glass” egg timers
Have any thoughts for easing the Christmas budget or any other ideas you have tried? We’d love to hear from you!
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Source Url: http://gobelmont.ca/dollar-store-gift-ideas/