Great Gifts for Under $20

Lets face it, in this day and age and with our present economy, purchasing gifts for friends and family has become rather expensive. In our household, I begin Christmas Shopping in July. That way we are not hit with the cost of gifts all at once for our 8 children, one grandson, and 2 foster children in addition to our extended family and each other.

Here are some great gift ideas and sites that I have found over the years.

All of the guys (6 kids and 2 adults) like Tee shirts.

So for inexpensive Tee shirts I have found a great site that lets me choose what I want to see them wearing. I can also create my own tee shirts and the best part? A basic tee shirt (their design or mine) is only $9.99 plus shipping. Where do I go to find these? I go to “thattshirtsite.com” and they have a great selection of mens, womens, and children’s shirts as well as design your own.

Another great site is Cafe Press.

 There you can select from more tee shirts, coffee mugs, calendars, stationery and more. Choose your own designs and rest assured that they have quality products and great service. Prices vary from $3.99 and up. Check out Cafepress.com for more great ideas for your loved ones.

Do you have a gift recipient that loves to read? Check out Alibris.com for a great selection of books.

 Occasionally you can even find some that have been out of print. With so many selections you may never leave this site and be done with your shopping before you know it. If you hurry, you can read the selections before you give them away as gifts, just don’t get any coffee or snack food stains on the pages.

Another favorite site of ours is Amazon.They have many great selections from books to movies to electronics, apparel and more. Again with so much to choose from you may never leave this site either. But thats okay, your shopping will be done.

Some other great ideas include:

If you are handy with a crochet hook or knitting needles, you could make a great hat or scarf for that special someone. You could even go so far as to make coasters or an afghan. Whatever you choose to make the recipient will know they are loved and treasured because you took the time to make something just for them.

Check out local second hand stores. Often you can find books and videos there that have never been opened at a fraction of the retail price. Be selective and you can be done with your shopping again in no time.

Know a coffee or tea drinker? Purchase a small selection of flavored coffee’s or teas and a special coffee mug. Put them together in a basket and wrap with a pretty paper and you have another special gift that will be treasured long after the holidays.

Recycle. I once fell into a great deal of brown packing paper. I was pretty broke at the time so I patiently and painstakingly ironed it and folded it in half and took a quick stitch along the spine and created my own scrapbooks. Then I took some great photos and made a beautiful scrapbook for grandma. I added in photos of the grandkids and bits of ribbon and other such treasures. She treasures it to this day. This can also be done with paper bags (you can even purchase lunch sized bags at your local grocer). Or you can just give them to your gift recipient plain and let them create some treasured memories.

Make your own soaps. Buy glycerin soaps on sale and then add your favorite scented oils and bits of flower petals or oatmeal and create a beautiful soap gift basket. Add in a wash cloth or loofah sponge for more fun. You could even add in some scented bath oil (easy to make yourself with a non scented oil such as safflower oil or a non scented baby oil combined with your favorite essential oil). Put in a pretty basket and tie with a ribbon and you have another great gift idea.

Buy picture frames on sale and decorate with buttons or beads or other trinkets and put in a photo of yourself or family for them to treasure.

Pool your resources with other family members or friends and go in together on a gift that the recipient has been wanting. This works great with larger families when the grandparents really need something like a new appliance or other such item.

Do you have a friend or family member that likes to garden? Wait for the end of the season and purchase some gardening gloves and pretty flower seeds. Perhaps even a flower pot to put them all into and then wrap those up with a pretty ribbon. They will be so excited come spring to have new gloves and pretty flower seeds that they will hardly be able to wait.

What ever you buy, start looking now and you won’t feel the burden of the sudden crunch of those Christmas holiday bills. You will be able to sit back and relax sipping your hot cider while everyone else is hustling and bustling about trying to get all of their gifts in time.