How to Buy Gifts (when you’re broke as crap)
By: Adulting Guide
Tags: Budget, Christmas, Holiday Shopping, Adulting, Gifts

Is this how tiny your gift budget is??

The title says it all.

Here are four ideas to help you this holiday season.

1. MAKE IT THOUGHTFUL

Yes, of course you’re going to put thought into what you buy for someone. But stop and first: picture a particular friend or family member in your mind and review who they are. What do they do for a living? Do they have any hobbies? What topics do they talk about most often? Gifts that the person can connect with will have more value than just the monetary kind.

I have a friend who LOVES elephants and coffee. Elephant mug for less than ten dollars? Yes, please. She still sends me pictures of herself using it, seven years later.

Your brother likes the Cubs? Get him a Cubs mug (from Amazon…not the stadium gift store).

Your sister loves Star Wars? You get the idea.

My brother-in-law considers himself to be a beer aficionado. I found a “Periodic table of Beer” poster and he went crazy over it. It hangs, framed, in his house above his very expensive display of liquors. Does it matter that it cost less than nine dollars? Nope. (Hopefully he’s not reading this.)

If you do something specialized for work or are going to school for a specialized field, give your talents as gifts! I have a friend who had an IT job and for Christmas he gave his parents and grandparents the gift of clearing caches, updating software, and generally debugging (is that the word?) their devices. Talk about thankful!

Another friend is a cosmetologist and for Christmas she gave all her sisters the gift of a cut and style, not only for them but for each of her nieces and nephews. Have you ever looked up how much it costs to take a five year old for a haircut? Spoiler alert: it’s a lot.

Your work and skills can feel commonplace to you, because you use them every day, but don’t underestimate the blessing they would be to others!

When making gifts thoughtful, also consider how the person perceives love or thoughtfulness to be. If your sister values spending time together above all else, then a gift of “I’ll take you out to dinner one night this week,” might be a far more meaningful gift than the best diamond earrings in the world.

If your mom is always going on about how she wishes “someone would help her with this” or “I would do that if I had help,” then a gift of your time/energy/height/talents could go much further than your already stretched budget can. Wash her car, fix the faucet, organize all those TV cords she can’t reach behind the cabinet.

If you want to give a gift of time or energy but still want the person to be able to unwrap a physical gift on Christmas Day, write a note saying what you did or will do, put the note in a box, and wrap the box. Even better, find a small tangible object associated with the intangible gift you are giving.

Buy a car air freshener from the dollar store and include a note that says, “This air freshener is to go in your car that I washed this morning while you were cooking Christmas breakfast. Merry Christmas!”

The icing on the cake.

Or buy a little toy dinosaur from the dollar store and write, “My gift to you this year is taking you to see the new dinosaur movie, because I know you love them.”

Get creative! Don’t let yourself be limited by traditional or commercial parameters of what “gifts” are.

2. ADD A PERSONAL TOUCH

With the gift, include a personal note. Do this in addition to my suggestions in the previous section and put extra thought into what you bought or did!

“When I saw this beer poster, I thought of you. Hope you like it.”

People love it when they know that other people think about them when they’re not around. Call it cheesy or whatever, but it’s true!

“I got you this mug that looks like a pencil because it reminded me of the time we were kids and our parents took us on vacation and we stabbed each other with pencils in the backseat the whole time.”

Hey, you can’t put a price tag on memories.

“I hope you like this elephant mug. Also here is a drawing of my face so you remember what I look like all year.” And then draw a plain smiley face. Don’t underestimate the value of a smile or a laugh!

When my brother was single, once I baked him his favorite pie for Christmas. He loved it.

Once in college, I gave my friend toilet paper wrapped to look like an apple. Hey, TP is a commodity in the dorms. You know what I’m talking about.

Conclusion: a little thought goes a long way!

Another way to add a personal touch is to include installation and/or accessories for your gift. If you bought an item that needs batteries, get some dollar store batteries and make them part of your gift.

In my example of the “Periodic Table of Beer” above, I went to the store and got a cheap but nice-looking frame and went ahead and framed the poster. It was way more impressive to open and show off, and cost me maybe two extra dollars.

Or include a note with the gift: “I remember you saying you wanted a phone mount in your car, so I got you one. Bonus gift: I will install it for you after lunch.”

Cost of the phone mount: $20.

Value of showing someone that you listened to them and are spending time on them? Priceless.

Again, consider how your various family members and friends perceive thoughtfulness, and be willing to do a little extra planning. It will save you money and spare you that guilty feeling of not getting everyone gifts and/or the stress of spending more than you can afford.

3. PLAN AHEAD

Write a list. Decide whom you are going to buy gifts for and then STICK TO IT. It’s easy to stray too far ahead and next thing you know you’re buying chocolates for every neighbor, coworker, and your favorite barista and bartender. Pump the brakes, my friend!

It’s also easy to get overwhelmed with ALL THE PEOPLE you feel will expect a gift. Once you sit down in despair, next thing you know it’s 9pm Christmas Eve and you haven’t bought a single gift. Plan ahead, my friend! Write a list of the people you WILL buy gifts for, and make that number of people fit within your budget. This leads to our next tip:

Set a gift budget. Ten dollars or less per person, or whatever you determine you can afford. Be strict with yourself. Gift buying can quickly get out of hand when you’re in the store looking at all the pretty things. DO NOT go into debt over Christmas gifts. PLEASE.

Strategize your buying. Not everyone can nor wants to shop for Christmas gifts throughout the year. BUT ALSO waiting till Christmas Eve to buy gifts is a dangerous game to play. Prices go up during the holidays! They do! And need I mention all the stress you’ll feel, watching your Amazon app and tracking your packages to see if they’ll arrive on time?

By planning ahead, even starting the beginning of December, you’ll be able to look for deals or shop around a few different stores or brands to find the best prices. You’ll pay for your gifts with either money or time, and which one do you have more of on a given day? You decide. It’s a balance, but you can find it. I believe in you.

4. BE OKAY WITH BEING BROKE (FOR NOW)

This may not seem to fit with the previous points, but it’s an important one to help you have an enjoyable holiday. Recognize that struggling during young adulthood is a normal and temporary state of being. Yes, you will get that steady job you want. Yes, you will get to a better financial status. Yes, you will stop feeling overwhelmed by life. But not today. You are growing and changing. You are struggling. You are learning. Your family loves you and understands where you are in life. Even if they don’t, YOU DO. At least you should! Take a look in the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and say, “I work hard. I will reach my goals. This stage is only temporary.”

And then make sure that’s the truth in the years to come!

But for now, be okay with the fact that you can’t buy expensive gifts. Be okay with giving simple ones. Be okay with being broke. Love your family; love your friends; enjoy your Christmas with them. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t compare yourself to your parents, to your siblings, to your friends. Just be you!

A FEW LAST WORDS

— It really is the thought that counts. Those words are a cliché because they were true enough to make millions of people repeat them.

— You can’t please everyone. Chances are, someone will be meh about their gift. Be okay with that. Chances are, YOU will be meh about a gift or two. (Be okay with that, too.)

— If you’re bad at wrapping gifts, pick up a few gift bags from the dollar store. Better yet, save the ones you get from Christmas party White Elephants and reuse them!

— Be yourself and enjoy your holidays. That’s what they are meant for and no one can take that from you.

(Be sure to catch our article next time on How To Survive Small Talk at Family Gatherings.)