Christmas Presents on a Student Budget
Christmas presents on a student loan = a scary prospect. So we have put together some nifty ways to do Christmas presents on a student budget.
- Get crafty.
Take some inspiration from Pinterest, beware though the gifts do not always come out like you expect. One idea is to hand-write heartfelt letters or poems to your most loved family members, stick them in a nice frame and there you go! Thoughtful but easy-on-the-wallet-gifts.
2. Make a list.
By writing down everyone you need to buy for and also how much you are hoping to spend on them it will help you keep track, plus it feels great when you manage to get something in the sale and spend less that you anticipated.
3. Don’t send Christmas cards.
Controversial much!? But let’s face it they just end up in the bin anyway. How about sending an email or a funny What’s App message? Get creative, throw a filter on there or why not take a picture of your family’s pet dog in a Christmas jumper.
4. Organise a secret Santa.
This can be within your friendship group or even in your family. This doesn’t have to be secret Santa with novelty gifts under a tenner etc. you can make it a bit more special and set the limit a bit higher especially as you will only have to get one gift each so you can afford to go a bit fancier. And when we say fancier, we mean socks from M&S.
5. Bake!
The Great British Bake Off may be a distant memory by the time Christmas rolls around but you can still get creative in the kitchen. Bake a batch of gingerbread men, wrap them up and add a nice bow. Done.
6. Make up mini gift bags.
Instead of buying individual expensive presents buy multi-packs of items such as bath products and then separate them into different people’s gift bags. Cuuuute!
7. Be creative with the perfume purchases.
Planning on buying perfume or aftershave for someone, then think outside the box, literally! You can find cheaper un-boxed bottles and buy some pretty boxes instead. There are also websites where you can find smell-a-like perfumes which will save you loads of money if you are thinking of going designer.
8. Hunt for the deals.
Search high and low for the best deals. Browse online and compare prices from as many sites as you can, it is time consuming but worth it in the end. Collect from store instead of delivery where you can. Do bits of charity shop hunting, vintage is cool after all.
Whatever you decide to buy or make it is important to not get yourself worked up about Christmas; it is only one day in the year after all.
