Holiday gifts don’t have to break the bank

Tis the season to be jolly, but when you’re on a tight budget it’s hard to find that Christmas cheer when you’re gift-giving.

With exams on the way, students at GCSU are scurrying about Milledgeville to find the perfect gifts for friends and family before heading back home for the holidays. The sound of Christmas carols on your iPod, twinkling lights at night, wreaths hanging on doors, and last but not least, the stress of the holiday season all come together in the month of December.

Fortunately, finding great Christmas gifts on a budget is quite doable. The best way to get the most for your money and the greatest satisfaction is by focusing on what your loved ones will enjoy most. Spending hundreds of dollars on presents isn’t going to make the gift any better, so focus on the little details.

When it comes to buying that perfect gift for your best friend it’s hard to not want to spend a lot of money. Be creative and put that extra special personal touch on a gift that will blow them away. With Facebook as our virtual photo album, printed photos are not as common, so try printing some fun photos and make a collage, put them in an album, or even a few frames. Another great gift idea is to make a CD of all your favorite songs that you both share together.

Kara Wynkoop, a sophomore nursing major, finds it easy to shop for gifts with a budget.

“I plan on making almost all my gifts this year,” Wynkoop said. “I find that my friends appreciate all the effort I put into my presents when I spend time on them.”

A great way to really surprise your parents this Christmas without spending a lot of money on them is by writing them a really nice letter. It helps them feel more involved with you now that they aren’t a part of every aspect in your life. The phone calls to mom and dad are great, but try letting them know this season how thankful you are for raising and believing in you all these years. Try handwriting the letter to save printer ink. You could even frame a good grade you got on a paper or test from this semester to show them how hard you are working. A few other ideas are a coupon for an old chore you used to have to do around the house, a night during which you decide to stay home and not to go out with friends, taking the dog for a walk, or even doing your own laundry while your back in town!

For that special someone in your life it’s important to get them something that will let them know how special they are to you this holiday season. Whether it’s a girlfriend or boyfriend something as simple as a card with a coupon for “watching the sunrise with you,” “cooking a special dinner for you,” or “a day of nothing but movies with you” is always a nice gift. That way you get to spend quality time together without going broke!

Kate Tenoschok, a sophomore mass communication major, loves putting that special touch on all her gifts.

“It can be a challenge sometimes to shop with a college budget for Christmas presents for my friends,” Tenoschok said. “But the homemade gifts are the best at heart, because you know they were thinking about you when they were making it.”

Siblings can be hard to get gifts for. Try spending time with them over the break to get an idea of what they really want. Even if they won’t admit it they probably just want to spend time with their sibling. So ask your parents in advance and plan a weekend where your sibling comes and spends the weekend with you. Let them experience your life and see all the fun we have here. You could even go on an adventure to the Baldwin County Airport or the dam, but either way make it a big deal that they are in town.

We can’t forget our wonderful grandparents that have spoiled us rotten all our lives. If they don’t live too far away, this Christmas remember to spend time with them. Grandparents are very easy to please, because all they want is to be loved and remembered. Offer to come over for dinner, talk about what you are learning in your classes, all the different cultural experiences you have gotten at GCSU, or ask them about what they were like at your age. Another creative idea that might require your parents help and some snooping around is to find an old photo of your grandparents when they were young and do something artsy with it. Frame it next to a photo of you at that same age and they will be delighted.

For your friends who are always there for you, that you love and cherish so dearly, try baking some cookies and bagging them up with a little note about how much they mean to you. Reminisce on all those all-nighters you spent together, those late night runs to Walmart, and those crazy dance nights at Capitol that were all a blast, and most importantly that you will miss them over the break.

Whitley Sanders, a sophomore mass communication major, enjoys the giving of gifts more than the receiving.

“Giving that gift that you put time and effort into making brings such a good feeling,” Sanders said. “My favorite is when they aren’t expecting a gift and when they open it – it’s exactly what they hoped for. Their reaction is a gift in itself.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 4 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry