With the holiday season comes the pressure of gift buying. If you’re currently in a relationship or trying to win someone’s heart, you’re probably wracking your brain for the perfect gift. And if—like most of us—you’re on a strict budget, you may also be wondering if there’s any chance you can find a gift that is both worthy of your partner and gentle on your checking account.
Allow yourself a sigh of relief. Your mom meant what she said when you made her that macaroni birthday card in kindergarten; a little creativity does go a long way. Here are a few ideas for meaningful gifts on a fixed budget.
Personalized Notebook or Planner.
Find a moderately-priced planner or—if you have a list-maker or journaler to buy for—an affordable notebook. Then embellish each page with a meaningful quote or a special message from you to your partner. You can write directly in the book, you can print your words out on colored paper and glue them in . . . whatever works for you. Not only is this a thoughtful gift, but your partner gets little bits of your love as she uses the notebook each day for the next year.
365 Sweet Nothings
You may want to get an early start on this one . . . it takes a while. The concept is pretty simple, though. Find a little decorative box or jar (or decorate one you find at a craft supply store) and fill it with 365 slips of paper, each one with a message from you. Keep them simple, like “I love your laugh” or “Remember that time we spent an entire day watching Woody Allen movies?” To mix up your material, you may also want to include some famous quotes that make you think of your partner. Check out sites like QuoteGarden.com and ThinkExist.com. When you give this gift to your sweetheart, let him know there’s one message for him for each day of the year.
Collage or Shadow Box
Your relationship is a collection of a million special moments. Chances are, you’ve collected memorabilia from your favorites. Dig up old photographs, ticket stubs, postcards, etc, and choose the few that mean the most to you. Then make a collage or arrange them in a shadow box as an homage to your love that your significant other can hang up and admire. If you’re feeling truly ambitious, make a scrapbook documenting your relationship or your time together in the last year.
Thrift Store Find
Never underestimate the power of the thrift store. It’s true, your significant other is probably not into body suites with pit stains, but if you dig a little deeper, you may find a unique piece of jewelry or the favorite childhood game he hasn’t been able to find in stores since his mom sold it at a garage sale. Sometimes great things come in secondhand packages.
The ________ of the Month Club
Enroll your sweetheart in your own, made-up “Something” of the Month Club. Maybe it’s the Home-Cooked Meal of the Month or the Sporting Event of the Month or the New Restaurant of the Month. Think of something you know your partner wishes the two of you did more, and let your gift be a promise in writing that you’ll fulfill that interest once a month. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Just be sure to follow through. If you lose your gusto and cancel the club in March, you will never be allowed to forget it.
It may be clichéd, but in gift giving, it really is the thought that counts. Big, fancy things are nice, but the average person is much more interested in gifts that come from the heart . . . gifts that remind us that we are known and loved by the people who mean the most to us. Give from the heart, and your partner probably won’t think to wonder what it cost you.
