We’re all trying to save some money these days, and with rising inflation, it is indeed a smart thing to do. Whilst we consciously save on our everyday expenses, we sometimes have to spend some money on others too, like buying a gift or two for some special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, wedding, etc.
By now you should realise that expensive gifts aren’t always the most practical or useful. We often feel less guilty about buying something expensive for someone although it doesn’t offer much use, just because it shows to the recipient that you have spent a lot of money on the gift. Expensive gifts also don’t mean thoughtfulness on the part of the giver. So why not give it a bit more thought for the benefit of your own pocket as well as to the recipient of the gift?
Here are some ideas on how you can make affordable gifts that will still be meaningful to your recipients instead of buying them.
1. If you have an occasion to celebrate and present a gift to a girl friend, you can always purchase some lovely stalks of flowers in the colours that you know she will love, or some of her favourite flowers for that matter. You don’t need to get the florist to do the bouquet or wrapping of the flowers for you, because it is this service that will make the cost of the flowers very expensive.
You can easily and quickly put together those stalks of flowers yourself. Just use some pretty ribbons or strips of organzas to tie up the flowers you have arranged yourself to make a pretty bunch. If you aren’t sure how to do up your own pretty bouquet, don’t fret. You can follow some DIY flower arrangement tips. If you wish to present the flowers in a vase, just purchase a suitable vase and learn how to present them prettily in the vase.
I know I would be very appreciative if someone personally makes me a beautiful bouquet of flowers as a gift. Even if it’s a small bouquet, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s so pretty and nice! Even a pretty little self made paper flower bouquet could be just the prettiest gift like the one pictured below!
2. You can also bake your own cakes or cupcakes as gifts. Choose your most favoured recipe and bake with love. You can always customise it more with your personalised greetings and message to the special recipient. Something so yummy and delicious makes a wonderful and thoughtful gift!
Self made cakes can sometimes even be better in presentation than the mass made cakes available in stores. It’s all up to your imagination and creativity to make them a lasting impression on your recipients.
If you need some great recipes, you can always count on Joy of Baking for a few great cake recipes.
3. Make a special scrapbook. It’ll make a very interesting and personal gift, not to mention a truly cherished and appreciated gift too. Just select some photos and personal mementoes that are meaningful and put them all together in a scrapbook. Without a doubt, this will turn out to be a winner of a gift!
To learn how to make scrapbooks or even digital scrapbooks, you can check out some arts and craft shops as well as the many books, websites and even blogs to learn some scrapbooking tips and tricks. Check out these scrapbooking resources and freebies from Jessica Sprague, Scrap Stuff, CropMom and ScrapBlog.
Did you find the above suggestions of self made gifts helpful? There are lots of ideas on what else you can make. If you enjoyed this post and want more, drop me a comment and I’ll post more gift making ideas to help you save on buying gifts!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve made a couple of personalized gifts for my boyfriend before including a scrapbook piece but I realised that it may not necessarily save money because its spent on getting the materials/ingredients.. time’s wasted too. So, frankly, buying personalized gifts from a store may just be even more cost-effective. But then again, it’s always the effort and thought that are put into the gift that counts.
How sweet of you, I’m sure your boyfriend must’ve loved your self made gifts! I guess if you buy the materials for scrapbooking instead of making or taking whatever you already have, it will cost a bit. But it’s still fun and such a great gift, right? Next time you can use some free resources online from many online scrapbooking sites! Could save you the time and money too.
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